'Wat' in the World!

We reached Ayutthaya in the afternoon and from the moment we arrived had a good feeling about the town. It was the original capital of Thailand and was full of ancient 'wats' (temples). We were a bit more prepared this time with our accommodation and happily turned up at Lotus Hostel ready to check in - only to be told they were fully booked! We found a really lovely 'plan B' around the corner called Chantana and managed to get a beautiful teak-floored bedroom with balcony for 550 baht a night ,(11 UK pounds). We were intending to explore the town at night but ended up getting waylaid at 'Tony's Place' where we ended up enjoying a few Chang beers and a very hot chilli dish!

The next morning we were up bright and early and heading over to the tourist office to arrange a guide around all the wats. We found out that we could just as easily do it ourselves, so armed with a map and a pair of rusty old bikes we started pedaling off around the city. So...'wats' all the fuss about these wats then? The danger in Thailand seems to be getting 'watt-ed' out too soon so we picked half a dozen of the best and most varied. The 3 peaks of Wat Phra Si Sanphet were really striking and perfectly symmetrical and aligned (more impressive when you know that the rest of the temple seemed to be at a 45 degree angle!). The Buddha head entwined in roots at Wat Phra Mahathat was enchanting (thanks for the tip Mum!) and the huge robed reclining Buddha at Wat Lokyasuthra seemed almost out of place in amongst the shabby stalls and poor villagers. The bikes were a great way to see the city and we had fun negotiating the random Thai traffic - from trucks to ponies to elephants! Buzzing from our free spirited day on two wheels, we checked our bikes back in and looked for a ride home. Unfortunately, when you need a tuk tuk you can't find one for love nor money - so we settled with an old-aged pensioner and his push bike rickshaw, held together with gaffer tape (no joke). Our two big Western bums couldn't quite fit in the carriage seat and we had to laugh as this octogenarian tried to cycle 2km pulling over 20 stone in weight! Things hit a low when he actually had to get off and push us over a busy junction - he obviously didn't want to risk cycling it! I think we just about peaked walking pace for the whole journey home! We felt so guilty at having made him work so hard that we paid him the full 60 baht, even though we'd bartered him down to 50!

That evening we wanted to get some great night photography of the wats lit up so pushed our haggling skills to the max and managed to barter a private ride in a tuk tuk to take us to 3 wats and then on to the night market - all for 180 baht (4 UK pounds). The trip was worth every penny as our lovely driver - Mr Chanman - took us patiently to all the sites and waited while we took hundreds of photos! He even offered to drive us to Lopburi the next day but the deal was lost in translation so we had to settle on just the night market after all! We were suddenly falling head over heels for this country and its people who have been so friendly. Outside of the capital, they are just so keen to help and if you are warm back to them then it really pays off. At the night market, we went crazy and had some local prawns - to be honest, by this point, we felt invincible! Guy even sampled some local snacks, including something indistinguishable that we now think was frogs' hearts. Who cares - we love Thailand! (And we weren't ill the next day!). Back near our hostel we looked for a good spot to have an evening beer and couldn't resist Thailand's only jazz bar (allegedly). The 3 waiters were also the musicians and after serving us, settled down in front of a piano, drums and a double bass and played some amazing jazz and even sang some Thai-style Frank Sinatra songs ('Fry me to the moon...'). It veered dangerously close to a Peter Kay or Little Britain sketch, but was so cool that it made us order more beer and dance our way back to our hostel. We love Thailand (did I say that already?).