6/30 Ayuthaya and Bangkok

Pam and her Uncle Tuoy picked me up at the train station in Bangkok and drove me back to their house in the suburbs where I met Pam's dad, Prechai, and her mom, Ann, both of whom went to Bucknell. Tuoy is Ann's cousin and works as an architect and lives with Pam and her parents. It's a beautiful house and they informed me that I'd be staying with them that night (not at a hostel) and that I'd be storing my extra things with them (not at a storage facility). And they said Tuoy didn't mind driving me to the airport the next morning at 5:30am and that he also didn't mind picking me up at the airport on my return trip to Bangkok. I thought Tuoy is very nice, or else he doesn't know what they're signing him up for.

We headed north, with Tuoy as the driver, to Ayuthaya, the ancient capital city, built on an island at the confluence of three rivers. On the way we stopped at a rest stop where Ann bought me two packs of "durian sweets" (moon pie) as well as another popular Thai dessert. They also got me some iced Thai tea. This seemed to be a day of spoiling Dan. We kept driving and reached Ayuthaya around noon. The remaining structures were very impressive, possibly more impressive than Angkor Wat in Cambodia. We walked around the grounds despite the intense sun, and then visited another site where apparently some scenes from Mortal Kombat were filmed (it is historical for other reasons as well).

After visiting the nearby temple, we headed to lunch at a nice restaurant along a big river. Ann ordered for everyone, and it was one of those meals where the plates kept coming. Ann is a classic "mom" where she's always concerned that you haven't eaten enough and that you haven't eaten enough meat. It didn't help that I'd told them I'd lost ten pounds since starting my travels in February. The meal consisted of some fried rice, about four different kinds of fish, some tom yum goong soup (hot and sour soup with shrimp), some green curry, and some grilled pork. I probably hadn't eaten that much food in one sitting since our trip to China when an equally sweet, concerned motherly lady forced Chinese food down me. We left and waddled back to the car, then stopped at a famous Roti place, where Ann got me some roti (a thin crepe-like thing) with sweet cotton-candy type stuff wrapped inside.

We drove back towards Bangkok and visited King Rama the 5th's old summer palace, which was an interesting mix of Thai and British colonial architecture. After that we hit traffic and everyone except Tuoy fell asleep.

We stopped at a grocery store once we were back in Bangkok and Pam and Ann got some food for my trip the next day. This included three bags of potato chips, two bottles of milk, and an orange juice. They also got some durian (a fruit) so I could try it, since I said I'd never tried it but was curious. Later, they also bought me a breakfast sandwich and a muffin, and I joked that I wouldn't even get to sample Vietnamese food as I'd still be working through their supplies.

They said we'd be having an early dinner so I could go to bed early that night. We went to a trendy suburban area and went to a Singha microbrewery restaurant since I'd mentioned that I missed eating cheese and this place serves Western food. I could barely even think of eating again, so I ordered a light pasta dish. Ann furrowed her brow and suggested an enormous meatball instead, so I compromised and got pasta carbonara, but when it arrived it had insufficient bacon so Ann ordered some spare ribs and chicken wings to supplement my meager meal. I finished my pasta and my large beer but Ann insisted I finish the ribs and wings, and then ordered me another large beer. I was pushing the limits of what my body could handle but somehow managed to put down a few more ribs but ultimately came up short on the wings.

In all seriousness, though, Ann and everyone else were extremely generous and took outrageously good care of me, and I have to say it was one of my best days in Thailand.

The night ended back at their house with me sitting at the kitchen table, once again with food in front of me - this time its the durian, and I've never been less hungry. Durian is called the "king of fruits," and it is a very polarizing fruit. Many people absolutely love it - particularly people I talked to in Malaysia. Others loathe it, saying it smells atrocious and tastes just as bad. It's true durian smells terrible - you can smell it from twenty yards away, and hotels and bus companies often post signs that say durian is not allowed in their facilities due to the smell. The outsidd of the fruit is massive, green, and spiky, and the fruit inside looks like a few huge yellow turds. I took in the first bite, trying to ignore the smell, and was surprised that the taste was different from the smell and was pretty good. The texture was odd - it started off a little fibrous but became a little creamy towards the end. I told Pam it was gross but I wanted more, and it was the same reaction with each bite. I can't say I loved it, but it was a positive experience and I'd like to have some more, hopefully next time I'm actually hungry.