I had planned to escape Bangkok once I returned to Thailand. Three days in the hectic, tourist-jaded, highly commercial capital was not the way to end my time in Southeast Asia. So decide to retreat to Ayuttaya, former capital of Thailand. The main draw for tourists here are the array of ancient temples built between the 14th and 17th centuries. In spite of it being a tourist destination, Ayuttaya does not have near the volume of tourists nor the quantity of tourist-oriented blight of Bangkok.
I'm staying at a place called Promtong Mansion- a very quiet, clean, spacious and quite new hotel with all the mid-range amenities- AC, Cable TV, fridge and private bathroom. No bath but it still has got to be the best deal since the New Park Hotel in Bagan. And best of all there's a swimming pool next door. I plan to take a dip tomorrow.
The city of Ayuttaya is actually an island surrounded by three rivers. It was founded by King U Thong in 1350 AD as the capital Thailand and remained so for 417 years. It was the only internationalized city-state in Asia in the 17th century.
Theravada Buddhism was introduced to Ayuttaya from Sri Lanka. But many of the architectural and even political styles were in and motifs here I can see remarkable similarities to the temples of Angkor Wat in Cambodia.
Ayuttaya's acceptance of the "God-King" -where the monarch himself was viewed as a god- was a Khmer concept.
Since I have just been to Bagan, Myanmar I am making comparisons to the temples there. Both have the heavy influence of Theraveda Buddhism and some animist beliefs. Both were built with brick and stucco during essentially the same time period. But the temples of Ayuttaya are in somewhat worse state of repair. To a certain extent part of their allure lies in the fact that many are crumbling and overgrown with weeds. Still the temples in Ayuttaya are said to represent the broadest range of Buddhist architectural styles- more diverse than Bagan or Angkor Wat.
Though the styles in Ayuttaya vary a lot, the basic elements are included in most of the larger temples. These include the prang, chedi and viharn.The prang is the Thai version of the Burmese sikhara- a corn-cob like tower that is often at the center of a temple. Sometimes there are more than just one prang. The central prang often has three to four porticoes or steps leading up to an entrance. Sometimes the porticoes actually lead up to an altar where a buddha statue sits. Another common element in most temples is the chedi, also called a stupa. These are conical towers that vary in number and size. In Burma these generally have a much broader bell (bottom half of the cone). Thai chedis are more narrow. Temples also uaualy include a viharn or rectangular sermon hall.
Wat Dhamikaraj is a temple that has a row of singha (lions) encircling the principal chedis. Again I recognized the singha as that of some of the ones in Angkor Wat. Some evidence suggests that this was one of the temples destroyed by fire in the second attack of the Burmese on Ayuttaya.
Wat Chai Wattanaram was built relatively late in Ayuttaya's statehood. In that it was built outside the city many feel that it must have doubled as a garrison. Archeological digs have uncovered cannonballs and pieces of cannon destroyed during one of the Burm, later ordered a residential hall be built nearby. He sent his craftsmen to Angkor to borrow ideas from the Khmer architecture.
My personal impression of Wat Chai Wattarnaram was that it was one of the most interesting and intact temples in Ayuttaya. Like many other large temples with lots of prangs and chedis it has become a habitat for a variety of kinds of birds. And one thing one notices at many of these temples is the constant chatter of birds.
But temple-hopping wasn't all I did in Ayuttaya. I got a chance to see some working elephants and to saddle one up. Actually I just hopped on got a few photos taken and hopped off. I opted not to go on the elephant ride. It was little out of my price range.
To sum it up, Ayuttaya was a good way to spend my last days in Southeast Asia. For anyone visiting Thailand who has any interest in it's history, Ayuttaya is a must.
By the way just for fun I just dug up this poem I wrote after my visit to Ayuttaya in 1988. It's called Restoration:
Thailand
outskirts of Ayuttaya
rubble of Babel
decays
while reaching
to grasp
nirvana
Tumble-down
temple prangs
and chedis
shift
to become one
with the earth
Laborers cover
their eyes
from the sunlight-
cover the meaning
with the mortar
of reverence
“Buddha with
bodhi tree
sprouting
where its head
should be”
Meditating
he seems to
smile
though he has
no face
As he offers
though he has
no hand
And I have
received
though I have
no gift
Tomorrow a worker
will snip
the growth-
replace it
with a head
filling in
the past
No comments:
Post a Comment