I’ve got to remind myself next time that location is everything when I’m traveling. Misguided by the advertised river-side view tagline, I booked a guesthouse that was really out of the way. There’s nothing much in the vicinity. There were a few other guesthouses along the way, some street-side shops and that’s about it. The staff from the guesthouse emerged from the darkness to greet me, and to lead me down a dark gravel alley, then to where my room was. There was something dodgy about the place.
I decided to take a walk down the road to find food for the next morning. There’s no refrigerator in the room, so bread and confectionery was all I could afford to have for breakfast. Was there even any staff manning the guesthouse at that hour? It looked really spooky, when the shut windows block the light from inside the rooms completely so that the entire compound appeared abandoned from the outside. I suspected that I was the only guest there!
And yes, the dogs. I was besieged and barked at by a few hungry ones during my night walk. Fortunately, I looked straight ahead and continued to mind my business, so I didn’t return home with rabies. Most of the dogs I’ve seen are really docile and happy to be left alone. I shall remember to let sleeping dogs lie.
The place was more spartan than I expected. I suspect that they don’t even have bicycles for rental. I shall find out tomorrow. The ruins of Ayutthaya had better make up for these initial discomforts. Here’s what the place looks like during the day. I was sorry to hear from the guesthouse staff that the dark line across the outer wall was an effect of last year’s major flooding in Thailand. Situated just next to the river, this area seems quite badly hit. If the water mark is indicative of the depth of the flood waters, I reckon that it must have been at least 3 metres deep here. I later noticed similar water marks on buildings in the city centre. I later explored the other areas of the guesthouse compound and saw the disrepair brought on by the floods — broken wooden structures, abandoned rooms and disorganized belongings. The place was no where near what it used to be, especially at those areas closer to the river.
By the way, this is the first trip where I had to make so many transfers between modes of transport. To start off, I took a bus from my home to the airport (no thanks to the non-existent taxis), where I took my flight for Bangkok. Upon arrival at Suvarnabhumi, I transferred to the Airport City Line and then to the city’s subway to get to Hua Lamphong Railway Station. Then I took the rather antiquated but still functional train to Ayutthaya, where I took a ferry across the river. Finally, for 60 Baht, I took a tuk tuk to the guesthouse. In one day, I’ve traveled by land, water and air!
