Charming Thai-style Homestay, Authentic Thai food & Ayuthhaya Travel tips || 10-Day Vacation in Thailand (Day 3)
Previous posts in this series:
How we arrived at our itinerary
Visa on Arrival Mayhem
Mystery of the Missing Hotel Booking
Weekend Market and Various Wats
Temple on the Hill, Tribe in the Forest, and more in Chiang Mai
Flowers, Food, and the endless Night Market at Chiang Mai
So on Christmas morning, at 5:00 AM, we found ourselves at the Chiang Mai Airport to board our flight to Don Mueang Airport (DMK), Bangkok. Our flight was to take off at 6:50 and reach DMK at 8:00. The airport at this hour was really empty with minimal staff and barely any travellers. The staff wore Christmas hats. Unlike our airport staff here in India, staff here in Thailand it seems do not take themselves too seriously. It was good to see some fun and warmth. On our way to the airport, we had seen many tourists roaming around drunk. The Christmas Eve party had obviously continued well into the wee hours. So airtravel was obviously not on cards for many of them.
Anyhow, we checked in and this for once went without any hitch. Check-in luggage was included in the ticket price, so there was no surprise here. Our plan took off and we reluctantly said good-bye to Chiang Mai.
Once we landed in DMK, the plan was to get to DMK and then take a train or a minivan to Ayuthhaya. We are also rather proud of our decision to book a flight to DMK rather than BKK, because this airport is closer to Ayuthhaya. While DMK is 60km from Ayuthhaya, BKK is 90. Also, from DMK you can take a direct train to Ayuthhaya, which takes about 40 minutes.
In the end, we settled for the train, because the train station was accessible from within the airport and a train to Authhaya was due in 20 minutes. The ticket costed 30 Bahts each and we were to travel in the general compartment. We were also rather hungry by now, so we bought some cut fresh fruit (pineapple and mango) from a street hawker next to the platform.
The train station was quite charming actually. It was tiny and open. Anyone could access it from the road on either side. We struck up conversation with a mixed family - father was an American, mother was Thai and they had a teenage son. They were waiting for a train to Chiang Mai. They too were tourists and would spend one entire day on train. Since they hadn't booked their tickets well in advance, they hadn't been able to find night trains or cheap flights so were left with no other option but to spend the day travelling. We again, silently, patted ourselves on the back our optimized itinerary.
While we are waiting for the train, let me digress a little and talk a little about the the origin of the name Ayuthhaya. Many of you would be struck by how similar the name is to the Indian Historical City, Ayodhya. In fact, the name is a sign of the influence of Hinduism in the region. The city is allegedly named after a city in the Thai National Epic, Ramakien, which is the Thai version of the Hindu Epic, Ramayan.
Anyways, soon we found our selves on the train and then in Ayuthhaya. We paid 100 bahts to a tuktuk driver who took us to our hotel - Niwas Ayuthhaya. The property looked charming and we were soon greeted by a Thai who spoke very good English. He not only guided us about how to go about our day in Ayuthhaya, but also helped us book our evening boat ride and advised us about our travel the next day to Bangkok's Sai Tai Mai Bus stand (Southern Bus Station) from where we were to take our night bus to Phuket. With our itinerary sorted, we took a quick bath and then headed for breakfast.
We found a nice open-plan Thai restaurant close by. It was called Tom Lueat Mu. It served the usual clear soup with meat, which was to be had with rice. The meal was economical and tasty. We also tried a Thai desert here - kind of a coconut cream. This was okay too. As usual, we ended our meal with tall glasses of Iced Thai Milk Tea and Iced Coffee.
We were now ready for our exploration of the ruins of the temples. We had received guidance from our hotel manager and had the entire route planned. The temples need enough space for themselves, so would request you to wait for the next post. One of the most picturesque temple, the one where Buddha's face is emerging out of the roots of a Banyan tree, is here in Ayuthhaya. You will find out all about that and some other interesting temples in the next post. Stay tuned.
Mystery of the Missing Hotel Booking
Weekend Market and Various Wats
Temple on the Hill, Tribe in the Forest, and more in Chiang Mai
Flowers, Food, and the endless Night Market at Chiang Mai
So on Christmas morning, at 5:00 AM, we found ourselves at the Chiang Mai Airport to board our flight to Don Mueang Airport (DMK), Bangkok. Our flight was to take off at 6:50 and reach DMK at 8:00. The airport at this hour was really empty with minimal staff and barely any travellers. The staff wore Christmas hats. Unlike our airport staff here in India, staff here in Thailand it seems do not take themselves too seriously. It was good to see some fun and warmth. On our way to the airport, we had seen many tourists roaming around drunk. The Christmas Eve party had obviously continued well into the wee hours. So airtravel was obviously not on cards for many of them.
Anyhow, we checked in and this for once went without any hitch. Check-in luggage was included in the ticket price, so there was no surprise here. Our plan took off and we reluctantly said good-bye to Chiang Mai.
Once we landed in DMK, the plan was to get to DMK and then take a train or a minivan to Ayuthhaya. We are also rather proud of our decision to book a flight to DMK rather than BKK, because this airport is closer to Ayuthhaya. While DMK is 60km from Ayuthhaya, BKK is 90. Also, from DMK you can take a direct train to Ayuthhaya, which takes about 40 minutes.
In the end, we settled for the train, because the train station was accessible from within the airport and a train to Authhaya was due in 20 minutes. The ticket costed 30 Bahts each and we were to travel in the general compartment. We were also rather hungry by now, so we bought some cut fresh fruit (pineapple and mango) from a street hawker next to the platform.
The train station was quite charming actually. It was tiny and open. Anyone could access it from the road on either side. We struck up conversation with a mixed family - father was an American, mother was Thai and they had a teenage son. They were waiting for a train to Chiang Mai. They too were tourists and would spend one entire day on train. Since they hadn't booked their tickets well in advance, they hadn't been able to find night trains or cheap flights so were left with no other option but to spend the day travelling. We again, silently, patted ourselves on the back our optimized itinerary.
While we are waiting for the train, let me digress a little and talk a little about the the origin of the name Ayuthhaya. Many of you would be struck by how similar the name is to the Indian Historical City, Ayodhya. In fact, the name is a sign of the influence of Hinduism in the region. The city is allegedly named after a city in the Thai National Epic, Ramakien, which is the Thai version of the Hindu Epic, Ramayan.
Anyways, soon we found our selves on the train and then in Ayuthhaya. We paid 100 bahts to a tuktuk driver who took us to our hotel - Niwas Ayuthhaya. The property looked charming and we were soon greeted by a Thai who spoke very good English. He not only guided us about how to go about our day in Ayuthhaya, but also helped us book our evening boat ride and advised us about our travel the next day to Bangkok's Sai Tai Mai Bus stand (Southern Bus Station) from where we were to take our night bus to Phuket. With our itinerary sorted, we took a quick bath and then headed for breakfast.
We found a nice open-plan Thai restaurant close by. It was called Tom Lueat Mu. It served the usual clear soup with meat, which was to be had with rice. The meal was economical and tasty. We also tried a Thai desert here - kind of a coconut cream. This was okay too. As usual, we ended our meal with tall glasses of Iced Thai Milk Tea and Iced Coffee.
We were now ready for our exploration of the ruins of the temples. We had received guidance from our hotel manager and had the entire route planned. The temples need enough space for themselves, so would request you to wait for the next post. One of the most picturesque temple, the one where Buddha's face is emerging out of the roots of a Banyan tree, is here in Ayuthhaya. You will find out all about that and some other interesting temples in the next post. Stay tuned.
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