Thailand Guide
The central plains
Wat Phra Mahathat
Opening time: Daily 8am–6pm
Price: B30
Address: Thanon Naresuan
The overgrown Wat Phra Mahathat is the epitome of Ayutthaya's nostalgic atmosphere of faded majesty. The name "Mahathat" (Great Relic Chedi) indicates that the temple was built to house remains of the Buddha himself: according to the royal chronicles – never renowned for historical accuracy – King Ramesuan (1388–95) was looking out of his palace one morning when ashes of the Buddha materialized out of thin air here. A gold casket containing the ashes was duly enshrined in a grand 38-metre-high tower. The tower later collapsed, but the reliquary was unearthed in the 1950s, along with a hoard of other treasures, including a gorgeous marble fish, which opened to reveal gold, amber, crystal and porcelain ornaments – all now on show in the Chao Sam Phraya National Museum.
You can climb what remains of the tower to get a good view of the broad, grassy complex, with dozens of brick spires tilting at impossible angles and headless Buddhas scattered around like spare parts in a scrapyard – look out for the serene head of a stone Buddha that has become nestled in the embrace of a bodhi tree's roots. To the west you'll see a lake, now surrounded by a popular park, where Ramathibodi I discovered an auspicious conch shell, symbol of victory and righteousness, which confirmed his choice of site for his new city, and the slender tower of Wat Phra Ram, built in the late fourteenth century on the site of Ramathibodi's cremation by his son and successor as king, Ramesuan.