February 29 - Bang Pa-In Summer Palace and Ayutthaya, Thailand

We departed at 8:00 AM for about a one-hour drive north of Bangkok. On the way we saw what looked to be a replica of London’s Gherkin building. There are tall buildings all over. Nid told us that there are no building restrictions except for the area near the Royal Palace. We proceeded through suburban areas and then through green rice fields. We observed that Thailand seems to have very good roads. We were travelling on mostly divided highway. We then arrived at our first destination, the royal summer palace in the village of Bang Pa-In. Bang means village in Thai.

The summer palace was built by Rama V. He was an ambitious builder from 1879 through 1890. He had previously traveled to Europe and was inspired by the European monarchs’ summer palaces. The current palace is a blend of European, Thai, Chinese, and Cambodian styles. A palace on this site dates back to the Ayutthaya era. The first was built in 1629. After the Burmese burnt Ayutthaya, the site was then not used again until Rama V. The original palace was built from wood and is long gone. Note: Rama V reigned from 1868 until 1910. He had ninety-four children. Fans of “The King and I” would know him as Prince Chulalongkorn.

After we entered, we first saw the European style reception hall with three elephants (but no Indra). 

The king hosted Tsar Nicholas II from Russia here at the palace. He also sent a son to study in Russia, who then married a Russian lady. This act was forbidden but forgiven, and the couple ultimately returned to live in Thailand. Their descendants currently live in the royal compound in the wooden villa. We continued on to the floating villa in the Chao Praya River. This is the same river that flows through Bangkok. It is 360 kilometers long, entirely within Thailand. The floating villa is Thai style architecture with all European decoration inside, except for the teak floor.

After this we walked to an aerial cable car that spanned one half of the river to an island. There were very few people waiting to make the crossing, so it was quick. On the cable car, we were able to view the original floating house that did not look so good. As we crossed the river, Nid told us the story of the death of the queen who was married to Rama V. She died when the boat she was on sank. She did not know how to swim, and to touch a royal was punishable by death, so she drowned. This rule was later changed. On the island, we toured a gothic style Buddhist temple – interesting adaptation of European architecture, not entirely successful.

Crossing back over the river, we continued on to see the royal guest house, where the Tsar actually stayed. There is also a tower where the king studied astronomy and then we saw the royal residence, built in a red Chinese style architecture. This building was closed when the current king, Rama X, became king. No explanation has been given as to why. Actually, we as tourists were not able to enter any of the structures in the compound. Leaving the compound, we saw the national flower of Thailand, a tree called Golden Rain. We also saw a white flowering tree called Ranton, which means unhappy. Thai people do not grow this at home. We passed a bridge with statues modelled after Rome, Italy, and also a nice allee of mango trees. Outside the entrance there is the requisite giant photo of the king. In this photo, he is posing with mistress #5, who is quite beautiful, but “common.” Nid told us that mistress #4 has disappeared entirely.

Lunch was at a nearby hotel with a large buffet style restaurant. The food layout was enormous and delicious. We started with papaya salad and also had stuffed mussels – tasted like Tod Mun. Nid again pointed out a type of banana called the monkey banana, named because it is the monkey’s favorite. Nid taught us the various Thai banana names: keaw means banana, keaw kai means the monkey banana, leb mea nang is the ladyfinger banana, hakmuk was the kind that we had grilled yesterday.
 

After lunch, it was time to visit the ruins of the former Thai capital of Ayutthaya. The city is surrounded by rivers on three sides, almost like a moat. It is a world heritage site, along with the city of Sukhothai. Our first stop was the ruins of Wat Manathat. This is a large site. In the center is a tower which is mostly collapsed, but was built in the Cambodian or Angkor style. It is called the stupa or pagoda. We saw the ruins of the Viharn (big) and the Ubosot behind it. There are also smaller towers which contain the ashes of royal family members. The ashes of Buddha are contained in the central tower. One interesting feature of Wat Manathat is the octagon pagoda, the only one found in Ayutthaya. We also admired a gallery of Buddha images, used, then and now, for the placement of cremated remains. The four towers were for housing the monks. The pagodas all have “windows,” which are not really openings but alcoves for images of Buddha. They are all hollow, and valuables would also have been placed inside. Wat Manathat sits on a one hundred-acre site and was restored in 1956. There is only one building still standing from ancient days. It is a small yellow library with roof intact and no windows.

Ayutthaya was founded in 1351 to be the capital. At its peak, there were 600 thousand residents; today they number 200 thousand. All of the temples of Ayutthaya are in ruins, because the Burmese burned the city in 1767. They targeted the temples for destruction in order to search for the valuables hidden inside the pagodas. After the destruction, the city was then abandoned. Why do we know today so much about Ayutthaya? Because it had been visited by Europeans prior to the burning in 1767. Portuguese people came as early as the late 1500s and settled in the area. There was an ambassador from Thailand to France in the 1600s. As a tribute, there is a “Rue de Siam” in the French city of Brest.

All the ruins that we saw were made from red brick. Nid explained that there are three major styles for pagodas: Thai style with multiple roofs, made from wood; Cambodian, as seen in Angkor, and Ceylonese or Sri Lankan; like domes with points on top. There is also the Chinese style with the seven-step roof. The pagodas are all for tombs. Cambodian or Angkor/Khmer style was very influential in Thailand. Why were there so many temples in Ayutthaya? Because each new king built a new temple complex that would become his burial place in the central pagoda or prang. It was thought the king was also a god. Even today, many Thai people believe this.

We then continued our tour by visiting the ruins next to Wat Manathat, another temple called Wat Ratchaburana, which was smaller. Here the central pagoda still stands and is quite impressive. It was built in the Cambodian style and is thus called a prang. We saw a garuda (half bird, half man) carved on the prang. This creature is a symbol of the royal family. We had also seen more modern versions of the garuda at the Royal Palace in Bangkok. This wat was restored in 1956; originally the mortar used to hold the brick together was made from sugar cane and other materials.

The third site we visited, Wat Phra Si Sanphet was the only royal temple built inside the walls of Ayutthaya’s royal palace. We saw a statue of King Uthong who founded and was the first king of Ayutthaya. He was also the builder of this wat, which was completed in 1351. Because this was a royal temple, there was no residence area for monks. This wat is beautiful because there are three Ceylonese pagodas in a row, built for three different kings’ tombs. Originally, there were also three Thai style pagodas, also tombs, in between, but their wood construction meant that they did not survive. However, you can see where they stood since some ruins remain. 

Next door to this wat, is a modern temple (thirty years old) called Wihan Mongkhon Bophit. It houses an important Buddha image dating back to the 16^th century.

The final ruins we visited was a temple called Wat Chaiwatthanaram. It was built by the king who also built the original summer palace. This wat only dates back to 1630. It was inspired by Angkor Wat and has towers like Mount Meru. The site is very beautiful as it sits on the west back of the Chao Praya River. We saw a Thai style wooden home across the river which was built by the current king for his mother. Then it was time to head back to Bangkok – what a day!

For dinner, we ate at the hotel’s River Terrace, which had a few buffet options, including one with just appetizers, which is what we chose. It was very good, with very spicy and delicious chicken larb.