The day began with a buffet breakfast at the Pathumwan Princess Hotel.

Four graduate students from Thammasat University joined us on our bus trip to Ayutthaya, Thailand's ancient capital. "Tay" provided us with an historical overview of the area.

The city of Ayutthaya was founded about 1350 by Ramathibodi I. By the early 15th century Ayutthaya became a major power. In the 16th century Ayutthaya was a well established port city, processing goods for export to other countries in South Asia and South East Asia, including ports on India's east coast.

Europeans began to visit Ayutthaya in the 17th and 18th centuries. Known as the "Venice of the East," Ayutthaya was an important trading center. Remnants of foreign settlements are still present today.

Sarah White provided the group with a map she created detailing the places we visited.

Ayutthaya was destroyed by the Burmese in 1767 and was left deserted for many years. Later King Rama V declared the conservation of Ayutthaya. Ayutthaya was the capital of Siam for 417 years and was registered as a world heritage site by the World Heritage Committee (UNESCO) in 1981. In 1990 the Ayutthaya Historical Study Center was established.

Our student guides from Thammasat gave each of us two books: Ayutthaya and Asia, and From Japan to Arabia: Ayutthaya's Maritime Relations with Asia.

Before returning to the hotel we stopped at the famous week-end market located on Khamphaengphet Road. Our student guides quickly led us past all of the fish displays to vendors selling items that we were more likely to buy.