3 Ayutthaya

      Golden heydays shine on

      Once touted as the most glorious city in the world, Ayutthaya was both the nucleus and the soul of ancient Siam. Only 90 minutes north of Bangkok, the city straddles the crossroads of Southeast Asian history.

      In AD 1350, the capital of a soon-to-be-formidable empire was founded by King Ramathibodi I. His ashes are interred in one of the three massive chedi at Wat Pra Sri San Phet, where the royal palace once stood. Constructed at the behest of Ramathibodi II to house the mortal dust of his father and brother, the chedi stand as monuments to filial devotion.

      It’s difficult to imagine how life was lived way back when cowrie shells were used as currency and people slept with machetes beside their beds, unless you see these slices of ancient Siamese life at the Ayutthaya Historical Study Center and the Chao Phraya Sam Museum. The latter also contains models of the city in its heyday, a Chinese junk, ceremonial swords and jewel-studded elephant trinkets.

      The gold artifacts give off a few glimmers of Ayutthaya’s legend among foreign traders and missionaries as an El Dorado or City of Gold. Discovered in the prang (a stubby Khmer-style tower) of Wat Ratchaburana, the treasures were untouched by the Burmese soldiers who razed, pillaged and left the city a smoldering cremation ground in 1767. They made off with so much gold, in fact, that Thai history books claim the streets were littered with glittering fragments of the metal.

      Rent a bicycle to explore the historical park or see the ruins on the back of a lumbering elephant helmed by a mahout in a costume of glimmering red and gold silk. Charter a long-tail boat over at the pier by the Chandra Kasem Palace (another museum with gold treasures) and explore the three rivers that form a natural moat around the city. En route there are stops at major temples like Wat Phutthaisawan, which has a large reclining Buddha image meant to symbolize his passage into nirvana.

      From the river, you can also see a monument to Queen Suriyothai, the tragic 16th-century heroine who disguised herself as a man to ride out on the battlefield where her husband was facing off against the Burmese king in an elephant-back duel. She rode between them, sacrificing her life for her husband’s, while creating a larger-than-death legend and the heroine of Suriyothai, the period piece from 2000 that remains Thailand’s biggest blockbuster.

      The rivers are particularly picturesque around dusk. Then, as the boat speeds towards them, the temples slowly rise out of the smoke-blue distance like little has changed in the past five centuries.

      Opening Times Daily 6.00 am–6.00 pm

      Address Ayutthaya Historical Park

      Getting There Ayutthaya is 76 km north of Bangkok. Trains depart every hour from 4.20 am to 10 pm for 15 baht in third-class non-air con from Hua Lamphong Station, Bangkok

      Contact Office of Ayutthaya Historical Park Tel: +66 (0)3 524 2501, +66 (0)3 524 4570

      Admission Fee 30 baht

      4 Massage at Wat Pho Temple

      Get rubbed the right way at the country’s first university

      Famously described by some travelers as a “lazy person’s yoga”, Thai massage, like acupuncture using hands, elbows and feet instead of needles, helps to un-block the power lines of the body’s natural grid of nerves and muscles to boost energy levels and keep people limber.

      As attested to by some of the sculptures in Bangkok’s Wat Pho, home to the most famous massage center and a nearby school, this healing art requires some circus-like contortions.

      Dating back some 2,500 years to the time of the Buddha, Thai massage has more than a few similarities to yoga. Admittedly, the masseuse might touch on some sore spots. So it’s best to tell them in advance about any physical problems you have or areas to avoid. At the same time, you should also tell them what kind of pressure to apply.

      At the bottom end, there are little massage parlors all over the bigger tourist areas. They usually offer a full menu of treatments such as reflexology, oil massage and different strains such as Swedish and Balinese (both a lot more gentle than the Thai variety). In the upper range, the top hotels and resorts usually have their own spas offering different massages for about four to five times as much as the smaller places.

      At the end of a long day of sightseeing, a good massage is just what the doctor ordered. Though a little painful at times, the end result is worth it for feeling rejuvenated and about five kilos lighter.

      Some converts even sign up to take classes. Of these learning centers, the most renowned is the Wat Pho School of Traditional Medicine and Massage, where a beginner’s class lasts 30 hours, six hours a day for five days straight, including plenty of hands-on practice.

      Opening Times Daily 8 am–5 pm

      Address 248 Thanon Thai Wang, entrance on Chetupon Road

      Getting There Take river taxi to Tha Chang Pier

      Contact +66 (0)2 281 2831

      Admission Fee 50 baht

      5 Chatuchak Weekend Market

      Behemoth of a bazaar for serial shoppers

      The Chatuchak Weekend Market in Bangkok is a world unto itself. Covering the area of a village, but with the transient population of a small city, “JJ” (as Thais call it as it is pronounced “Jatujak”) offers everything from secondhand clothes to first-class artworks, and old-fashioned hilltribe regalia to new school furniture, besides a laundry list of other items, like exotic pets for the politically suspect, PVC handbags decorated with dried flowers, household decorations and Vietnam War-era memorabilia.

      Navigating this sweltering maze of 15,000 vendors can overload and short-circuit both your senses and patience. For a personal compass, the handiest tool is the Nancy Chandler Map of Bangkok with a large section on the world’s most gigantic weekend market. At the head offices near the back of the market, free maps are available. They are okay to get your bearings but don’t provide a lot of information about which goods are where.

      Better still are the billboards located around the market, mapping out the many lanes and sign posting the sections. Using the huge clock tower in the middle of Chatuchak as a signpost also helps to stave off disorientation.

      The majority of the market is dedicated to clothes and footwear. The stalls for new clothes are found in Section 10 and in the even-numbered sections that follow it all the way up to 20. Whether it’s knock-off designer jeans or the latest trainers, affordable T-shirts or tropical-hued beach-wear, this area is well suited to all your clothing needs.

      Chatuchak is renowned for its motley collection of arts and handicrafts, ranging from the ridiculous (baseball caps made out of beer cans) to the sublime (Thai silk). In particular, Sections 24 and 26 are laden with the full spectrum of wood carvings, bronzeware, lacquerware, purses woven from vines, and the local ceramics known as benjarong for the combination of five colors that enrich these miniature tea sets, bowls and vases.

      Perhaps the penultimate rule in this jungle of consumerism is to make your purchase then and there, because you might not find your way back to that little shop again.

      Opening Times Weekends 8 am–6 pm

      Address Kamphaeng Phet 3 Road

      Getting There Take skytrain to Mor Chit Station or subway to Kamphaengphet Station

      Admission Fee Free

      6 High Tea at the Oriental Hotel

      It’s every moneyed traveler’s cup of tea

      To

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