Day 94: Bangkok, Thailand … Exploring Ayutthaya

Monday, 10 April 2017
At Sea — Gulf of Thailand … En Route to Koh Samui

Stats @ Ship’s Time 9:45p (ICT) … UTC 2:45p (10 April)
Temp: 85.3F (29.6C)
Position: 12.52.36N / 100.32.36E

Bangkok, though, is a rejuvenating tonic; the people seem to have found the
magic elixir.  Life, a visitor feels, has not been wasted on the Thais.
~ Bernard Kalb ~

An early day of sightseeing started with a wake up call at 5:00a; a lovely pink and mauve sunrise around 5:45a; a quickie room service breakfast delivered at 6:00a; and a meeting with the Zs and the Holloways at 6:45a to disembark Insignia and join Air and Mr A at 7:00a for another day of touring.  It was already much too warm and humid.  When Air later checked the temperature at 11:30a, it was 95F (35C), with a “feels like” of 113F (45C).  We topped out at 97F (36C) … I didn’t bother to check the “feels like” at that point … it didn’t matter … it was sweltering.  Nonetheless we persevered and had a great day of sightseeing.

Our destination today was Ayutthaya, the first capital of the Kingdom of Ayutthaya, which was a Siamese kingdom.  It was founded in 1351, becoming one of the biggest and wealthiest in the east in the 16th century.  Two centuries later, it began to lose control of its provinces, and by the end of the Second Burmese War of 1765-1767 it was sacked and gone.

Before reaching the historical park to see the ruins of Ayutthaya, we stopped to visit Wat [temple] Niwet Thammaprawat — a Buddhist temple on the grounds of the Bang Pa-In Palace.  It was built in 1876 on the orders of King Chulalongkorn — Rama V … the eldest son of Rama IV … portrayed by Yul Brynner in the movie King and I.  What makes this temple different from all the others we’ve seen is that if one didn’t know otherwise, one would think it was a Christian church built in the Gothic Revival style.  In fact, many public buildings were built in Western style during the reign of Rama V — a sign of the modernization of Siam into what is Thailand today.

To visit the temple, we had to ride a small cable car operated by the monks and cross the Chao Phraya River to the island on which the complex is located.  Strolling through the nearly deserted grounds, we made our way to the main building, following the morning chants of the monks who were seated on the floor inside the church-like structure.  It was an incongruous scene … but somehow it all worked.  Afterwards, some of us participated in the “bathing Buddha” ritual which celebrates the birthday of Siddhartha, and which, amongst many other things, signifies the purification of the body and mind.

Instead of crossing the river again by cable car to get to our van, we left the temple by boat … similar to the one that took us on a canal cruise in Bangkok yesterday.  Passing by what was once the summer palace of the king, we traveled upriver for about 40 minutes.  The breeze as the boat cleaved through the waters of the Chao Phraya was most welcome and alleviated — to a degree — the effects of the rising temperature.  We passed stilt homes and temples lining both sides of the river … not unlike what we saw in the canals of Bangkok, but set against the verdant green landscape of the countryside.  Definitely much more peaceful.

Our 80-year old boat driver deposited us at the pier for our next stop — Wat Phanan Choeng … an active temple in Ayutthaya that dates back to 1324.  From the pier, we wandered through the grounds of the complex.  Passing the residences of the monks and the kitchens where their food is cooked, we arrived at the wihan [shrine hall] where a special experience was awaiting us.

Entering the wihan, we were faced with a 62-foot (19m) tall sitting Buddha that dates back from 1334 … restored many times over the years since.  Made of brick and mortar, then stuccoed and gilded, this particular Buddha is considered the guardian of mariners.  Legend has it that when Ayutthaya was sacked by the Burmese in 1767, the image shed tears.

On the floor in front of the Buddha, people were seated … some with trays of orange cloth that they were handing to a man.  The fabric they had “borrowed” for the price of a donation was their merit … or offering.  The man would grab the roll of fabric and throw it up to a couple of men who were standing on the Buddha’s lap.  They then draped the fabric on the statue.  After a while, the fabric was unrolled down the Buddha — like streamers —towards the people seated on the floor.  Everyone, including those of us who were seated on the floor, grabbed the end of the fabric, passing it over our heads to the people behind us — the cloth, signifying the golden rays of enlightenment, thus covering us.  After a few minutes, the fabric was yanked back up by the men standing on the statue’s lap, indicating the ceremony was now complete.  I took all this to be a way of conveying the blessings of Buddha upon us.  Everyone then stood up and walked by a monk who was sprinkling holy water, further blessing those in attendance.  It was a special moment in our day.

After circumnavigating the walkway around the Buddha, we moved on to the Ubosot [ordination hall] where three Buddha images sat on the altar — the one in the middle covered with gold.  The walls were decorated with beautiful murals.  But before I could start taking photos, monks — from little boys to young men — started streaming into the hall.  They were garbed in white and carried folded saffron robes.  We took these to be postulants or novices who were going through an initiation ceremony — a phase in their quest to become full-fledged monks.  We stood watching them just inside the door, but soon had to step out to make room for the men as the ordination hall quickly filled up.

From this hall, we moved to another shrine where there were a lot of Buddha images all around the perimeter of the room.  The walls were decorated in what I later learned was the style of traditional Ayutthaya art.  So much detail … so little time.  We took turns giving thanks to Buddha, striking the traditional pose — hands pressed together, head bowed so that the thumbs are positioned between the brows — before ringing a gong three times.  And then it was time to move on.

Our van was waiting for us in the parking lot to transport us to the Ayutthaya Historical Park — which covers the ruins of the old city of Ayutthaya … ruled over by 35 kings from the period 1351 to 1767.   A UNESCO WHS since 1991, restoration of some of the ruins began in 1969.

Our first stop at the park was at Wat Maha That — the Monastery of the Great Relic.  Different versions of the Royal Chronicles of Ayutthaya have different dates of construction, so it is thought that the complex dates back to a period between 1374-1388.  As a religious center in which relics of the Buddha were enshrined and the Supreme Patriarch of the Thai Buddhist monks resided, and also because of its proximity to the Grand Palace, Wat Maha That was considered to be one of the most important monasteries of the Ayutthaya Kingdom.  Thus it was restored several times throughout the reigns of successive kings.  The central prang [tall, rounded pyramid-like structure], which survived until the reign of Rama V, collapsed in 1904.  It is said to have stood 150 feet (46m) tall.  Fifty years after its collapse, a crypt that contained relics of the Buddha was unearthed.  Today only the foundation of the prang remains.

In addition to being such an important monastery, what draws visitors to Wat Maha That is the limestone Buddha head that is entwined in the roots of a tree.  It is well known that the heads of most of the Buddha images here have broken off — some from the effects of time and erosion, others because they were chopped off by the Burmese when they sacked Ayutthaya.  Since the area remained abandoned until the 1950s, it’s possible the head became engulfed by the roots naturally.  Another theory has it that a thief hid the head here after removing it from the main temple in the early 1900s and then failed to return to collect it.  No matter the reason, this particular Buddha image has come to be one of the well-visited ones in Ayutthaya.

Our next stop was at Wat Phra Sri Sanphet — the most important monastic temple in Ayutthaya due to its location within the Grand Palace.  It is the inspiration for the Temple of the Emerald Buddha on the grounds of the Grand Palace in Bangkok.  This wat, built initially as palace, was converted in 1448 to a holy site when construction of the new palace was completed.  In 1499 a vihara [hall of worship] was built and the 53-foot [16m] tall gold-plated Buddha image that was installed here became the main object of veneration.  Only Ayutthaya kings were allowed to worship here, clergy being invited to pray and perform special ceremonies only.  Additional structures were added in the years that followed … as were more Buddha images.  Like Wat Maha That, the complex was restored many times over successive reigns.  When the Burmese sacked the kingdom, they destroyed all but the chedis, removed the Buddha images, and melted the gold so that it could be taken away.  The restored — some partially — structures seen today are the ones that survived the sacking.

The ruins of Wat Phra Sri Sanphet at the Ayutthaya Historical Park.

Our final stop before lunch was at Wat Lokayasutthharam to see the image of the Reclining Buddha, its head resting on lotus blossoms.  Constructed of brick and cement during the Middle Ayutthaya Period, the statue is 121 feet (37m) long and 26 feet (8m) tall.  Certainly this statue was much smaller than the one we saw at Wat Pho yesterday, but impressive nonetheless.

For lunch Air took us to a restaurant overlooking the river.  It was way too hot to sit outside — we needed some relief after wandering around under the brutally hot sun all morning.  The A/C indoors was struggling, but it was better than being outdoors.  Once again Air ordered a selection of tapas sized dishes for us to share — don’t ask me what they were.  They were all delicious, but some of them — such as the green curry chicken — were a little too spicy for my palate.  I washed everything down with a Chang beer.  Mui opted for Thai coffee … his latest passion.

It was 1:00p when we left the restaurant … whose name escapes me.  Initially we were to head straight back to Bangkok and our ship, but Air asked if we would like to visit one last temple.  Despite the heat — we agreed to do so as long as it wasn’t a long wander … it really was much too hot to be outdoors.  In the end, though, we all agreed the stop was very much worth it.

The temple we visited was Wat Chai Watthanaram — the Temple of Long Reign and Glorious Era.  Unlike the others, the ruins of this temple are off the city island.  A newer temple — constructed in 1630 — it was built on the orders of the then reigning king as a memorial to his mother.  It consisted of a central prang, with a smaller prang on each of the four corners.  On the central platform stood eight chedi-like chapels, the interior walls of which were once decorated by paintings, and reliefs were carved on the exterior walls to depict scenes from the life of the Buddha.  Only fragments remain of these decorations.  Nor is there much left of the black and gold lacquer that once covered the Buddha images.  Like the other temples we visited, this one was also not spared by the Burmese when they sacked Ayutthaya.

By 2:00p, we were back on the road — this time continuing the drive without any other stops.  An hour later we were pulling up in front of the port building.  Bidding Air and Mr A farewell, we embarked the ship and went straight to our cabin for a refreshing shower.

It was probably crazy of us to accept Alice and Tom’s invitation to attend the Passover Seder after a hot day of sightseeing, but I am glad we did so.  A refreshing shower did wonders to revive us, and by the time 6:00p rolled around, we were gussied up in country club chic attire to head up to the service that was to precede dinner.  Tom had been working with O for weeks for this special event, and everyone came through with flying colors.

The starboard side of the Terrace Café had been set aside for the seder, with announcements in the Currents requesting reservations be made so that a count could be taken for the event.  Frankly, I was surprised at how many were in attendance.  At our table for four, we were joined by Judy & Ted from Scottsdale, Arizona.  It turned out that we had quite a bit in common with them — not the least of which was that she was born in Israel to parents originally from Izmir, Turkey … where I grew up.

This being our first time at a Jewish Passover Seder, we appreciated having a guide to follow.  The multi-page printout was meant to replace the Haggadah … a book Jews read on the first night of Passover.  In Yiddish, with transliterated text and an explanation in English, this was a shortened version of the text recited at the Seder on the first two nights of the Jewish Passover, and included a narrative of the Exodus.

The 8-day Jewish festival — today being the first day — celebrates Passover as a commemoration of the liberation of Jews by God from slavery in Egypt and their freedom as a nation under the leadership of Moses.  The dinner that followed — as Tom put it — was the “last supper” the Israelites ate before fleeing Egypt.  To the uninitiated — like us — it was an interesting glimpse into the Jewish faith.

No rest for the weary … tomorrow is another port of call in Thailand.

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