Ayutthaya

Day 4 – June 17, 2016

Friday

The kids were up early (5am) this morning so we headed down to the exercise room for a little workout and then swam. I’m sure the apartment neighbors loved that. Kids swimming and being crazy in the pool at 6am!

We wandered the streets for breakfast, eating noodle bowls and fruit and finally stopping at the 7-11 for Isaac so he could get something he liked. I think he ended up getting plain Lays potato chips and an orange Fanta. That seems like his standard diet here! ;)

People are always trying to touch Mikey: squeeze his cheeks or grab his arm or rub his head or take his picture. At first he was a good sport but now he is getting tired of it. I think he is feeling a little used. Today it was a little scary actually. A guy on a motorcycle drove up close to Mikey on the sidewalk and reached out and grabbed at his shirt and then was kind of circling around him on his motorcycle. Then he parked close and motioned for him to come over. Mikey was freaked out so he wouldn’t have gone over to him but I was glad Calvin saw it and put his arm protectively around Mikey and pulled him in close to him and started walking faster up to catch up with the group. I saw the motorcycle guy out of the corner of my eye but thought he was trying to get us to take a taxi ride so I just ignored him. I’m glad my kids look out for each other.

As soon we got back to the apartment it started pouring rain. We packed our bags, hoping it would clear up before we had to go catch a taxi but it didn’t. We waited outside for a taxi in the downpour. Our raincoats kept us dry but our backpacks got soaked. We had to take two taxis to the train station because we can’t all fit in a Toyota corolla!

Train tickets to Ayutthaya were 15 baht (50 cents). I love trains. They are fun and I like the rhythmic rocking as you glide along the track. These are old trains, like the Heber Creeper. We boarded our train at 12:30 for our 2 hour ride to Ayutthaya. There was a little boy sitting in the row behind us. He sat and watched me color over my shoulder for nearly an hour. I kept asking him if he wanted to color but he would shyly say no. I thought maybe he was watching the kids play video games on the ipad but he was always watching me color. He was probably 8 or 9. I decided I would give my coloring book and colored pencils to him as I got off the train. We nearly missed our stop because we can’t understand the conductor’s announcements in Thai! We grabbed our things and I quickly pushed the coloring book and pencils into his hand. His parents tried to refuse but we ran off the train. The train was just starting to move when I jumped off.

We checked our luggage into the station cloak room and headed out in a tuk tuk to explore the ruins. I actually love exploring ruins. Especially ones you can climb on and explore. So do the kids. They ran all over, jumping and playing “par kour” and never complained even though it was hot and humid and sticky and we went to ruin after ruin for probably 6 or 7 hours. A few popsicles and sodas/waters kept them going strong. Ayutthaya is the ancient capitol of Siam (Thailand) and was likely the largest and wealthiest city in the world at its peak before the Burmese captured and destroyed it in 1767. 

We ate dinner at a little restaurant named Malakor. It was absolutely adorable. I felt like I was eating dinner in the jungle cruise line at Disneyland. There was an old stereo playing 1950s/60s music. The wooden shutters were open to let in a light breeze on the sticky night. It was all teak wood: the floor, the walls, the ceiling, the shelves, the tables. An old, lit-up soda cooler kept all the drinks and the smells from the kitchen were divine.

We were exhausted at the end of the day and everyone crashed on the train station benches while we waited for the Night train to Chiang Mai.

At Hua Lamphong Railway Station in Bangkok.

Hua Lamphong Station.

Headed to platform 7.

I think this is a first for Calvin and Kate! Kira took the train in Europe and Mikey and Isaac have been on the Heber Creeper. 

Ayutthaya

Kate was an awesome photographer today.

Kira playing "peekaboo" with this darling little Thai boy who wanted to play with our kids.

I love this picture because this is what I remember most about today. They love the freedom to run and explore! I think it's pretty fantastic too!

Love this girl!

Our tuk-tuk during daylight hours was pretty awesome. 

But at night....it's quite a party! Our tuk-tuk had party lights and Thai pop music blaring as we drove the streets of Ayutthaya.

Par-tay!

And then they crashed. 

I loved the old-fashioned feel of the Ayutthaya station. Lots of dark wood with gold.

He woke up for a second and thought our train was here so he strapped on his backpack. The second he found out it wasn't our train, he sat right back down and was out like a light. I wish I could sleep anywhere like that!

Catching the night train.

All tucked into our beds on the overnight train to Chiang Mai.