North of Bangkok the land is so flat that canals are the only landmarks. The label points to Ayutthaya, the old capital, about fifty kilometres further north, and this is the sort of place a ride back from there ends up.
The canals are the reason for the town's shape. In the 1890s a company led by a prince dug the Rangsit Canal and a grid of side channels across the plain to open it up for rice farming, and the area took its name from Prince Rangsit. The long straight waterways still cut across the landscape, lined with houses and temples, and the fields between them turn bright green after the rains. Many of the old rice fields are now gone under factories and universities, and Thammasat's Rangsit campus occupies a large piece of land at Khlong Luang.
Ayutthaya itself was the capital of Siam for four centuries until the Burmese army sacked it in 1767, and its ruined temples and brick towers, scattered along the Chao Phraya River, are a World Heritage site. Riders returning from there follow the highway or smaller roads beside the river, past boat landings, small shrines and sugar-palm trees. Surfaces are generally good, but traffic is heavy, with lorries, vans and motorbikes crowding the lanes, and the rainy season, from May to October, brings sudden storms. November to February is cooler and more pleasant.
Fuel and food are easy everywhere. Stations line the main roads, and night markets set up in the evening with grilled meat, noodle soups and fresh fruit. Khlong Luang has shops and a big market, and Ban Lam Luk Ka offers more. Watch for motorbikes crossing lanes and for water on the road after rain.