Ayutthaya
I've been putting off writing this last blog post because I didn't want my trip to end. But here I am sitting in the Tokyo airport for an insanely long amount of time, so I should probably just get to it.
(I meant this post to be the highlights of my last few days, but the trip to Ayutthaya was so packed full of fun stuff that it was too long to combine with the other stuff, so here's just Ayutthaya...)
On Wednesday, Tara had to help out with stuff for Carson's class, so she got a guide to take me to the ruins of the city Ayutthaya, which was the old capital of the country from 1350 to 1767. The guide was amazing. There was some miscommunication in the emails Tara had with the agency and we thought it was going to be a man, which would have been fine but we were just slightly worried about. However, she turned out to be a woman, which was awesome. In Thai they don't have gendered terms for pronouns, so when they speak English they mix up him/her sometimes. The guide's name was JJ and her English was amazing. Half the time she spoke with an Australian accent, but she was Thai and learned English in Thailand. When I told her I want to be a history teacher she launched into a Thai history lesson. I tried to take a couple notes, but she gave me so much info that there's no way I could remember it all.
Basically, Thailand has had four capitol cities, with Ayutthaya and Bangkok being the last two. In 1767, Ayutthaya was burnt down by the Burmese (current day Myanmar). Afterwards, they moved the capitol to Bangkok and hardly anyone stuck around Ayutthaya, so it remains mostly ruins today. The city was a major trading center, and was at one point the largest city in the world. Most of the reconstructions of what Ayutthaya looked like are based off of foreign visitors' diaries. The Portuguese and Dutch were especially helpful with this. The city center is actually an island with three rivers converging around it. Before it burnt, there was a wall around the island as well, making it even more difficult to sack. JJ said the Burmese has wanted the gold that was said to be abundant in the city. Because of the defenses, they had to lay siege to the city first, so the citizens buried and hid their gold and jewelry before they made it in. When the Burmese didn't find any riches, they decided to burn the city so the gold would be revealed and they could collect it. Many Thai think that much of the gold Myanmar has today was stolen from Ayutthaya, but they have no concrete evidence because all their records, etc. were burned.
JJ took me to Wat Pananchoen outside of the old city first. The temple is still in use and is said to be what the ruins used to look like. While we were there, she had me take 3 incense burners, a candle, and a lotus flower to pray over. She even taught me how to fold the flower before I set it in the offering bin.
After that, we went to Wat Yai Chaimongkol, which is one of the more in tact temples because it lies outside the main island and wasn't part of the burning, so all the damage is from weather and looting. This temple's largest tower was built after King Naresuan defeated the Burmese Crown Prince in battle and won back the kingdom of Siam. It was also the Wat that the kings had to pray at before going to war.
Then we went into the island of Ayutthaya and stopped at Wat Maha That. This Wat was completely flooded for three months about four years ago, so some of the spires were tilted. One of the kings in the time of Ayutthaya (I'm not sure what his name was) was a really big fan of Cambodian style architecture, which is what this temple looks like. Back before the burning, all the temples were painted and stucco'd and covered in gold and jewels, but I think they're striking without all the finery too.
Another cool thing about this particular temple is that the architecture is kind of eclectic. The largest center spire is Cambodian style, while the surrounding ones are Ayutthaya style. I think this temple was the prettiest one I saw in Ayutthaya (and therefore my favorite). Also there are two more towers that face the river that are said to represent two starcrossed lovers. The crown prince fell in love with a woman, but she soon after became one of his father (the king)'s concubines. Somehow, someone told of their love and the king had no choice but to sentence them both to death, although he didn't want to. He built the towers after their deaths to honor them.
(I meant this post to be the highlights of my last few days, but the trip to Ayutthaya was so packed full of fun stuff that it was too long to combine with the other stuff, so here's just Ayutthaya...)
On Wednesday, Tara had to help out with stuff for Carson's class, so she got a guide to take me to the ruins of the city Ayutthaya, which was the old capital of the country from 1350 to 1767. The guide was amazing. There was some miscommunication in the emails Tara had with the agency and we thought it was going to be a man, which would have been fine but we were just slightly worried about. However, she turned out to be a woman, which was awesome. In Thai they don't have gendered terms for pronouns, so when they speak English they mix up him/her sometimes. The guide's name was JJ and her English was amazing. Half the time she spoke with an Australian accent, but she was Thai and learned English in Thailand. When I told her I want to be a history teacher she launched into a Thai history lesson. I tried to take a couple notes, but she gave me so much info that there's no way I could remember it all.
Basically, Thailand has had four capitol cities, with Ayutthaya and Bangkok being the last two. In 1767, Ayutthaya was burnt down by the Burmese (current day Myanmar). Afterwards, they moved the capitol to Bangkok and hardly anyone stuck around Ayutthaya, so it remains mostly ruins today. The city was a major trading center, and was at one point the largest city in the world. Most of the reconstructions of what Ayutthaya looked like are based off of foreign visitors' diaries. The Portuguese and Dutch were especially helpful with this. The city center is actually an island with three rivers converging around it. Before it burnt, there was a wall around the island as well, making it even more difficult to sack. JJ said the Burmese has wanted the gold that was said to be abundant in the city. Because of the defenses, they had to lay siege to the city first, so the citizens buried and hid their gold and jewelry before they made it in. When the Burmese didn't find any riches, they decided to burn the city so the gold would be revealed and they could collect it. Many Thai think that much of the gold Myanmar has today was stolen from Ayutthaya, but they have no concrete evidence because all their records, etc. were burned.
JJ took me to Wat Pananchoen outside of the old city first. The temple is still in use and is said to be what the ruins used to look like. While we were there, she had me take 3 incense burners, a candle, and a lotus flower to pray over. She even taught me how to fold the flower before I set it in the offering bin.
The temple had a huge Buddha statue and columns made out of entire tree trunks. In the room with the large Buddha, the walls had small holes with tiny Buddhas in each. In the other Wats the walls had murals that told stories of the Buddha and other deities. JJ said that right outside this temple, on the river, was where a huge trading post was.
After that, we went to Wat Yai Chaimongkol, which is one of the more in tact temples because it lies outside the main island and wasn't part of the burning, so all the damage is from weather and looting. This temple's largest tower was built after King Naresuan defeated the Burmese Crown Prince in battle and won back the kingdom of Siam. It was also the Wat that the kings had to pray at before going to war.
Painting of King Naresuan and the Crown Prince of Burma fighting on elephants and the tower he built to commemorate his victory.
All temples with Buddha statues lining the walls (there's no walls here because they're ruins, but they were there) are from the Ayutthaya period.
Then we went into the island of Ayutthaya and stopped at Wat Maha That. This Wat was completely flooded for three months about four years ago, so some of the spires were tilted. One of the kings in the time of Ayutthaya (I'm not sure what his name was) was a really big fan of Cambodian style architecture, which is what this temple looks like. Back before the burning, all the temples were painted and stucco'd and covered in gold and jewels, but I think they're striking without all the finery too.
This is a different temple that we could see from inside Wat Maha That, but this spire was restored. There are lots and lots and lots of temple ruins on Ayutthaya because people believe that helping to finance a temple, either in your name or for a loved one who has passed away ensures that they (or yourself) will go to heaven.
This is a Buddha head that a tree has grown around. JJ said that the legend here is that thieves were trying to steal the Buddha head because they were worth a lot in Europe, but the spirit of the Wat materialized and scared them into dropping the head and running away. The tree then grew around the head to protect it from other attackers.
Because of all the thievery, the fire, and weathering, most of the statues aren't fully intact. This Buddha was created from parts of the figures found around the ruins of the temple.
These stones signify that the building they are outside is the room where the monks would go to pray and be cleansed before becoming a full-fledged monk. One of these stones represents that it was built by donations from the people, but two means it was built by the king (this one has two).
It started down pouring as we left Wat Maha That, so we took a little drive around the island. JJ pointed out the first Christian church, which was built by the Portuguese. There were many sectors of town devoted to foreign traders, including a Chinatown, a Japanese village, Portuguese, French, and Dutch settlements.
When the rain slowed down we went into our final temple, Wat Chaiwatthanaram. Recently, a Thai TV drama series depicted a woman from our time accidentally time-traveling to Ayutthaya pre-burn. Nearly every Thai person watches the show and they're enthralled with the traditional Thai costumes and how they use the older version of the Thai language in it. The show is an absolute hit, and one of the temples they mention by name and go to in the show is this one. Something everyone loves to do now is dress up in traditional outfits (they don't necessarily have to be Ayutthaya period) and take pictures there. So a bunch of locals got the idea to rent costumes out in stalls across the street from the Wat. There were so many women dressed traditionally and they all looked absolutely beautiful. JJ got me a picture with one of the women, which was super cool.
Another cool thing about this particular temple is that the architecture is kind of eclectic. The largest center spire is Cambodian style, while the surrounding ones are Ayutthaya style. I think this temple was the prettiest one I saw in Ayutthaya (and therefore my favorite). Also there are two more towers that face the river that are said to represent two starcrossed lovers. The crown prince fell in love with a woman, but she soon after became one of his father (the king)'s concubines. Somehow, someone told of their love and the king had no choice but to sentence them both to death, although he didn't want to. He built the towers after their deaths to honor them.
Across the river is the Queen's summer palace.
Amazing. Fascinating. I'm so happy to read these posts---thank you, Lyvia!
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