Exploring Thailand
World’s Largest City Was There Once
Trip to the old Thai capital, Ayutthaya. The story of the fall in a nutshell
During the 18th century, Ayutthaya, the capital of Siam, was the world’s largest city with a population of around one million people, according to American researcher George Modelski.
The city was located on a river island and surrounded by a massive wall. Its vast area was occupied by splendid temples and palaces. The streets were “large and strait, and in some places planted with trees, and paved with bricks”, writes a French diplomat who visited the city in the 17th century.
The suburbs were populated by numerous foreigners: Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese, Indians, Malays, etc.
The golden age was abrupted when Burmese troops invaded Siam and, after a 14-month siege, managed to capture Ayutthaya in 1767.
Tens of thousands of people, along with hundreds of war elephants and cannons, were engaged in this prolonged battle. Finally, the invaders were victorious by digging tunnels to the base of the city wall and filling them with firewood which they set on fire.
That’s how a Burmese chronicle describes the moment:
A mass of smoke and tongues of fire rose up… …The thunderous sound of the wall’s collapse resounded around the earth and up to the sky. This momentous and immortal event will be known forever until the extinction of the world.
Having suppressed the last resistance, the Burmese started plundering and burning palaces and temples, and massacring the population. The catastrophic defeat led to the death of the King of Siam and the end of the dynasty.
Eventually, the Thai people recovered. They established the capital in the territory of what is now Bangkok, beginning a new period in Thai history.
Nowadays, Ayutthaya is a calm provincial city. The ruins of the old Siamese capital stand untouched on the central river island, turned into a historical park. In 1991, the architectural heritage of Ayutthaya was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list.
You can visit Ayutthaya on a day trip from Bangkok. The journey takes 2 hours by train or bus.
There are multiple locations within the historical park, but I recommend these as the main attractions:
- Wat Mahathat, 50 baht ($1.5) admission fee
- Wat Chaiwatthanaram, 50 baht ($1.5) admission fee
- Wat Yai Chai Mongkhon, 20 baht ($0.6) admission fee
Don’t miss the chance to see elephants walking among ordinary street traffic. You can see visitors riding them on Naresuan Road (map).
To travel around the city, you should rent a bicycle or a motorbike.
You can find cheap offers in an alley nearest to the Ayutthaya railroad station (map). $1.7 for a bike without gears, $9 per day for a motorbike. Be aware that rental bikes tend to be fully booked by noon.
Hope, you liked the story and my fresh images from Ayutthaya! Let me know which image you liked the most. If you’ve been to Ayutthaya, I would love to hear about your experience.
