Central Thailand

Buffering Bangkok from the sea and the hinterlands, this fertile river plain is Thailand’s cultural heartland. It has birthed rice crops without coaxing, and cultivated a distinct Thai culture centred around the seasonal patterns of the region’s ‘mother waters’. The rivers brought rich mineral deposits from the northern mountains and sea traders from the oceans. Many of the ancient Southeast Asian kingdoms, like the Dvaravati and the Khmers, reached across the once undivided continent into modern-day central Thailand to plant their own cultural traditions in this earthly womb.
Due north of Bangkok is Ayuthaya, the former Thai capital. Touring the ruined temples on bicycle and learning the names of the illustrious kings will put you close to the Thai psyche. Further north is the little town of Lopburi, a pit-stop for journeys to Chiang Mai. The downtown nurses many crumbling ruins and a resident tribe of monkeys.