On a recent visit to Ayutthaya I called in at the intriguing Wat Niwet Thammaprawat.

Built during the reign of Thailand’s King Chulalongkorn Rama V (1853 – 1910), Wat Niwet Thammaprawat is one of the country’s most surprising temples. From the outside, the building looks like a Gothic Christian church and there are few clues revealing that it is actually a Thai Buddhist temple.

Inside, the ornate décor continues the Christian style but with Buddhist imagery. The colourful stained glass windows include an image of King Chulalongkorn in royal attire.

For visitors who enter the beautiful temple it is a strange experience that plays with preconceived notions of religious imagery and its context.

The way of reaching the temple is equally unique. It is located on an island in the Chao Phraya River which is spanned by a small trolley-like cable car. Ring a bell and monks will bring you across. A visit to Wat Niwet Thammaprawat can also be tied in with a trip to Bang Pa-In Palace which lies on the opposite bank.

A must on any travel itinerary, the UNESCO World Heritage town of Ayutthaya is just 86 km (53 miles) north of Bangkok. In recent years, the town has flourished on the back of increased domestic tourism and there a great choice of small resorts and homestays plus excellent restaurants. If you are a bit of a culture vulture and looking for a couple of nights escape from Bangkok, it’s hard to beat.  

After Sukhothai, the town is considered Thailand’s second most important historical site and is scattered with ancient temple ruins and imposing Buddha images.

While in town for Khao Phansa, I had the opportunity to revisit a handful of temples including one of my favourites, Wat Yai Chai Mongkol.

Built in 1357, it features an enormous chedi and many enigmatic Buddha images.

I arrived just before dusk to catch the warm evening light and to photograph the candlelit procession.

Last week I was in Ayutthaya for Khao Phansa, the start of Buddhist Lent. Often referred to as the rainy season retreat, it is a period when monks remain within the temples and devote themselves to study and meditation.

This starts on the first day of the waning moon of the eighth lunar month in July until the fifteenth day of the waxing moon of the eleventh lunar month in October, known as Ok Phansa. This year that’s July 22 until 19th October.

At the small klong-side village of Lad Chado, a 40-minute drive from Ayutthaya, Khao Phansa is celebrated with a colourful floating procession in which candles and Buddha images are taken to the local temple.

There’s an air of celebration about the event and the entire village gets involved. This year it was promoted by the Tourism Authority of Thailand and attracted hundreds of visitors from Bangkok.

I also spent an evening at old temples in Ayutthaya photographing candlelit processions, and tak bat dok mai or floral almsgiving at a temple in Saraburi. More on those later in the week. I was at the events with Richard Barrow who is an invaluable source of information on events in Thailand.

I have just returned from a long weekend in the town of Ayutthaya, one of the most culturally and historically interesting towns within easy reach of Bangkok. Thailand’s former capital is a must on any travel itinerary.

Once praised by foreign emissaries as the finest town they had ever seen (at least according to Tourist Authority of Thailand it was), today many of the ancient ruins have now been encroached upon by the new town resulting in a typically ramshackle Thai approach to preservation. Indeed the site was given UNESCO World Heritage status but I heard that this may be at risk due to the over commercialization of areas within the park with souvenir stalls and so on. The town certainly does get overrun with foreign and local tourists eager to buy the tat on offer but I see no reason way it can’t be kept away from the temple sites. But this is Thailand after all – the land that never let heritage get in the way of making money…

Ayutthaya was founded in 1350 by King U-Thong. During the 14th and 15th centuries the Thai kings of Ayutthaya had built the town with three palaces and over 400 temples. By the mid-16th century Ayutthaya was sacked by an invading Burmese army and, along with Lanna in north Thailand, came under their control.

 Although Thais regained control of both areas by the end of the century, the Burmese invaded Ayutthaya again in 1767, fighting and winning a fierce two-year battle. Many of the temples were destroyed.

Situated approximately 86 kilometres from Bangkok, Ayutthaya can be reached by car in little over an hour, by train in 90 minutes (in theory at least. My trip on the way there took three hours), and by river.

You can see a few more images from Ayutthaya in the Thailand gallery.