After a long van ride we arrived at our hostel in Ayutthaya late at night. We got our room, found some food and went straight to bed. The next day we rented some bikes and rode around the city checking out different ruined temples. I had a really hard time remembering to ride on the left side of the road. The Burmese had come in and destroyed these temples and defaced the stone idols. Only some remain fully intact and many of the buildings have been reconstructed. These temples were all over the city. Each had an entrance fee so we only visited a couple since they are all pretty similar. It was pretty amazing to walk around these ancient temples that had been there for hundreds of years. The photos give the best description.
For lunch we found a little cafe called
At Coffee that offered vegetarian food. The girl that was running the cafe was really nice and friendly. She also spoke English really well. She made some delicious food. Follow the At Coffee link to Dayton's website, WasatchVeg for some more info on the restaurant and food. To take a break from the afternoon heat we decided to head back to our room and have a nap. Our room was as cheap as they come, fan only. We were both just lying there sweating. I was working on a plan for China and experiencing a lot of anxiety about where we should go and what we should do. I took a break and read
The Alchemist. Then I read this line "If he pushed forward impulsively, he would fail to see the signs and omens left by God along his path." These words hit me like a freight train. It was at this moment that I decided to abandon my plans and let the flow of adventure guide our path. We spent Saturday night at the night market, walking around checking out the Ayutthaya nightlife. We found an outdoor cafe with live cowboy music which was awesome. We enjoyed a nice meal and listened to some country rock as we passed the evening before calling it a night. On Sunday we rented some bikes and rode to the outer part of the city to find the church.
On our way there we were passed by a small pickup truck with a bunch of kids in white shirts in the back. We knew we were on the right path and we were led straight there. If it weren't for seeing those kids I'm sure we would have ridden right past the church which was in a rented building. The sign was so small and in Thai, we never would have seen it. It was amazing how welcoming everyone was. It was easy to feel at home in a place that was so far away from our real home. One of the missionaries translated the meetings for us and they gave us some good suggestions for places to eat and which Wats we should see. After church we had another sweltering nap. Dayton woke up in a sour mood which got even worse when he went to fill up his water bottle outside our hostel. There are water bottle filling stations all over Thailand. This one happened to be baking in the sun all day and when Dayton filled his bottle it was with hot water. Doesn't he just look so angry? The center of Ayutthaya is surrounded by a huge moat. We peddled our bikes to the outer part of the moat and came across the Wat that was described to us by the missionaries. This Wat was active and still in use. We spent our Sunday afternoon walking around the temple and admiring the craftsmanship and demeanor of the worshipers. Everyone was so open to us being in their holy places and welcomed us with smiles everywhere we went. Just outside the temple we sat under a tree in the shade for a snack and had a great discussion about religion and the significance of the experiences we were having.
Dayton was then bombarded by a bunch of middle-aged Thai women who wanted to have a picture with him. Once one was brave enough to ask for one everybody in the group wanted one as well. He sat there as each took their turn. I told them we should be charging for these photos. We all had a good laugh and then we headed out. After returning our bikes we went to a park on the edge of the inner city and did some reading and relaxing in the shade. We swung by At Coffee again for some dinner then we walked around the city checking out more Wats. It was even better at night, the weather was perfect and all the Wats were lit up against the night sky. This was a great way to spend our last night in Ayutthaya. Next stop: Sukhothai
In Ayutthaya we lugged our stuff over to another hostel where we were told to meet some other people for a ride to the bus station. We still didn't really know what was going on, but we were handed our bus tickets without paying for them. Part of me thinks that is what the stickers were for but by this time we didn't have those anymore. Somehow, someone there knew we had already paid for our transportation at the TAT office. So we loaded onto the bus and found that the girls that had showed up on the floating house were there too. As we made our way on the charter bus the sun began to set and it seemed to me that were going the wrong direction. I sat there trying to get my bearings for a while when I said something to Dayton. He didn't really seem to care but I started to flip out. I was so afraid that we'd be going back to Bangkok, my least favorite city. I finally asked one of the girls on the bus where they were going and sure enough, we were all going to Sukhothai. We got to Sukhothai and all loaded up in the back of a truck to get a ride into the city. There was one girl in our truck that got dropped off in the country side, she was traveling alone. We never saw her again. The rest of us went to the center of Sukhothai. We found our hostel and settled in for our stay. We spent a couple days in Sukhothai, we rented bikes and rode around more ruined temples. It is very similar to Ayutthaya but in my opinion, Sukhothai is better. 
The entrance fees are cheaper, it's much quieter and there are fewer people. We had a relaxing time there. In one of the sections of Wats, we parked our bikes and played frisbee on the grass. Some of the tourists driving by seemed to be more interested in us than in their surroundings. We also ran into the girls again. We found out they are Canadian and we took a group photo for them on their bikes. It was inspiring to wander the ruins of Sukhothai and breathtaking to behold stone Buddha's that stand taller than my house. I wondered how they would have made such massive figures so many hundreds of years ago. Some of these statues still had incense burning in front of them. People still flocked their to perform religious rites. I also met a photographer from China there. We walked around together for a while and had a good conversation about our travels. One of the greatest things about traveling is not the things you see but the people you meet. This complete stranger and I became instant friends simply because I knew his language. Another great thing about Sukhothai is the variety to the architecture and designs of the Wats. We found one that had an elephant theme and others with many figures of the Buddha. The only way to really experience this awe inspiring place is to go there yourself. Spend a couple days wandering the clear open spaces and admire the beautiful architecture. It's worth every penny.
