Travel with us through video and pictures to Ayutthaya, a former capital of Thailand that’s just 90 minutes upriver of Bangkok but feels a dreamy slow-life away.
HELLO, RIVER LIFE. A former capital of Siam, this temple-flecked city just 90 minutes north of Bangkok offers ancient wonders, enchanting culture, unique tuk tuks, a serenity shaped by the tides, tales as old as time, and all the river prawns you’d ever want to eat. Oh, and have we mentioned dessert?
Wat Mahathat, “Temple of the Great Relic,” dates to 1374 and was the center of Buddhism in the Ayutthaya Kingdom. It’s layout might remind you of the temples of Angkor.
A temple of another sort: to sweets. Ayutthaya is famous for dessert and Busaba Bake Lab crafts a tasting menu that, like its architecture, gives local tradition a modern twist.
One of the most prominent symbols of Ayutthaya, for which people travel specifically to marvel at, is the head of a Buddha image entwined in the roots of a banyan tree at Wat Mahathat—but the temple holds many less-known secrets, including a crypt full of relics, gold and artifacts found only 60 years ago.
Whether a fine-dining or finger-licking situation, you cannot travel to Ayutthaya without eating river prawns, such as those so perfectly presented here at Boran Cafe.
A beautiful thing about ancient capitals is that the often have graceful boulevards. Though it dates to 1387, Wat Phu Khao Thong is still an active monastery and the views from the top are spectacular.
While Bang Pa-In Palace has been the summer retreat of the royal court since the 17th century, most of the buildings are more recent, dating to the reign of King Rama V.
“Ayutthaya is surrounded by the river. That’s why people used water transport in the past and it remains elemental today”
-Pasin Danchaivijit, local tour guide
Wat Niwet Thammaprawat, commissioned in 1876 by King Rama V, a famed modernizer, was designed by Italian Joachim Grassi in Gothic Revival style. Though it looks like a Christian church, with stained-glass windows and an altar, it is in fact a temple, with its main Buddha image in place of a cross.
Thailand is famous for tuk tuks but did you know different regions of the country have different styles of the open-air public transport? Ayutthaya’s native design are tuk tuk hua kop, or “frog-headed.”
As a former major trade hub, the city is known for many styles of ceramics. The blue-and-white porcelain was often designed by Siamese artists but crafted by Chinese potters for use in aristocratic households of Ayutthaya.
sala Ayutthaya boutique hotel sits on a bank of the Chao Phraya River, and a stay here provides a true sense of place, from the red-brick walls recalling ancient temples, to the river views, to the edgy work by local artists in the gallery.
In the center of a small city with no big-brand hotels, sala Ayutthaya beckons with its comfortable rooms that feel like a loft-style home.
Get our ultimate guide to Phuket, through the eyes of model, actor and thrillseeker Joseph Angelo, here.
Another sweet speciality of the city, roti sai mai is candy floss wrapped in a rice-paper crêpe. At Roti Kru Nusara, a charming mother-daughter team make the dough and man the griddle, creating stacks of these colorful desserts to-order daily.
At The Artisans—an upscale riverside restaurant that elevates women chefs and forgotten recipes, and was crowned Best Restaurant in the Wallpaper* Design Awards 2022—the dancers of Yha Lhan Follow the Peacock present a traditional performance inspired by a literary work of King Rama II.
T+L Tip: It is an easy drive to Ayutthaya from Bangkok, but we prefer the slow boat, namely the Loy River Song, a truly gorgeous four-bedroom luxury cruiser created by Anantara Hotels and Resorts from a former rice barge. After your private shore excursions, attentive staff, beautiful meals and the serenity of #riverlife await. Read our review on on this dream trip here.
