The day after Lopburi, I hopped on a bus down to Ayuthaya. A little harder than the rest of my Thai trip thus far, as neither their English and my Thai were that strong, but I eventually found the bus station. I ended up taking a school bus, which was packed with people, requiring that carry my big bag on my lap. I spent the next couple of hours staring out the window through the shoulder straps of my bag.

Arriving in "New" Ayuthaya, it seemed like a thriving place, heck it even had a McDonalds (Yes, I broke down and had some. As we drove in, I could see old brick ruins strewn in around more modern neighborhoods. Arrive at a strip of guesthouses - "Tourist Alley", and check into Tony's Place (I think he's charging more now that he reviewed so well in Lonely Planet". Ah well, spend $12 a night and treat myself to a nice room.

Ayuthaya was the Siamese royal capital from 1350 to 1767, when it was sacked by the Burmese. I rented a bicycle, and toured the ruins with my waining curiosity. Among other things, I checked out Wat Phra Si Saphet, which has three chedi containing the remains of old kings, as well as Wat Phra Matathat, containing the ruins of an old royal hall, and the Buddha head encased in tree roots, which is sure to make it into the photo album of every tourist who visits here. A Buddha head is a rare find here, as the Burmese destroyed all these icons on their rampage.

I ended up hanging out with Linda (Ned) first night. She was lots of laughs as we roved around trying to find any nightlife whatsoever. She was off to Sukhothai the next day, so I was soon back by myself. I'd seen a lot of ruins in the last week, and felt I needed to take a couple days off old buildings, lest I spoil my upcoming Cambodia trip. Instead, I had a quiet day (it was the 23rd of December), some prepping for Christmas, reading, walking around in the heat, and eating at McDonalds. As I sat with my book on my balcony each morning, all I could hear was "Sawasdee Khrap! Sawasdee-wasdee Khrap!" Turns out I was listening to the Luh Von Ton (sic?), which is the Thai word for this mid-sized black bird that can mimic speech. Weird, what would that be, a mynah?