Central Thailand
Discover Central Thailand
Introduction
Central Thailand is the flat alluvial plain of the Chao Phraya river, and it has been the country’s centre of gravity for seven centuries. The soil is the reason: this is some of the most productive rice land in Asia, and the kingdoms that grew here were funded by it.
Ayutthaya, an hour and a half north of the modern capital, was that kingdom for four hundred years and at its height one of the largest cities in the world, a cosmopolitan river port with Portuguese, Dutch, Japanese and Persian quarters. The Burmese destroyed it in 1767, and what remains — brick prang towers, rows of headless Buddhas, and a stone Buddha head held in the roots of a fig tree — is a UNESCO World Heritage site best seen by bicycle.
Bangkok took over afterwards and is now one of the most visited cities on earth: the Grand Palace and Wat Pho by the river, canal neighbourhoods on the Thonburi side, and a street food culture that operates around the clock. Beyond the two cities the plain holds Lopburi with its resident macaques, the floating markets west of the capital, and Kanchanaburi on the River Kwai. The hot season runs March to May, the rains June to October, and the cool, dry months from November to February are the ones to aim for.