Thailand's Old Capital City of Ayutthaya

		Thailand's Old Capital City of Ayutthaya
e-mail Charlie Jones "Go and look behind the Ranges-something lost behind the Ranges. Lost and waiting for you. Go! " --- Rudyard Kipling A Photo Montage of the old capital city of Ayutthaya Although I have been here several times before and have enjoyed each visit immensely, the pronunciation of the name for this city always throws me as it is pronounced nothing like its English spelling. The easiest way to remember it is to pronounce the first 'A" as in 'another', followed by a long 'u', than a sound that is similar to 'thai' and than a final syllable like the first 'a' sounding like the 'a' in another, or 'a''u'thai'a'. Pronounced that way, you will be able to get where you need to go! Verse 9 of the Tao Te Ching WITHOUT EXTREMES The cup is easier to hold when not filled to overflowing. The blade is more effective if not tempered beyond its mettle. Gold and jade are easier to protect if possessed in moderation. He who seeks titles, invites his own downfall. The sage works quietly, seeking neither praise nor fame; completing what he does with natural ease, and then retiring. This is the way and nature of Tao.		After leaving 'Dream World', the 4 loaded buses of students, teachers and parents made their way north to what I assumed would be a mid-afternoon arrival back at the school in Sapphaya. As usual, I was wrong, and I soon noticed we weren't heading back the way we had come and it became apparent (to my happy surprise) we were heading into the old Thai imperial capital of Ayutthaya after we crossed the Sapphaya River and entered town. As I am a bit of a buff on ancient cultures, it was a pleasant surprise to once again have the opportunity to pass by the old Chedis and temples of the old city but it was even a greater surprise to shortly discover we were pulling into the parking lot of the ruins of the ancient capital! Not really having any instructions as to how long we would be here, I immediately exited the bus and headed through the required market area of tourist junk and headed straight for the temple Phra Mongkhon Bophit, which houses the largest bronze Buddha image in Thailand, standing 12.45 meters high and 9.55 meters wide. This Buddha image is seated in the position of subduing mara, and is found on the west side of the old palace compound in the 'Vihara' of the temple. The image is believed to have been constructed in the early Ayutthaya period between 1448 to 1602 A.D. and was originally found at the east side of the old palace compound. Later, during the reign of King Song Tham it was moved to the west side and a 'Mondop' was built to shelter it. During the reign of King Phra Chao Sua (1706 A.D.), the top part of the Mondop and the head of the image were damaged by lightning. the Mondop was converted into a Vihara and the main restoration of Phra Mongkhon Bophit was completed during the reign of King BoromaKote (1742-1743 A.D.) During the fall of the Ayutthaya Kingdon in 1767, the rood of the Vihara was damaged by fire and the head and the right arm of the image were broken. Later, the image was repaired and the Vihara was completely restored again in 1956. On the 23rd of March in 1990, the Supreme Patriarch presided over a candle lighting ceremony in front of the image and announced that people could honor the image by covering it with gold leaf. H.M. Queen Sirikit auspiciously paid homage to the image and donated 70,000 Baht to the restoration fund. This started the temple's efforts to cover the image with gold leaf by the queen's 60th birthday. Ajarn Pannalai, English Department Head, with her teachers and students entering the temple. As I watched my students and fellow teachers making their way into the temple and making their prayers, I made my way away from the image and headed further along the ancient wall, followed by 5 of my students who just couldn't seem to go far enough, fast enough! To put it mildly, they were excited and it made my heart soar to watch them and their excitement. As I am a 'foreigner' here, I needed to pay an entrance fee to reach the burial tombs of the Thailand's kings located inside the wall. At 30 Baht, this was no great expense and noticing how well things were maintained, was actually well worth the fee for such a cause. I noticed a rather large art class sketching the ruins as we moved from ruin to ruin and was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the work that was underway. I only wish I had such talents and time for what has to be an immensely enjoyable endeavor! The boys and I were moving pretty fast around the grounds and one of the more mature ones motioned to his watch we needed to go back to the buses. After a few more photos and a few more ruins, we got back to the parking lot and noticed most everyone coming back to the buses loaded down with bags of food or trinkets from the market. One popular item seemed to be a small, wooden sword that I had noticed as I went quickly though the market as well as large, brightly colored plastic flowers . After having to wait a bit to collect some stragglers, we departed the old city at 3:30 PM, once again heading north to Chai Nat and home. It wasn't long before I noticed sleeping heads around me but this didn't last for long as the music got cranked up and the buses' interior 'party lights' started to flash...followed by dancing in front of the bus, in the middle aisle and in the rear bench area! It was time to party and the adults seemed to be doing most of it. I hope you enjoyed my adventures with the children. As always, stay safe and may the Gods be with you! Peace Charlie

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Charlie Jones
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