Lunch break: Central Ayutthaya
I had somewhat good expectation of the place, as it is the first mall in Thailand that I’d have the time to see a lot of. We arrived at the place rather quickly. No traffic to be had here in the sticks.
Once we got in the food court at the top floor, our tour guide Visan told us that we’d have to get a cash card and top it up at a customer booth. Now my impression has gone up a notch. This was a big-ass mall in the middle of an ancient provincial area, and it’s this modern? Great. I topped up 350 baht. I can also get the remaining cash when you return to the booth after. Visan said we also have at least a full hour of time in here before we had to depart for the second leg of the tour. So in my mind, I allotted 40 minutes for eating, and 20 minutes for things. I spotted several shirts I liked to buy, and I knew that I had to get those.
So I finally had my pad thai here – was good, by the way. I ate that, a properly-done spicy som tam, and I added chicken rice (I had to know). The som tam was very hot. You’d have no idea at first glance, but when I dug deep I found the birds-eye chillies. Properly pounded, had some crunch but with some texture. Will burn your tongue and then some. But now I have a good idea of what the Thais expect when I ask for spicy. I ate chicken rice to know if there’s any taste difference. Other than the chicken blood cube, not much. Maybe less subtle, perhaps? Very fragrant and more pronounced chicken flavor. Came with a sour soup that helped me feel full.
Three tasty meals for less than 300 baht. Not bad. Although I can readily admit, the chicken rice and the pad thai tasted a bit… “adjusted”. I won’t blame the business, it’s the inherent expectation. It’s the same with some dishes in the Philippines – there is what some call the “tisoy” version and there’s the real local versions. For example, bulalo. There’s the ones you can eat in the malls, and there’s the ones you cook at home for hours and eat with the family.
With the exception of the som tam. I asked for the middle spicy level, and the cook might’ve sensed my intent. I got a good spicy one with whole green and red small chillies pounded with the papaya. Thank heavens I also bought a big cold bottle of water beforehand. Spared me the shame of rushing to the refreshments stall teary-eyed and asking for water. I ate everything for the experience. Paid for it later that evening on the throne, but given the chance I’d eat that again.
I was about to peace out of the food court and cash out the remainder, but I had a look first at the handy balance check in the receipts. Then I looked at the refreshments stall and the drinks’ prices. I figured that I could get one nice mojito cocktail for dessert and a 600ml bottle of water, and my card will have exactly 1 baht left. So that’s what I did. I kept the card as a souvenir.
I went downstairs to the third floor, where I quickly bought the two Lee shirts that had pronounced Thai designs that caught my eye earlier on the way to the food court. The Adidas and Nike shirts I saw a few stalls back were underwhelming, but the ones at Lee were impressive. Then I made my way to the hobby shirt booth I saw earlier and bought a longsleeve shirt that had a cool “Catzilla” design on the back. They were good shirts too. Three shirts I truly liked for around 1500 baht. Maybe I won’t be back in this part of Thailand, so buying these t-shirts in Ayutthaya meant something. Memories were now attached to these fabric. Price was no matter.
After a few walks and the mandatory Starbucks pop-in to check if they had exclusive Ayutthaya mugs or stuff (none), I managed to fill the hour. Was the first down at the entrance area with the tour guide.
Once our group was finally complete (maybe 5 minutes of waiting), our tour vehicle picked us up for the next leg of the trip, and it was maybe 10 minutes past 1PM. Time for the ancient temples.
Water bottle count: 3
Briathrail // Albert 2MNG 
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