For a few hundred years, Ayuthaya was the capital of the Kingdom of Siam. Strategically located on an island in the confluence of three large rivers, however the ground seems to be rather unfavourable for construction: many of the brick-built walls, columns and stupas are so tilted that it is a wonder they are still standing. Others have not survived the centuries as well, only a pile of bricks remains. Some of the ruins are downright romantic, like that famous Buddha head surrounded by the mighty roots of a tree. The modern city around it, however, is a somewhat unattractive contrast…
A huge, gilded Buddha sits in a temple. Men dressed in white climb around on his lap like tiny ants to ritually change the saffron-coloured robe. Strips of cloth tens of metres long are manoeuvred back and forth in the temple….
