Takraw with a Backdrop

Takraw in front of Ayutthaya ruins

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Taken on: 22nd January, 2012. Copyright: All Rights Reserved - See philbardino's page of Flickr

Read more about Ayutthaya

Set at the conjunction of the Lopburi, Prasak and Chao Phraya rivers, the storied city of Ayutthaya was founded in 1350 by King U-Thong and served as the capital of what was the predecessor to the Siamese empire and modern Thailand.

Over the next 417 years it was ruled by 33 kings and repelled 23 Burmese invasions, before the Burmese finally succeeded in razing it to the ground in 1767. At its height, Ayutthaya was surrounded by a 12-kilometre-long wall which was five metres thick and six metres high and boasted 99 gates, brick and clay roads and canals to transport water into the city.

By all reports Ayutthaya was stunning and rivalled most European capitals of the time. The city was a major centre not only of Thai civilisation but also Asian, Middle Eastern and even European arts, culture and trade. A number of foreign communities thrived in the city, chief among them the Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Indian, Persian, Portuguese, Dutch and French. As other ... Read our complete Ayutthaya travel guide

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