C25- Ayutthaya & Elephant Bathing

Ayutthaya is one of Thailand’s historical and majestic highlights. The capital of Thailand, then known as the Kingdom of Ayutthaya was a glorified as one of the biggest cities in Southeast Asia and a regional power for 417 years under 33 Kings in different dynasty. The historians believed that King U Thong was founded The Kingdom of Ayutthaya as the capital in 1350, the port city gained by its prime location nearby the major rivers of Chao Phraya River, Lopburi River and Pa Sak River flow around Ayutthaya and into canals which is cut Ayutthaya into different zones and access by boat only. The city of Ayutthaya was the political and economic capital of the Kingdom of Siam and remained powerful for centuries.

The King of Ayutthaya was believed to be a Dhevaraja, a divine ruler or an avatar of the Hindu God Narai. The grand palace was thus built to conform to the imagined layout of Mount Phra Sumeru, believed to be the legendary center of the universe.

However, The King of Ayutthaya stipulated that the King ruled as a Dharmaraja or absolute monarchy, governed by righteousness. He was believed to be a bodhisattva and protector of Buddhism. In and around the island kingdom were more than 400 temples. They included royal temples, built at the order or sponsorship of the King and members of the royal family, those sponsored by nobles and civil servants and those paid for by ordinary people. Traditionally, affluent people considered building a temple a meritorious act, a means to accumulate good karma for their next lifetime. Socially, temple builders gained a lot of prestige. In a way, contributing to the religion served as a redistribution of wealth turning personal assets into communal ones. It also helped create a bond and a sense of belonging within the Buddhist community. Ancient Ayutthaya was filled with Buddhist temples that you will visit some in our tour programs.

As Ayutthaya grew, Ayutthaya people were never short of water so they could produce an abundance of rice. Waterways also created trade routes perfect for exporting their produce, salt, dried fish and more.

Ayutthaya was a major port that served as a hub for international trade and become a major trading and economic hub of Southeast Asia.

Ayutthaya was the center of all kinds of goods whether wildlife, jungle products, minerals or produce from those cities located further inland. India was also a big market for sandalwood. Deerskins were  exported to Japan to make armor, sword hilts and gun scabbards. The bark of spearwood was very popular in the Japanese market, and so was tin and lead. Rice was a major export to China during the late Ayutthaya period.

Ayutthaya was a large market for foreign merchandise, especially luxury goods for the elite, such as good-quality tea, silk, Chinese porcelain, Indian cotton, Persian perfume and rugs, Japanese furniture and swords, and European mirrors. Apart from these, Ayutthaya also imported silver and bronze from Japan, and cannons and small arms from Europe

The prosperity brought peoples of different race and religion into the kingdom. One of the first groups of foreigners to settle in Ayutthaya was Chinese overseas merchants. More foreigners of increasingly diverse origin followed. Ancient maps made by Europeans indicated foreign communities to the south of the island. They identified places that served as residences, places of worship and factories of the Japanese, Malay, Mon, Vietnamese, Chinese, Portuguese and the Dutch. The palace engaged actively in trade itself by reselling goods sent to it as tributes in exchange for labor. It also served as a middleman by setting up a ministry of trade to decide the prices of goods that foreign traders wanted to sell to it. The palace’s sea trade was a major source of revenue for the kingdom.

Even Ayutthaya was more than 100 kilometres away from the sea. Its inner position could be a disadvantage compared to other ports that were closer to the sea. That is why Ayutthaya paid a lot of attention to developing a transportation network along the Chao Phraya River, its main access to the outside world. Many canals were dug to connect the winding curves of the river in order to reduce the distance between the river’s estuary and city itself.

The Kingdom of Ayutthaya reached its apex in terms of sovereignty, military might, wealth, culture, and international commerce in the 16th century, when the Kingdom’s territory extended into and beyond present-day Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar. Ayutthaya had diplomatic relations with Louis XIV of France and was courted by Dutch, Portuguese, English, Chinese and Japanese merchants.

The city was a dominant trade power until 1767 when it was attacked and burned to the ground. Many of Ayutthaya’s wooden structures were completely lost to the fire.

The Kingdom of Ayutthaya was conquered and the city’s magnificent structures were almost completely destroyed by Burmese invaders. The ruins that now remain, many of which have been painstakingly restored in 1991 UNESCO agreed at its meeting at Carthage, Tunisia, to include Ayutthaya in its list of World Heritage Sites for many reasons and one of them is Ayutthaya was a unique kingdom physically, historically and culturally.

The architecture of Ayutthaya is a fascinating mix of Khmer and early Sukhothai styles. Throughout Ayutthaya, architectural heritage reminiscent of the grand past, the 417 years that Ayutthaya reigned as the capital city can be seen. These include exquisite Buddha images, magnificent temples, palaces and forts.  Ayutthaya’s prosperity is evident in its exquisite Buddhist art, architecture, sculpture and paintings some traces of which have remained until today.

The kingdom of Ayutthaya may be no more but the spirit of Ayutthaya lives on as a part of the Thai cultural identity. Each day, a number of people, young and old, native Thais as well as foreign tourists, travel to the Ayutthaya city to pay homage to the sacred legacy and to admire its splendid archaeological remains