05 May 2016

Thailand Street Food Tour ~ Ayutthaya

Ayutthaya isn't far from Bangkok, but feels a world away.

Do you know that feeling when travelling of arriving at your destination, walking out of the train station and just really not knowing where to go? The way we deal with it, and the taxi drivers hassling you, and the brewing indecision, is to walk off to have a cold drink and regroup, hoping the cabbies will go away and the solution will sort itself out. Luckily, Shawn was insistent that we couldn't just walk into town or else we would have ended up hot and lost on Alison's watch.

From the train station we did end up cabbing to our digs, across the river bridge and over into the 'island' of the old city. It was a long way, over a bridge and far along the river. Way too far to walk, even for us.


But from our homestay we can walk through all the purdy ruins to get to dinner. Perfect, except for the packs of local dogs giving you menacing stink eyes. Carry a big stick.


Our hotel manager.

We stayed at Ban Bua House 2, it was far from the main backpacker street and a fair stroll to the ruins but it suited us, the riverside location gave the place some charm, a theme we continued on as we went further up north. At night it was full of diners watching the brightly lit river boats go up and down from tables along the waterfront, but we felt like we were the only ones staying  overnight there. Plus the place had loads of resident friendly cats and dogs, a perfect place for us.

Boat noodle soup is the specialist dish of the area. We love this dish, especially the version at Chonsiam in Sydney. This version  we found at a resto at the front of our homestay seemed a bit fusion or hipster to us, the slightly jellied egg a novel addition. The broth was thick and dark and the generous dollop of ground peanuts added extra oomph.


This one will lick your leg off. Of all the mean dogs we saw patrolling the ruins, this one was so cute and friendly we couldn't resist several return visits for patting. Fights like a butterfly, stings like a bee.






Patrolling the mean streets of Ayutthaya is a tough pussycat job.



Our all time too much to resist snack is fried quail eggs, bite size eggy goodness on a bed of shredded cabbage.



We end up with two bowls of lard na, that soupy noodles and sauce mix that starts out thick and ends up thin, unlike us after one of these trips.



Bug guy. We bought some crunchy worms to try like the ones in the large tray to the left. They were OK, a little bit popcorn-ish. At least they didn't taste like chicken.





The room inspector makes sure all of our electrical cables are up to scratch.


The view from our digs, early morning. 


Is there anything that says travel in South East Asia more fully than the 'American Style Breakfast?'


The Inspector bids us farewell before racing off for a cat frolic.


The bus station in Ayuttaya out on the main highway. We were lucky enough to get a ticket for a bus leaving in 15 minutes heading up to our next stop Sukkothai, joy! Many long hours of bus joy.

3 comments:

  1. Yes, it's a really nice town with very interesting temples like Angkor except on a smaller scale. Food's good too, being Thailand! Can recommend the pad thai seller who sets up in the evening on the street (Naresuan Rd?) beside the main market (near Soi Farang). And the Baan Tebpitak guest house is nice - a little pricier than your one though.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We only had one night here, would love to get back and try more. There was a whole area we didn't get to walk around and lots more food to try!

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  2. Wow, the ruins look stunning!
    Not sure I'd be brave enough to try the worms hehe

    Lucy
    www.lucylovestoeat.com

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for your comment joy - please keep your musings happy - if you want to complain about a restaurant please do it on a restaurant review site (or your own blog) - we're all about celebrating cultural diversity and the great eats that come along with it :-)

Our ethics: We pay for all our own meals and travel (though sometimes Mum shouts us).