"Ayuthaya" a Ayuthaya Travel Page by leffe3

At its apex, at the end of the 17h century, the population of Ayuthaya, capital of the Siamese empire, was almost one million people. As the capital, the city was courted by European, Chinese and Japanese merchants and was reported to be one of the most glorious of all cities.

The city served as the capital from 1350 until 1767 - founded by Ramathibodi I to escape smallpox in Lop Buri. Its full title is Phra Nakon Si Ayuthaya (Sacred City). The Siamese kingdom, at its height, spread into present day Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar.
But the expansion took its toll, decline set in with, finally, the Burmese sacking the city in 1767..

80+kms north of Bangkok, the city is a great place to spend a day (or more). Having experienced the glorious excesses of Wat Phra Kaew and the Grand Palace, the ruins of Ayuthaya provide the chance to see what's underneath all that gilt and gold paint! Needless to say, when the Burmese sacked the city, much of the precious stones and gold statuary became booty, leaving behind only the ruins of the majestic buildings.

The city is misleading in that the ruins are spread out throughout the city, although the major concentration is to be found on the 'island' in the centre of the town formed by by the meeting point of three rivers - Chao Praya, Lopburi and Pa Sak. At the heart of this island is the National Park and Wats Phra Si Sanphet, Mongkhon Bophit, Phra Ram, Thammikarat, Ratburana and Phra Mahathat. All are within walking distance of each other and tend to therefore attract the biggest number of tourists.

There are numerous other sites round the city (some of them to my mind more interesting than the 'central' ruins), and the city is surprisingly spacious and green. Its easily woth spending some time in Ayuthaya - certainly more time than most give it (a day trip out of Bangkok).