Ayutthaya

"the pinnacle of ancient Thai history and defined the country's ascendance to regional domination" - Lonely Planet

about an hour outside of Bangkok, this is where Thailand, as it exists today, all started. As Ari just commented "If the Burmese hadn't destroyed this capital, it would be the modern Bangkok and people would tour around and look at the temples and sh*t" (funny enough, they still do that, except there's no skytrain, shopping mall or air conditioning.)

The ancient capital was built at the confluence of three rivers and looks like an island. We rented bikes from our guesthouse and fought our way along narrow streets against the average motorcycle, tour bus and eighteen wheeler. The ruins were all over the city (even one right next to the guesthouse which was poorly maintained and we had mistaken for an abandoned construction site) and in 35C/95F heat we biked/sweated our hearts out and saw as many ruins as we could.

Ari hiding in a patch of shade

Reclining Buddha that used to be housed in a wat. The compound was destroyed by the Burmese

Me, Ari, and Buddha

A buddha head wrapped in tree roots. This is one of the most famous images of Ayutthaya.

Headless buddhas. Far more common, as heads were stolen by looters or destroyed in Burmese attacks against the city.

Having biked for about three hours we headed back to our guesthouse. I was pretty proud of myself that I had managed to steer clear of other vehicles, pedestrians and large gaping holes on the street, but just as we rounded the last corner I lost control and almost took out a lady and her cart of drinks. Luckily, nothing was broken (except my ego) and she only gave me the look of death. I guess it's true though, accidents are more likely to occur within 1 mile of the home.