Ayutthaya, Thailand

Tuesday, April 29, 08
Last evening, for dinner, I took a seat in a curbside cafe. A large screen TV is blaring British soccer. On the screen are 5 geckos chasing each other around. Plop, onto my table, from somewhere above, their small cousin falls across my menu and scampers off.
Awaking, this morning, I have made up my mind. Instead of staying here for another night, I will take the night train to Chiang Mai. A tuk tuk ride and I'm at the train station. I ask for directions and buy an overnight ticket. Departure is 7:21 PM. Arrival is 7:15 AM - Car 4, Seat 33.
Most often, I have no breakfast. But today, I am sitting at Tony's Place and am enjoying a continental breakfast. It's a large guest house and outdoor restaurant which caters to Westerners - inflated prices. Breakfast is coffee, banana, pineapple, melon, and 2 slices of toast with jam for 80 B ($2.50). I know, I know, it isn't much money. But, for Thailand, it's inflated.
Packed, bags left in the lobby where I'm staying, Baan Lotus, I walk to the one section of ruins I have saved for today- Wat Phra Si Sanphet. Walking to the complex, built in the 1300s, I marvel at the craftsmanship which allows it to stand, as much as it does, after being sacked and burned by the Burmese in 1767. The Ayutthaya Island was home to 400 temples, plus royal residences. The island city is surrounded by three rivers and connecting canals. Wat Si Sanphet was used for important royal ceremonies and once housed a towering 16 meter high standing Buddha covered with 550 lb. of gold, which was melted down and taken by the Burmese conquerors.
Sitting on a raised floor of brick, shaded by a bodhi tree, roots disappearing into the floor, I'm trying to cool off. The three bell-shaped chedi (stupas), in my view, epitomise the quintessential Ayutthaya architectural style. I've been here a good while people watching and listening to the birds. A breeze picks up as clouds hover overhead - heavenly.
I choose a tuk tuk to return me during the afternoon heat. I argue the driver to 40 B from 100. He drops me off half way. I should have paid him half, but don't. When ordering a drink, I get what they have rather than for what I ask. This is all part of the system.
Calling John, the Brit I travelled with in Malaysia, we agree to meet over the weekend in Bangkok and plan our Cambodia time.
Potpourri:
-I hear a sharp and continual whistle blowing and look to see a parking attendant halting traffic for his patron who is backing into traffic. Give a man a whistle...
-My malaria prophylaxis, Doxycycline, is causing a burning stomach, even with eating. Drugs are so cheap, I may switch to a different choice in Chiang Mai.
-Also in Chiang Mai, laundry service will be a must.
-Since landing in Thailand I have a new name - Larry The Illiterate. In Malaysia, PNG, Indonesia, Australia, the alphabet was Roman. Always, I was able to read the sign: Street, city... Not so here! I am uncomfortably illiterate.
-Unlike in the States, there are no rules about walking among the ruins. I am allowed anywhere and everywhere. Also, noticeably, no graffiti.
-Thailand is remarkable in that it has never been colonized. And yet, the infrastructure is solid and maintained. No colonizing nation left it to them. They have built it themselves.
Ayutthaya pics: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/musungi/AyutthayaThailand