When the meditation retreat ended, we took a local commuter train to one of Bangkok's ancient capitals - Ayutthaya. Ayutthaya had been the capital of Thailand (then called Siam) for 417 years, ending in 1767. The train ride was an experience in itself. We showed up at the station hoping to buy a ticket for the next train. None of the signs were in English. Luckily the attendant working spoke pretty good English. When you buy tickets day-of they are 3rd class passenger tickets. Our tickets cost 20 baht each....that's about 60 cents. We were the only Westerners waiting for the train and when we boarded it was pretty much already full. We did notice 4 other Westerners. I was pleasantly surprised at how several Thai people were proactively trying to help us find a seat and space for our baggage. No English was spoken, just pointing and smiling. I sat down while Jake stood since they sell more tickets than there are seats. Luckily, the train car wasn't too hot since the windows were open and there were fans. As I observed the countryside I saw a mix of rice fields and sad looking shacks. We definitely weren't in the city anymore.
There were probably half a dozen people selling things on the train: soda, water, coffee, and hot, cooked food. Mostly women walked up and down the train car with large baskets full of skewers of cooked meat, bags of rice, and entire meal options. I wish I knew what they were saying as they walked back and forth because it was very sing-songy and repeated over and over and over. The most impressive thing I observed was an option of rice with meat and/or eggs/vegetables accompanied by soy sauce, chilies and utensils. Picture the container you receive when you buy the prepackaged chicken or ground beef at the grocery store....that sort of styrofoam base, covered with what I just mentioned, nicely plastic wrapped. I think they were being sold for 20 baht each, again, that's 60 cents!
After about an hour we arrived at the Ayutthaya stop and even though we never told the Thai passengers what our destination was, many of them signaled to us that this stop was for us.
In Ayutthaya we explored several outdoor markets and ruins. Some of the markets had food only, while others had food and clothes. I had hoped that when we arrived in Southeast Asia, I'd be able to add a few new items to my wardrobe. You can imagine after four months I'm getting a little sick of what's in my carry-on sized suitcase. I had figured that the clothes in SE Asia would be cheap and just what I needed for the climate here. Well, I was quickly discouraged after visiting some markets in Bangkok because let's just say....Thai women and Jesslyn are not the same size. Not even close. Luckily in Ayutthaya I had luck! I picked up two dresses and a pair of pants for $17 total at the floating market. I had heard that there were "floating markets" in many places in SE Asia and this was the first one that we went to. Based on non-floating markets we'd seen, I expected this market to also be crowded and have a run-down feeling. I was wrong - it was really nice! The market is on some form of water and was nice and clean. We sat down and had lunch for 100 baht, approximately $3: shrimp pad thai, fried chicken with rice and two bottles of water. That night we had dinner at night market near our hotel for 200 baht, or $6: fried rice with pork and dry curry with pork and one large Chang beer. Some, not all prices here, are just ridiculous. We've eaten at a few restaurants and the meals have been inexpensive but certainly not as cheap as the markets. Food and drink at the airport is about what it would be at home. As far as quality of food, I've been surprised that the food at the markets is much better than the restaurants. One thing I'm getting used to is that so far, when I've ordered a dish with chicken, pork or shrimp....there isn't much protein - mostly rice or noodles. I'm curious to see what the atmosphere is like on the islands. How will the prices be? Are there markets? Stay tuned, that is where we are headed next.
When you picture the beautiful ocean water of Thailand, it's not in Bangkok and it's not in Ayutthaya. That's probably not a surprise, and it wasn't to me...but yuck....the river water in those two places was brownish, murky and often had floating trash. As for the ruins I mentioned, the thing to do in Ayutthaya is visit the temples and palaces. Many of them are very close to one another and we visited seven in one day. Three of them we arrived at via a longtail boat. We loved exploring the various ruins and sites throughout Europe but were very happy to see things like this as it was totally new to us.
Jesslyn
A long tail boat on the river like the one we used to see some of the sites.
Wat Mahathat built circa 1370 AD.
Wat Phra Si Sanphet
The 62 foot tall Buddha at the active Wat Phanan Choeng temple.