January 20, Tuesday – Ayutthaya – Boat ride on Pa Sak river

Destination: Bangkok – Accommodations: Bizotel Premier Hotel

After breakfast we boarded our bus to visit the ruins of Ayutthaya. On the way there, Are gave us a history lesson about all the kings of Thailand from Rama I to the current King – Maha Vajirongkorn – known as Rama X. It was very interesting to hear how each King’s successor was chosen… sometimes the oldest son, sometimes a brother to the king, other times no one in the king’s family became the next ruler but rather a friend of the king, and so on. Very complicated, but very interesting. Are said that there is speculation as to who will be the next king when the current king, Rama X, passes away, but no one knows for sure.

Rama IV (1851–1868) (King Mongkut of Siam) was famous for modernizing Siam and was the subject of the book The King and I. The book was based on the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, who was the governess to the children of King Mongkut in the early 1860’s. Interestingly, the people of Thailand are banned by the government from watching the movie, because the government feels it is historically inaccurate and disrespectful to the Thai monarchy.

The kings who ruled while the country was known as Siam, ruled from 1782 (Rama I) to 1935 (Rama VII). Rama VII was the last absolute monarch and the first constitutional monarch of Siam. Siam officially became Thailand in 1939 under the reign of Rama VIII. It was no longer a total monarchy rule, but rather a democracy. The name Thailand means “Land of the Free”. It was a very interesting history lesson and Are certainly made the complex reigns of all the Kings, very understandable.

We arrived at Ayutthaya, founded around 1350 and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Ayutthaya was destroyed by the Burmese in the 18th century. They burned it to the ground. The ruins that we toured gave an idea of its past splendor.

The site was once home to 33 kings from many different dynasties and we were able to see the preserved temple ruins of Phra Sri Sanphet. It was a pretty hot day and the sun was beating down while we toured the ruins. Allan and I had put our electrolyte packets into our water bottles to stay hydrated, and I walked around under my umbrella to keep the sun off of my body. It worked great!

We then drove to a local shop where ‘cotton candy’ is made, but it doesn’t look or taste like the cotton candy we are familiar with. We were able to watch men hard at work making roti sai mai…Ayutthaya cotton candy. It consists of soft silky strings of spun sugar wrapped in a crepe. The roti consists of wheat flour, salt, and tapioca flour mixed with water and oil.

The candy floss is made by boiling sugar with some water, flour, and oil until it thickens. Then, the sticky sugar is stretched until it becomes candy floss. The last part requires immense physical strength, and we watched as the candy maker used his muscle to stretch the candy over and over and over until it became the stringy floss. They work in the heat and it is an arduous task, but a good paying one. He said he can make $40 for working hard from 8 am to 2 pm , which is double what his pay would be if he worked all day somewhere else.

We then went to a restaurant and enjoyed a delicious lunch – finishing with the corn candy – and then we went on a river cruise along the Pa Sak River. At one point, we were given loaves of bread and we all fed the fish from the boat. It was a perfect end to the day.

We had a light supper at the hotel which was the most money we’ve spent on a meal since arriving. 8 spring rolls, two bowls of soup, and two glasses of wine…$43. At local restaurants, we have had many meals of appetizer, Pad Thai or stir fry with shrimp, rice, and two glasses of wine for almost half the price!!!

Tomorrow morning we leave beautiful Thailand and fly to Laos.