ayuthaya

I've now left Bangkok and am on my way to Chiang Mai in the far north of Thailand. It's a bloody long train journey - I found that out the hard way in 2004 when I endured the 12 hours on a third class service with no windows or air conditioning. So, on this occasion, I decided to break the trip up with a short stop-over in the ancient city of Ayuthaya, which is a World Heritage Site 78km outside of Bangkok.

I caught a cab from my hotel to the train station, and bought a ticket for the 90 minute train journey for the equivalent of 30p. The heat was intense as we slowly meandered our way out of Bangkok's sprawling suburbs, and I can't say I was particularly gutted to be leaving. Almost as soon as we entered the green countryside outside of the city I felt better, as if I was leaving the tiredness and sickness I had felt for much of the time since Thursday behind.

I was looking forward to my afternoon in Ayuthaya, which Lonely Planet bigs up as a place full of 'historic ruins from a golden age'. I don't know who writes these fucking books, but my only advice to anyone planning on visiting this place is to not bother. It is depressing, dirty and desolate. There are a few decent temples to see by the river, and some impressive ruins, but none appear any more attractive or interesting than those you will find in a multitude of other destinations in Thailand. And the drains stink to high heaven.

The temperature rose to the mid to late 30s today, which given the seeming lack of anywhere decent to kick back and relax made my little stop-over even more unpleasant. In the end I caught a tuk tuk to one of the nicer sounding hotels near the river, where I was at least able to have as decent meal in a restaurant away from the oppressive heat. After a bit of a meander round a temple, I caught another tuk tuk to another riverside hotel, where I did enjoy a relaxing couple of beers as the sun set.

My few hours in Ayuthaya were a bit of an eye opener. Sometimes it is easy to think Thailand is a paradise destination where plentiful pleasure can be accessed for a relative pittance, but my time spent in this town showed me how harsh life can be living in this country. People spend every day in incredibly harsh heat, scraping for every last bhat to make ends meet. I can't say I'm disappointed to be leaving here tonight. Nor will I be seeking the advice of Lonely Planet for any travel advice again on this holiday. Still, I'll be in Chiang Mai by the morning - a place I know oozes charm.