Ayutthaya River Easy Ride · part 2

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Food stop in Nakhon Pathom

   The great golden-orange dome of Phra Pathom Chedi towers over Nakhon Pathom, and at over a hundred metres tall it is one of the largest stupas in the world. Tradition holds that Buddhism first reached the region here, more than a thousand years ago, when this was a centre of the Dvaravati culture, and the original, much smaller stupa was later encased in the present structure in the nineteenth century by King Mongkut, who had seen the ruins as a monk. Walking around its base, with its galleries, shrines and bells, is an experience not to miss.

   Read the complete Food stop in Nakhon Pathom write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Food stop in Nakhon Pathom is where the day begins. Next is Ayutthaya River Easy Ride photo pull-off.

2. 2. Samut Sakhon

   Samut Sakhon smells of the sea. The city sits at the mouth of the Tha Chin River where it flows into the Gulf of Thailand, about thirty kilometres southwest of Bangkok, and it has been a fishing port for centuries. Locals often still call it Mahachai, its old name. Boats crowd the river, and the fish market near the pier is one of the busiest in the country, piled with prawns, squid, crabs and fish of every kind.

   Read the complete Food stop near Samut Sakhon write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Ayutthaya River Easy Ride photo pull-off comes up about 54 km into the recorded legs. Next is Ayutthaya River Easy Ride checkpoint 8.

3. 3. Near Phra Pradaeng

   This is the south-western edge of Bangkok, out where the city stops pretending to be a city and turns into a muddle of canals, warehouses, shrimp ponds and condo blocks on the Thonburi side of the Chao Phraya. Thung Khru and Bang Khun Thian are the districts on the map; Phra Pradaeng, the town that gives the label its name, lies across the river to the east. As a place to begin and end rides north to Ayutthaya or north-east to Khao Yai it makes practical sense, because you avoid crossing the dense middle of the capital twice a day.

   Read the complete Near Phra Pradaeng write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   The route ends here after 125 km.