Today, I joined my two new London-based friends Sabrina and Justin for a day-trip to Ayutthaya, a city not too far north of Bangkok. This city was the capital of the Kingdom of Siam from 1350 until 1767, and the ruins of that old city form the Ayutthaya Historical Park, a UNESCO Heritage archaeological site that contains palaces, Buddhist temples, monasteries, and statues.

Because I planned to catch an overnight train at the end of the day to travel to Chiang Mai and had my large travel backpack with me, I booked a bed at the cheapest hostel near the train station (160 thai baht or $5 for a night) so I could drop off my bag during the day while exploring the archaeological site.

The three of us hopped on a 10am train in Bangkok that was meant to get us to Ayutthaya around 11:30, but which actually got there closer to 1pm.

When we arrived, I checked into the hostel and we asked the staff working there what the best restaurant was nearby. After we dismissed their suggestion of the 7/11 down the street (A joke? A mean characterization of foreigners? I’m still not sure), we were pointed next door to what can only barely be described as a building. We investigated the menu (exclusively written in Thai until one copy was procured with pictures and rough English translations), and we decided to try it out! Justin and I ordered pad krapow, his with pork and mine with chicken, and Sabrina got pad see ew. I know I’ve already written crazy high praise of the foods I’ve eaten on this trip, but this was the best meal so far. The woman took our orders by watching what pictures we pointed to on the menu, and then she started pulling out fresh ingredients and made each of our meals in her outdoor kitchen one by one.

The aromas! The flavors! The textures!

We were initially going to rent bikes to travel around Ayutthaya, but because of our late start, we hired a tuk-tuk driver for the day instead. This would have been the way to go regardless, as the scale of the site and the heat of the sun would have made cycling around ineffective and exhausting. Our driver brought us to the most impressive ruins on the site, and then dropped us off at each one so that we could explore them at our own pace.

I honestly do not know too much about each of these ruins individually. I just know that they are extremely impressive and quite beautiful, so I’m just going to post some highlight photos from the day. (There’s a photo of people riding elephants in there. I don’t condone this behavior, but I do think it’s important to show photos of what’s really happening around us.)

When we had spent about 5 hours exploring the ruins, Sabrina, Justin, and I thanked our driver and went back to the hostel to order some beers and play cards at an outdoor restaurant/seating area.

Because the other two were headed back to Bangkok while I was going north to Chiang Mai, we said our goodbyes (with promises of visits to both London and New York to get together again!), and they boarded their train south.

Because my train wasn’t going to leave until 11:30pm and I was already at a restaurant at a hostel, I had a dinner of panang curry and then went upstairs for a nap.

When I awoke, checked out of the hostel, and walked across the street to the train station, I discovered it packed with grumpy foreigners. Apparently, a train had derailed just outside of the Bangkok train station, and no trains were able to leave the station for hours – resulting in train delays across the country. I found a tour group who had been waiting for their 9pm train to Chiang Mai for a couple of hours so far, with the expectation that it would actually depart around 1am. At this point, I transferred my ticket from the 11:30pm train to the earlier 9pm train (even though I did this at 11pm), and immersed myself into that tour group. We’ve taken some trips to 7/11 for drinks and snacks (OKAY, HOSTEL DUDE, YOU WERE RIGHT), and we’re currently waiting for a train that we’ve been assured will arrive by 2:30am.

If nothing else, it gave me time to write this blog post. The next update will come from Chiang Mai! …whatever time I get there tomorrow.