Ayutthaya to Bangkok, Thailand
We took a slow, hot train from Bangkok to see the ruins of Ayutthaya--a great center of Thai culture and power from the 14th to 18th centuries. At its height, the kingdom extended from the Malay Peninsula to Cambodia. In 1767, Ayutthaya was destroyed by invading Burmese armies.
Out the train window from Bangkok, we passed by a modern ruin that caught my attention: miles and miles of aging massive concrete pillars that supported nothing. It looked like an interrupted and overgrown construction project. Before the Don Meuang Airport stop, graffiti suddenly appeared on pillar after pillar. On the way home, I rested my iPhone in the window and snapped pics as we clickey-clacked down the old train tracks.
Later I learned that the concrete pillars were part of a failed elevated hi-way and rail line project from the late 20th century. The Hopewell Project--sometimes now referred to as Thailand's Stonehenge--was abandoned in 1998 due to poor planning, faulty financing, rampant corruption, and Thailand's political instability.
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