WALKING through the labyrinth of ruins in the Ayutthaya Historical Park, we were rewarded with glimpses of the ancient Siamese Kingdom’s splendor. At the sight of rubble and moss-covered bricks, I immediately thought of dungeons and tombs. The wreckage standing atop preserved grounds hinted of the Burmese invasion in the 1700s, back when the City of Ayutthaya still served as Thailand’s capital.
The most prominent attractions in the park are the towering royal temples called prang and the bell-shaped structures called the stupa or chedi. Like the temples in the Grand Palace, Ayutthaya has edifices that contain the remains of Buddhist monks and the former Kings of Siam. Squinting at the tips of several spiraling roofs—the reliquary towers—I imagined how the place must have looked like centuries ago, before chaos erupted and destroyed one of Thailand’s most prosperous empire.
With its significance in the history and culture of Thailand, the Ayutthaya Historical Park was eventually declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991. Despite being reduced to ruins, the park has lost neither its grandeur nor sanctity. Tourists and locals are asked to respect Buddha images. Everyone is also mandated to exercise prudence when taking pictures. In fact, the structures built in the park are irreplaceable; they are so distinct in appearance that no similar structure can be found anywhere else in the world.
In some areas, we would find headless or armless Buddha statues perched on pedestals. I’ve learned later on that the Burmese beheaded the statues when they attacked the Kingdom of Ayutthaya and forced its inhabitants to flee.
There are lots of popular and accessible tourist destinations in Thailand, but if you’re travelling with a group, I highly recommend visiting the Ayutthaya Historical Park (entrance fee costs 50 baht or 80 pesos only.) Ayutthaya is located about 80 km north of Bangkok, so it’s better to rent a private van for 3,500 baht or 5,600 pesos. This will spare you from stressing over the two to three-hour commute. In this way, you can also visit other historical sites in Ayutthaya such as the Bang Pa-In Palace.
For only 100 baht, you can explore the palaces in Bang Pa-In. One of the most popular attractions in the compound is the Ho Withun Thasana, an observatory that served as King Chulalongkorn’s lookout tower. Before visiting Bang Pa-In, remember to wear decent clothing or else you’ll be denied entry to the palace.
A trip to Ayutthaya may be a challenge for commuters, but I guarantee you that seeing the ghost of Thailand’s past splendor makes all the stress worth it.