History Lesson

Friends, followers, admirers, devotees, and dreamers... this was the best weekend yet. After a long, tiring and stressful first week of teaching I was ready to get as far away from school as I could. Far away turned out to be about 2 hours northwest, but my goodness, was it ever far enough. It all started when I took a bus up to the province above me, Suphan Buri, to meet up with my friends who I had not seen since orientation. We had a quick catch-up and then we hit the road. A private van we hired picked us up and off we were to Ayutthaya, the ancient capital of Thailand, which fell as the Southeast Asian superpower a little more than 300 years ago. A seemingly ordinary ride quickly took a sharp turn towards awesome when the driver turned off the lights, cranked up the music and turned on the party lights. That's right, we had a mini dance party in a van cramped tight with 9 people. Flashing disco lights, techno, fun times and the occasional cheese and cracker quickly ensued and lasted until we arrived at our destination.

We stayed at a beautiful home-stay called Baan Are Gong which was right on the river that surrounded the island of Ayutthaya. We checked in, unwound, jumped on the bed, and had a nice dinner along the river. We awoke the next morning ready for fun, ready to learn about the history, ready for anything. We went to Wat after Wat after Wat, each one in ruins, each one amazing to admire. I couldn't help but think to myself how magnificent this place must have been in its heyday. The things that went on here, the battles that were fought when the Burmese tore it down. Many important decisions of Thailand were made here, and many important people of Thailand made them. It's strange to think that now this

ancient and strong capital is relegated to a tourist attraction, full of people and their cameras, snapping away.

The day ended as we relaxed at the foot of the final Wat we went to, hanging out and taking mid-air jumping pictures (my new favorite thing to do), and watching the sun set. Later that night, we had dinner at a market, and then took a boat ride around the island and saw some of the Wats lit up with dramatic light, something I won't soon forget. My camera wasn't working well with the darkness and the swift movement of the boat. It didn't matter though, I put it away and just admired the wonderfully lit Wat's for their pure magnificence, and it was kind of nice not clicking away at my camera. I was a mere observer looking at them, but we quickly moved on and I only had the pictures in my mind to remember them.

The next day was short and sweet. We went to 2 more Wats that were located off the island. Highlights include the biggest ancient Buddha in Ayutthaya, and a 7 meter long reclining white buddha wrapped in a yellow fabric.

We ended our excursion at a floating market and munched on the most delicious food that I have had so far in Thailand. However, as all great things do, the trip had to come to an end. We took a bus back to Suphan Buri and said our goodbyes, luckily I will see them all again next week when we go to Kanchanaburi to see the Erawan Falls and go to the Tiger Temple.

Finally, left all alone, I hopped on a bus back to Kamphaeng Saen, and

finished reading "The Lovely Bones," a really fantastic book. When I arrived back to my apartment, I immediately looked at pictures from the weekend and wished we had just one more day there. Many, many good memories that I wish I could relive, but I am excited and ready for the new ones that have yet to come.