We leave Kanchanaburi in the morning, with No and Toto, driving back towards Bangkok, skirting its outer fringes to head north. Our destination is Ayutthaya, the ancient capital of Siam for 417 years (1350-1767 A.D.) and one of the most important trading centres in the whole of Southeast Asia. 

Situated by the Chaopraya River in the central region of Thailand and surrounded by water, it became a hub for trade in Southeast Asia, where East met West developing contact between the Siamese, Chinese and Japanese with merchants and explorers including the Portugese, Dutch, French and English. As a result the Kingdom of Ayutthaya became fabulously wealthy, and Buddhist art flourished at the royal court.

As we travel, the roads are uncommonly quiet, with most Thai people spending their New Years Day at home with their families. It also means our first stop is thankfully free of crowds. Just outside Ayutthaya lies Bang Pa-In Palace, the royal family’s summer retreat, which was originally built in the mid 1600s by King Prasat Thong, the 25th ruler of the Ayutthaya dynasty. It burned down when Ayutthaya was destroyed by the Burmese but just over a century later King Rama V rebuilt it, influenced by the styles of the European palaces he visited in his youth. 

Up until eight years ago many of the palace rooms were open to the public, who were able to marvel at the opulent interiors and exquisite antiques, but when King Rama X acceded to the throne, he shut them all to non-Royal visitors and we are now only allowed to view the gardens and the palace exteriors. They are beautiful, and it’s a pleasure to stroll through the manicured lawns and across little bridges, looking at the pagodas and buildings and admiring the grounds. 

As we walk around we learn more about the current king, and the four marriages he has had, as well as his various children from each marriage and the debates about the royal succession. “It’s complicated,” says Toto diplomatically, when we ask what will happen when King Rama X dies, particularly as his father was revered and loved by the Thai people in a way that the upcoming generation do not seem to share. 

After our interlude at the Summer Palace, where we also take advantage of the on-site currency exchange to turn a stack of £20 notes into Thai baht, we journey back in time from contemporary Thailand to the ancient wonders of Siam. It’s extremely busy at our first stop, Wat Yai Chaya Mongol, where a never-ending procession of people climb up and down the steps of the imposing stupa. 

Rows of stone Buddhas surround the stupa, many draped with yellow robes in honour of the new year which in the Thai calendar, used by most Thai people, is now 2568, as their calendar is dated from the death of the Buddha, rather than the birth of Jesus. At one side of the stupa’s grounds is a large white statue of the seated Buddha with his disciples around him while at the other end is a reclining Buddha and also the recently restored Ubosatha Hall, originally built in 1357 where the Sangha (brotherhood of monks) gather and which houses a large gold Buddha in front of which many locals are praying. 

The whole temple complex was originally the seat of the Buddhist patriarch in the 14th and 15th centuries and home to a renowned school of Aranyavasi meditation but the great stupa at its heart was built to commemorate the victory of King Naruesan the Great over the Burmese invasion of 1536, when it took the name Wat Yai Chaya Mongol, which means the Great Temple of the Auspicious Victory. Like the rest of Ayutthaya the original monastery was destroyed in 1767 when the Burmese succeeded in a new invasion and burned the Siamese capital to the ground. 

Before heading on to explore some of Ayutthaya‘s greatest sights we stop for lunch which once again, despite the assurances of the food being vegetarian, we find is rather a loose term with pieces of crab hiding at the bottom of the bowl. It has an unfortunate effect later that afternoon when, while we are visiting a temple, an urgent rush to the bathroom is required. Ahead of that unpleasantness however is one of Thailand’s most famous sights. 

Wat Mahatat was founded in 1374 by King Borom Rachathirat I and was the most important temple in ancient Siam, full of many treasures that now reside in the National Museum, as well as a venerated relic of the Buddha. The sacking of the city in 1767 by the Burmese saw it looted and destroyed, along with the huge Royal Palace complex nearby which has almost completely vanished, but which European explorers recorded (and painted) as one of the greatest and most beautiful cities in Asia. Around the site are ruined and charred Buddhas, desecrated despite the Burmese being Buddhist themselves, and the main ‘prang’ (pagoda) suffered further destruction from a huge lightning strike 150 years ago. 

However, the main tourist attraction at Wat Mahatat is not the ruined structures but the sandstone Buddha head entwined in the roots of a sacred bodhi tree believed to have started growing after the destructive fire of 1767. A short walk further on we come to Wat Ratchaburana, built in 1424 with its enormous Phra Prang, which we climb to enter the chamber inside where some of its greatest treasures were housed. 

We hop back into the people carrier briefly and No drives us to Wat Phra Si Sanphet, built some 20 years later, with its famous three chedi - bell-shaped stupas - and whose design became the blueprint for Bangkok’s Wat Phra Kaew and the Royal Palace. We finish with a visit to Phra Mongkon Bophit, a huge and ancient statue of Buddha now housed in a more modern temple but which is currently covered in white tarpaulin sheets as the old coating of gold leaf is being replaced with a brand new exterior. 

Thankfully, with our slightly queasy stomachs still slightly grumbling after our unexpected shellfish escapade, our hotel for the night - the exquisite Iudia - is very close by, and we are given an amazing and beautiful room, with a balcony overlooking the river and ancient pagodas. We go for a refreshing swim in the pool as the sun sets, and then wander down the road to the promisingly named Organic Room shop and restaurant, where with the aid of Google Translate we manage to order a completely plant-based meal, including a kale smoothie. 

Our digestion restored, we have a great night’s sleep to prepare for a very long drive north tomorrow, where remarkable treasures await!