Rialoves2cook: Surprise trip today, for you and I both! My neighbour, who you might remember from my cooking contest videos, gave me a tour of Ayutthaya, one of Siam's ancient capitals, that's quite close to Bangkok. He's shockingly knowledgeable about its history and the local foods, so I'll leave you with a compilation of his fun facts and our adventure.

#friendventures #badassbattles #tastyboatnoodles #thismanlovestotalk

Posted: December 1st, 9:50 PM

SameerasKitchen: You two are adorbs <3 You should do another together. Your view numbers definitely agree!

***

Maria frowned as she and Mitch stepped off the bus at a large, dome-shaped building flanked by two towers with pale yellow trim. The Thai flag blew in the soothing wind against a powder blue sky. He looked down at her with a twinkle of amusement in his eye. People left their taxi cabs with suitcases in hand.

Maria folded her arms. "I thought we were going to a market for ingredients."

"There are markets in Ayutthaya if that's how you want to spend your time there."

"Ayutthaya? Isn't that outside of the city?" It was almost midday, and they had to work tomorrow, hardly the moment for a trip.

He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and guided her toward the train station doors. "Gorgeous and smart. Aren't you a catch?"

Maria shook off his embrace and sighed. "Mitch."

"Oh c'mon, you've been stressed all week trying to finish teaching your material before exams, and top it off with leading Saturday class yesterday. I won't make you sit in a hot kitchen showing me how to cook all afternoon."

"I can't afford this."

"Do you think I'd take you out on a splashy adventure? Trust me." He dug in his wallet for a 20 baht note that was worth less than a Canadian dollar. "This is the price of a train ticket in each direction. A bike is another 30 baht, and there's lunch and small temple donations, but I got those since this is my fault."

"How can a train cost almost the same as a city air-con bus?"

"Don't question it, just enjoy the little victories." Mitch smiled. "Plus moneybags, I know you've started tutoring because Min Min keeps chatting about you in homework class. You've made quite the impression."

Maria fought her smile. "She's such a sweet kid, though I don't know why her parents are paying me. I think she could converse with a brick wall for hours."

Mitch laughed and crept his arm back around her shoulders. She should have shaken it off, but she leaned into him instead as they entered the station. The corrugated metal ceiling was less impressive from the inside. Maybe he wasn't lying about the prices, and Ayutthaya was gorgeous in Sunshine's pictures. Ancient temples, elephants, and statues. Her feet had itched ever since they returned from their group beach trip last weekend, and her ears were more receptive to travel stories now.

Mitch bought their tickets for the price he'd promised, and they crossed the gates and down to the platform past half a dozen other trains. Their third-class train section had brown padded bench seats and windows they could pull down, which the other passengers had already done.

She settled into the window seat while he stretched his legs toward the aisle. A young girl ran up, stopping in her tracks when she saw him. She crept over and inspected him from head to toe. He responded to her in Thai, and her eyes widened before answering. Each exchange caused her grin to grow until she sped off to chatter excitedly to her mother.

"It looks like you made that girl's day," Maria said.

"She hasn't met a falang she can speak to before. She didn't know what to make of me."

Further up the train, the mom and daughter peeked around their seats. Mitch waved and said, "Sawatdee krap," loud enough that the girl giggled again.

The man could be a sweetheart when he desired. Maria struggled to imagine him as some sleazy guy feeling up some stranger at the bar or waking up in their beds. While being kind and engaging with children weren't exclusive to people interested in serious relationships, he seemed to enjoy interacting with the kids, as a father would with his daughter. But Maria wouldn't open her mouth and ruin the trip this early.

After an hour, the snack cart rumbled behind them again, and Mitch craned his neck. "Still craving pork floss?"

Her stomach grumbled despite the snacks they'd eaten after he met her outside the church like he usually did. "I should wait to get actual food in town."

As the cart passed, Mitch conjured a twenty baht note and traded it for the snack before she could protest. He tossed the bag to her. "Sun loved these."

Mitch was the only person she'd heard use that nickname for her cousin. "Why do you call her that?"

"Sun?" Mitch laughed. "At first, to annoy her, then it stuck."

Maria tore open the package and offered some to him. Her mouth watered at the salty scent. "I'm surprised you haven't given me one."

He grabbed a handful and leaned back. "I could call you Ma if you're feeling left out."

"Ma? Got some unresolved Mom issues I don't know about?" she joked. The savoury pork floss melted on her tongue like an ice cube would in this heat.

Mitch grinned. "Only if you want to help me fix them."

Could that be part of his behaviour towards women? His mother had abandoned him, and he wouldn't give anyone the chance to do the same. He had admitted weeks ago the most important people in his life were in Thailand.

He shook his head. "You're reading into that, aren't you?"

"It's nothing to be ashamed of."

He took her hand in his. "It was a joke. I grew up with two normal, supportive parents, in a quiet neighbourhood. Worrying about my childhood discredits those who've suffered. You had it worse than I did."

"Mine was fortunate considering what I've heard from friends at church."

"You went through more than me."

"That's why God gives us family."

Mitch's grip on her hand tightened before he let go.

Her skin prickled with a sudden breeze from the open window. "Sorry, I shouldn't have brought up—"

"Don't apologize for what you believe. You've never forced it on me, and as long as you don't plan to, you can talk however you want."

She popped another piece of pork floss in her mouth.

The rest of the two-hour train ride flew by just like the greenery and passing stations as conversation flowed from their lips about everything from the foreign snacks and drinks coming through the aisles to the potential lives of the passengers.

Once they'd arrived, Mitch took her to a ferry. It felt like a small industrial watercraft, but it was cheap and worked. From there he found a hotel that would rent them bikes and sold water bottles.

Outside, he slipped his sunglasses on his freckle-dusted nose. The sun's rays made his shaggy hair even more golden as it stuck out at all angles, still not covering his large ears. His strong jaw bore the scruffy hairs he'd let grow until the workweek started again. As he explained their route and plan for the day, his teeth gleamed. Maria should have been listening instead of checking him out, but she could follow him on the bike either way. They were one-speed bikes, and it wasn't likely he'd be faster than her wicked competitive uncles and cousins. Plus, he had a cute butt she would shamelessly stare at and not lose in traffic.

They joined the mix of tuk-tuks, cars, and scooters on the road, fitting in well. Everyone adapted to bicycles and flowed around them with ease. Mitch kept glancing back after each intersection to check on her. She made faces at each time until he was shaking his head and chuckling. Once he nearly barrelled into a couple on a motorbike, she stopped.

They parked the bikes and approached a sign that read Wat Maha That. The red-earth and white-coloured ruins and stupas stood out against the green grass. A few tour groups walked around, but Mitch found a more secluded route. The enormous pyramid in the middle reminded her of Mayan ruins with an Asian twist. Some surrounding towers had interesting cylinder-like shapes with windows laid into the intricate brickwork. They passed a section where the large cross-legged Buddha sat in front of the temple, shoulders draped with a golden cloth.

"What do you think?" Mitch asked, hands in his pockets.

"It's incredible this is so close to Bangkok, yet so..."

He smiled. "Like another world?"

"Minus the city right across the way. I've never experienced anything like this. It's wild how different things would have been then."

Sections of the towers rose partway, the ghost of their full outlines only existing in her imagination.

"Lots of invasions and territory disputes," Mitch said.

Her eyebrow raised at yet another decapitated statue.

"This used to be the second capital of Siam, or Thailand as we call it today," he leaned down, warm breath tickling her cheek, "but in the 1700s the Burmese invaded and destroyed many temples, the monastery and these statues."

"The Burmese?" Maria asked, thinking of a Burmese man she'd met at the beach and the troubled homeland he'd described with its longstanding dictatorship only recently lifted.

"Their country was more powerful before the British stepped in and stirred up conflict. The Thai and Burmese have fought intense territory battles for hundreds if not thousands of years."

"Look at you, Mr. Lonely Planet."

"Spent my holidays in Myanmar, and I'm a bit of a history geek."

With a smile on her lips, she said, "Wouldn't have pegged you as one."

Mitch wrung his hands. "It started in high school; we did these projects on Ancient China and the dynasties. My—" he paused and focused on the large Buddha statue at the end of a long rectangular platform that could have housed a temple. "—friend was into the whole thing. Once she had something on her mind, she never shut up about it, but it sparked my interest too. I can't help but think about her when I'm at these places."

"Did your friend ever visit you out here?"

Mitch sucked in a breath and shook his head. "Other things happened."

They walked past a beautiful pond brightened by vibrant pink lilies. Maria smiled at him and gave his hand a light squeeze. Perhaps his friend was the reason he was so closed off to relationships. A bad breakup or unrequited love were powerful motivators to protect one's heart.

Maria's body jerked as he stopped walking and wrapped his arms around her from behind, resting his chin on the top of her head. She breathed in the cool air, taking in the pond's beauty, and enjoyed the embrace. She hadn't wanted to push him earlier, but she suspected that 'friend' meant a lot to him. Running her palm along his arm, she gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Thanks for again, dragging me out to these places," she said. "I can't believe I nearly turned this down."

"I'll be your budget tour guide anytime."

"Budget, what's your price?"

He leaned down to whisper in her ear, "Your company, near accident-inducing distractions, and cute smiles."

Maria chuckled and tried to ignore the way her stomach flipped. "I guess if it's fair if I have to listen to your corny lines and your dorky stories."

"Get ready for another, we're visiting the infamous Banyan tree next." Mitch let her go so they could walk. He continued explaining how this temple was an important monastery from the 14th century until the city's downfall and the Burmese ransacking over four hundred years later. "A decapitated statue head ended up here, and the tree roots grew around it perfectly. It has some Angkor Wat vibes, but this area is way easier to visit from Bangkok."

"Angkor Wat?"

"The Cambodian Indian-Jones-style temples in Siem Reap?" Mitch showed her a few photos on his phone that had similar attributes to today's structures, especially the towers. "That bus ride isn't expensive either, but it's a weekend trip. I'll show you it someday."

Maria would be in financial trouble if she kept letting him lead her down these adventure paths, but her heart felt heavy denying all possibility of them. The workweek was shorter and more enjoyable when she could explore places like this.

They arrived at the tree, roped off from the public. Sure enough, an upright and visible statue head with dotted hair in a bun met their eyes from its rooted home. It was incredible the Banyan tree didn't crush the head or engulf it with its intricate root system.

***

Part one of their little spontaneous adventure :) Ayutthaya is a pretty easy day trip from Bangkok and really interesting to explore if you're ever in the neighbourhood.