Late afternoon is the best time to wander through the ruins of Ayutthaya, Thailands ancient capital. 26 and artificial island in the Chao Phraya River in the mid-fourteenth century, Ayutthaya 27 the center of Thai power 28 four hundred years. It became perhaps 29 magnificent city in all of Southeast Asia, larger than either London or Paris of the time, 30 city walls that extended for 31 twelve kilometers, more than ninety gates, and fifty-six kilometers of man-made waterways. Its wealth was 32 trade, and trade brought a 33 cosmopolitan population-Malays, Cambodians, Burmese, and Laos from neighbouring 34 Chinese, Japanese, and Indians from 35 in Asia ; eventually the first Europeans from Portugal, Holland, Britain, and France. |