Getting to Ayutthaya,ancient Thai capital

Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya is the ancient capital of the Kingdom of Siam.
Located about 64kilometres north of Bangkok ,the city is right at the junction of Chao Phraya ,Lopburi and Pak Sak Rivers.
Ayutthaya was the second capital of Siam after Sukhothai and the city has various historical well preserved ruins and has been designated as Ayutthaya Historical Park also recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Some of the temples appeared as backdrop scenes of movie film like Kickboxer,Mortal Combat and Ring of Fire III.
Despite the city's close proximity to Bangkok  about 2 hours away by train,making a day trip is possible but will have time constraint in exploring and savoring the best part of which  Ayutthaya's city has to offer.
It's best to start exploring from early dawn before the late afternoon heat causes temples fatigue.



The cheapest means of transport to get here is by train from Bangkok.
Departure time via Northeastern Line:(Thai time)
Ordinary 339: 05:20am   arrived:-06.44am
Special Express 21: 05:45  arrived:-06:58
Rapid 135: 06:40            arrived:-08:25
Express 75: 08:20am      arrived:09:39am
Express 71:10:05am       arrived:-11:24am
Ordinary 233:11:40am    arrived:-13:06pm
Rapid 145: 15:20            arrived:-16:56
Other departure time:-17:15, 18:35, 18:55,20:00,
                                  20:30, 20:45,21:50 & 22:25.


Upon exiting Ayutthaya's Provincial  train station,backpackers can cross the road and walk left.
Along the way there will be some guesthouses such as Tanrin (Tel:035-245545),
Sabay (Tel:089-1039989),
The Seven Seas
Ayotthaya Riverside Hotel (Tel:035-234873-7)
Krung Sri River Hotel
After ten minutes walk,a short distance nearby KrungSri Hotel is  the stairway to the  flyover bridge to cross the Chao Phraya.There were no ferry nor river crossing boats to the old city.
Walking along the flyover to the other side via pedestrian pathway(left side with traffic flow.) only takes ten minutes.

Walking along the shophouses (Uthong Road)will finally land you in the main city centre where buses to other towns,minivans and the main market square were situated.
Across the Family Mart Superstore will be the night hub of backpackers where there were many guesthouses.
Tony's Place (Tel:035-252578)
Good Luck(owner speak Mandarin) (Tel:089-9251902) 
Chantana Guesthouse
B.J 1 Guesthouse (Tel:035-251526)



 It was the Loy Krathong Festival and Ayuthhaya had a spectacular night celebration of lights and sound at the Heritage Site.

Ayutthaya to Wangnoi Bus.
Distance 23km
Getting more industrialized
Foreign direct investment include factories like TDK,Okamoto,Toyo etc.
Economic transformation has improved the livelihood of the masses.
Honda Ayutthaya Rojana Industrial Park car manufacturer's plant is along Highway 3056 towards the north of the main rail station.

Insight Bagansiapiapi

Chinese temples can be seen in almost every corner of the town center.Many of which belongs to each individual clansmen associations.The most historic one is the Klenteng Ing Hok Kiong where the annual celebration of Go Gwe Cap Lak was being held.Majority of the Chinese here practice Taoism as well as Buddhism.The official records normally states as Buddhist the main religion.


The surname "Soh" Clansmen Temple along Jalan Perwira has been honored to lead this year's Barge Burning Ritual procession.

A school band also participated in this auspicious event.Devotees as well as lion dance troupe from Vihara Sasana  group arrived early to perform prayers at Klenteng Ing Hok Kiong.
Immigration officers from Dumai also took time off to have a selfie in front of the temple.

The procession started from Klenteng Ing Hok Kiong and proceeded to Jalan Perdagangan which is the main business hub ending near an open space where the replica barge would be anchored.This is where the main highlight of the Ritual Bakar Tongkang comes to an end.

The Annual Barge Burning Festival is a national event where top officials throughout Riau Province will be present to officiate the event.

An open air evening of entertainment running till midnight with fireworks display during the Go Ge Cap Lak festival features artistes from Taiwan and Malaysia performing for three consecutive nights.
The main stage was sponsored by a local tycoon whose name was synonymous to the bolts and moulding industry in Indonesia.

Sweet Bagansiapiapi students dressed in traditional Qing Dynasty costume and Japanese kimono were performers during the night concert. 



Lion Dance troupe from the Vihara Buddha Sakyamurni  group with the lead role fan dancer by Roy Murdiono whom I met earlier while at Wisma Srivijaya guesthouse.


Huge joss sticks  donated by devotees from all across Indonesia


The local Malays also came to witness this special celebration.
.
Charming girl students of Gita Spansa school. The Drum Band Gita Spansa students welcoming the Ruler of Riau Province during the Ritual Bakar Tongkang Festival. Jumaidi,an official at the governor's office dressed in Bugis costume. Decorative 'becak' to be use for ferrying dignitaries during the festival.

SMP Bintang Laut,the most popular school in town.Met students Valentino,Vanessa and Feby Cherolina.

SMP Negeri 1 Bangko,an upper secondary national type school has a unique pair of lion at the entrance to the school's block.
Normally you do have a pair of lion in front of Chinese temples but this one seemed strange,must have a historical value behind it.

Masjid Al-Ikhlas,the grand mosque

Apart from the usual pushcart vendors,coffee shop and restaurants in shoplots,most of the food outlets in Bagansiapiapi were operated in front of their dwelling houses.A reflection of original home cooked recipe.
Pricing each at 15,000 Rupiah,the wonton noodles is one such popular culinary.
As for morning breakfast,the signature food of the town is the Nasi Curry.


Famous seafood restaurant in town,Ang Kau Ban Restaurant has been here for generations.


SD Negeri 001 is a national type primary school.
Mandarin language being taught at a kindergarten .and primary school operated by the Pengurusan Kristen Methodist

Colorful batik children garments designed to suit the local taste Made in Bagansiapiapi.


Catholic church St Petrus & Paulus in Jalan Mawar just nearby the main Chinese Temple.
A football stadium in Jalan Sumatera Laut with seating capacity less than fifty spectators.
Motorized trishaw has now being use .

Being invited into Ng Ah Beng's house just opposite Wisma Paradise guesthouse which was my first engagement with the locals.A single storey wooden house sprucing up for this Go Cap Lak Festival.As usual in a traditional Chinese house,the main hall will be the altar with respective deities as well as ancestral tablets.
Traditional Chinese village houses like this is facing extinction with modernization and it will be a great opportunity to still see this in Bagansiapiapi.The people here spoke mainly the Hokkien dialect.   

A handful of street boys could be seen around town where they prefered to use the quiet streets as their playgrounds.They were quite entertaining and do not make a nuisance out of it.
For some folks,earning a living through collecting of recycled goods was part of their daily life after all they also ensured that the streets were kept clean.

Bird nest harvesting buildings were a common sight throughout the town.It seemed that the chirping sound of birds were played through an in house sound system 24 hours a day.The skies was very clear with no sign of swallow birds flying around.Seemed strange as the birds must have preferred to come after dusks and with too many nesting place to choose.Most ideal buildings were those with cemented facade.

Getting out of Bagansiapiapi is very convenient with the availability of many minivans.Permata Bunda is one such service located at the 3rd mile Jalan Pahlawan(which is the main road leading in and out of town)This is the owner of the business who has his family house just behind.
Van departure hours were at 7:30am(to cater those wishing to reach Dumai Ferry Terminal early)
Another depart at 9:30am,reaching Dumai just on time which is the ferry departure time.
Beside his servicing outlet is also the normal Bagansiapiapi to Dumai bus stop terminal.Departure time also 9:30am and is usually packed.Expect many stops along the way as well as loading of consumer goods.