Cycling Thailand: Ayutthaya to Kanchanaburi
This is the first part of a cycle tour around Central Thailand in January and February 2025. Check out the links for Part Two and Part Three.
I flew to Bangkok Airport and transferred from there to the town of Ayutthaya, where I stayed for three nights to explore the ancient ruins. My plan was then to cycle to Kanchanburi over two days, before spending another week there exploring the area.
This turned out to be a great start to the trip, with both Ayutthaya and Kanchanaburi more than living up to my expectations.
Ayutthaya
I had been excited about travelling to Ayutthaya for a while. During the 16th century it was the capital of a state which was considered by European visitors to be one of the three great powers in Asia (alongside China and the Vijayanagara Kingdom of Southern India).In some ways the Ayutthaya Kingdom can be seen as the precursor to modern Thailand. Its territory stretched from Phtisanulok in the north to parts of modern Malaysia in the south. The elites spoke Siamese (Thai language) and the state was sometimes referred to as 'Land of the Tai people'.
Elephants in Ayutthaya
Ayutthaya was the capital for much of this period and was a city of great opulence - traces of which can still be seen in the ruins today. It was one of the largest cities in the world during its 16th century peak, featuring vast Buddhist temple complexes, decorated with gold, that covered a huge area.
The legacy of the Ayutthaya kingdom can still be seen today in the urban geography of Central Thailand. Many of the canals and irrigation systems were developed in this period to supply the rice fields that sustained the population of the cities (Ayutthaya itself may have had over one million people at its peak - making it even larger than great cities of the time like Constantinople or Beijing). The society was organised somewhat similarly to feudal Europe - with a relatively large class of elites (aristocracy) being provided for by a huge number of peasant serfs and small scale artisans.
It was probably this economic structure that led to the decline of the kingdom in the 17th century. European traders, gradually introduced more capitalist practices to East Asia, undermining the viability of a feudal system, particularly as Chinese trade began to expand and dominate the region.
Phukao Thong has a high stupa which you can climb about halfway up
Capitalism undermined the traditional bond between labourers and lords, which included the military organisation. So, when the Burmese invaded in the mid 18th century, the response from Ayutthaya was lacking and, after a siege, the capital city was largely destroyed and burnt.
Siam (or Thailand) recovered relatively quickly, but Ayutthaya did not. A new capital was constructed a little further south in Bangkok, where it remains until this day. Despite the sacking of the city by the Burmese, there are still a considerable number of ruins standing in Ayutthaya, albeit with significant scorch makes on the bases.
This Reclining Buddha was famously used as a stage in the Street Fighter series
The best way to explore Ayutthaya is by bicycle. Remember that this was once possibly the largest city in the world, so the ruins are spread quite far and wide. In fact, it is over 10km from some of the temples standing in the west, to those in the eastern most part of the city.
The first part of the route below is a 15km loop around some of the most impressive temples, as well as the ruins of the royal palace. I highly recommend this, not only to see different wats and stupas, but also to appreciate the scale of the once great city.
A map of Ayutthaya in its glory days
I began by cycling to Wat Mahathat, which most people arrive at first when visiting the city. It is a well preserved site that you can explore, as well as seeing the famous 'tree root Buddha'.
From there it is a short ride to Wat Ratchaburana, which is kind of unique in that part of the interior of a tower has been reconstructed, so you can climb inside.
Phra Ram Temple was my favourite in Ayutthaya
A little further you will reach the Royal Palace Complex and Wat Phra Si Sanphet. This is the largest and most impressive site. The three restored stupa offer an imposing and impressive backdrop. For me, the real beauty though is in exploring the vast low level ruins that formed the Royal Palace. This is the site that really enables you to appreciate the size and scale of Ayutthaya at its 16th and 17th century peak. You can imagine the royal court bustling with life, receiving merchants and embassies from across Europe and Asia.
Next door is Wat Phra Ram, which was also a personal favourite of mine. It was the quietest and felt the most beautiful to me in terms of the aesthetics of the temple and surrounding walkways.
The tree root Buddha is a popular attraction
Across the road from Wat Phra Ram is a center where tourists can take rides on elephants. There is quite a lot of criticism about how the elephants here are trained and treated, and riding them is not something that appeals to me personally.
However, it's worth noting that elephants played a key role in the historic Ayutthaya Kingdom. At its peak there were around 50,000 of them around the city, used primarily for military purposes and in construction.
These three stupas formed part of the Royal Palace complex
The final temples that I visited were a little further out. The Reclining Buddha at Wat Lokaya Sutha is very popular, as it was used as a stage in the Street Fighter series. It has recently been refurbished which has spoilt the aesthetics in my opinion, but it's still impressive in its scale.
Furthest out is the giant 50m high stupa at Wat Phukhao Thong. You can climb about half way up here to get some nice views of the surrounding rice fields and sports grounds.
Cycling around Ayutthaya was a great experience. There are plenty of other temples and ruins that you will just stumble across, and it's very easy to get away from the large coach parties that follow a set itinerary and just see a few 'highlights'. Entrance to some of the Wat complexes are free, while others cost around 50 baht.
Ayutthaya to Kanchanaburi
I stayed in Ayutthaya for three nights, before moving on to Kanchanburi. If you take the main roads, the distance is just about doable in one day, but my philosophy on riding in Thailand is to avoid main roads wherever possible. Not only are they dangerous, but they also miss out on all the fantastic scenery that the country has to offer.
So I split the ride into two days, covering around 180km in total. In between I stayed in the small town of U Thong.
Soon after leaving Ayutthaya, the route took me through picturesque rice fields
I really liked the riding even though it was pretty flat (which is not what I usually go for). There is not too much to say about the route, as there weren't many places of great interest along the way, but it was just very enjoyable!
The roads were very quiet and the scenery was picturesque, particularly riding through the rice fields.
About 95% of the route was on good quality paved roads. Ride with GPS shows more of it being unpaved than it actually was, and even the gravel sections were very good quality and absolutely no problem to ride on my 38mm tyres.
Considering how hot and dry it was, there was a lot of water around. Thailand has great irrigation systems!
One thing I like about cycling in Thailand is how easy it is to get snacks and refreshments. Tiny villages and even random houses often seem to have a shop or a makeshift cafe at the front selling drinks and sometimes ice cream.
This is especially useful because it was pretty hot - around 35°C. I also had some mild stomach issues, which had carried over from my previous tour in China, so being able to eat little and often was ideal.
A nice gravel section just before reaching U Thong
In U Thong I spent the night at Tolopoti Hotel, which was a kind of semi-posh resort on the edge of the city. It was a nice place to break up the ride, and there was a cool little archaeological museum in the town (U Thong was a significant Khmer city in the 9th century). There were also some nice wats on the hillside, but otherwise U Thong was a fairly unremarkable place.
I left U Thong riding south on side roads, but had to join the busy 321 road for a short section. I hate riding on roads with traffic in Thailand; they don't feel safe and they are often quite polluted, but it's often necessary for a short stretch. Fortunately, I was soon able to turn off and follow very nice and quiet roads alongside a canal.
Decorative fish
The ride into Kanchanaburi was more rolling than the previous day, but there was still no significant climbing. It was extremely quiet and very picturesque at times - I would highly recommend riding this way instead of taking the more direct 324 road.
Riding into Kanchanaburi, I passed some war graves near to the train station, before cycling along River Kwai Street, which appeared to be the main hang-out for Westerners in the city, with lots of bars, massage parlours and restaurants. I didn't find it unpleasant or seedy though like some larger resorts in Thailand.
I crossed the River Kwai and stayed on the southern bank, which was the quieter side of town. There are several resorts here, and its a nice location which is close to the centre, but also easy to get out and do some circular rides without much traffic.
Parts of the ride where on fairly featureless roads like this, quiet and pleasant, but not spectacular. Much of the riding though was on smaller, more charming lanes
Kanchanaburi
Reaching the River Kwai
Kanchanaburi is probably best known among tourists for its railway. In particular the railway bridge that was the inspiration for the Oscar winning film Bridge on the River Kwai.
During the Second World War, the town was occupied by Japanese forces, who had plans to construct a large railway system in South-East Asia that would connect Burma with Bangkok and Singapore.
Prisoners of war (mostly from Netherlands, the UK and Australia), along with conscripted south-East Asians (mostly Burmese, Indonesians and other countries neighbouring Thailand), were forced to build the so called 'Burma Railway' under brutal conditions.
Carb loading with mango sticky rice
There are a couple of nice museums in the town which explain the history in great detail, as well as a reconstruction of the concentration camp on the south bank of the River.
Nowadays Kanchanaburi is also a center of active tourism. It's a popular destination for both tourists and Bangkok residents who use it as a base to explore the waterfalls and hiking trails in the Erawan National Park.
Part 2 - Kanchanbauri - Kaeng Krachan
Part 3 - Prachuap Khiri Khan Province
Central Thailand - Tour Summary
Cycling in Thailand
Cycle Touring Guides
