One more night, one more beer!
Having had our plans of beach fun squashed by a lack of transport (we could've got a bus, but we didn't fancy the long journey), we came up with a new plan. We would head to Ayutthaya - this used to be the capital of Thailand too and, like Sukothai, homes many ruins.
I'll be honest, I'm loving Thailand but I am so over this whole culture thing! Temples and ruins are nice, but I'm bored of them now. I'm sorry Thailand, your people are what makes me love your country, not your temples!
So yeah, we got to Ayutthaya by train. This time we took a standard 3rd class train for 15 baht each... that's 60p for both Chris and I to venture 2 hours up the train line to a historic site... can't imagine that kind of value in many places back home.
When we arrived, we phoned our guesthouse and arranged to be collected by the lovely Gina and Samsdee, the hosts. They made the stay so enjoyable. We had booked 3 nights like Sukothai - 1 to get there, 1 to go see ruins, and 1 to get out again. That didn't happen. Let me just explain a little about Samsdee. She is one crazy older Thai lady who is both lovely and scary at the same time! When she's had a few to drink she's very loud and shouts "One more beer, one more night!" most of the time, as well as singing random songs at boys with appropriate names that fit into her lyrics. Initially I thought this was quite amusing but didn't really get the relevance.
In the evening we were about to go for dinner when Samsdee grabbed us and demanded we not leave - they were going to have a BBQ. So we figured we'd give it a go. There were lots of other backpackers there too. As the night went on, everyone was getting a bit merrier, including Samsdee (not me - I don't like beer and aside from really strong whisky and a lack of diet coke, that's the main tipple out here). We ended up heading to a local bar where a Thai band were playing some live music (tacky covers of typical western hits). It was a good night, but we didn't get back til the wee hours of the morning. As a result, the saying "one more beer, one more night" was beginning to ring true.
We ended up booking an extra night as we had to write-off the next day thanks to the late night! This was probably just as well. Despite not drinking, I was the one who ended up horribly ill again, being sick into a 7-11 bag in the middle of the street this time. Doh! I had had two rather sweet apple drinks plus a big Thai lunch, so I think that plus the heat did not agree with me.
All in all, great place.
I'll be honest, I'm loving Thailand but I am so over this whole culture thing! Temples and ruins are nice, but I'm bored of them now. I'm sorry Thailand, your people are what makes me love your country, not your temples!
So yeah, we got to Ayutthaya by train. This time we took a standard 3rd class train for 15 baht each... that's 60p for both Chris and I to venture 2 hours up the train line to a historic site... can't imagine that kind of value in many places back home.
When we arrived, we phoned our guesthouse and arranged to be collected by the lovely Gina and Samsdee, the hosts. They made the stay so enjoyable. We had booked 3 nights like Sukothai - 1 to get there, 1 to go see ruins, and 1 to get out again. That didn't happen. Let me just explain a little about Samsdee. She is one crazy older Thai lady who is both lovely and scary at the same time! When she's had a few to drink she's very loud and shouts "One more beer, one more night!" most of the time, as well as singing random songs at boys with appropriate names that fit into her lyrics. Initially I thought this was quite amusing but didn't really get the relevance.
In the evening we were about to go for dinner when Samsdee grabbed us and demanded we not leave - they were going to have a BBQ. So we figured we'd give it a go. There were lots of other backpackers there too. As the night went on, everyone was getting a bit merrier, including Samsdee (not me - I don't like beer and aside from really strong whisky and a lack of diet coke, that's the main tipple out here). We ended up heading to a local bar where a Thai band were playing some live music (tacky covers of typical western hits). It was a good night, but we didn't get back til the wee hours of the morning. As a result, the saying "one more beer, one more night" was beginning to ring true.
We ended up booking an extra night as we had to write-off the next day thanks to the late night! This was probably just as well. Despite not drinking, I was the one who ended up horribly ill again, being sick into a 7-11 bag in the middle of the street this time. Doh! I had had two rather sweet apple drinks plus a big Thai lunch, so I think that plus the heat did not agree with me.
Anyhow, Chris and I have been travelling together for about 4 months solid now. In that time we've lived in others pockets quite exclusively. Not always out of choice, it's just not been the easiest environment for social gatherings. Samsdee changed all that for us. When we arrived we were shown to our room and then we headed out for some food (initial impressions weren't great - the first place we found spoke NO English, we couldn't even get them to understand we wanted a drink, so ended up with chicken and rice). But other than our initial bad choice, the people we met and the atmosphere at our guesthouse in Ayutthaya made our stay there really worthwhile. We also visited the ruins, but they'd all started to look the same to me again, plus the bikes we rented this time weren't so good (only 1 brake and that didn't work)!
I could take or leave Ayutthaya itself, but if you ever go to Thailand and need some new friends, go stay at Moradok Guesthouse. They look after you well and force everyone to socialise! Our new friend Will had only planned to be there for a few days, he ended up being there nearly a whole week. Poor guy got an eye infection, and the ladies at the guesthouse took him to the hospital to get treated.
All in all, great place.
posted by wobblepop at 10:08 am
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