Visiting the provincial town of Ayutthaya, it is hard to believe that it was once a bustling capital of a great power. The ruins of temples and palaces that remained after the Burmese invasion in the 17th century, even today, impress with their size. I was impressed by the huge statue of the reclining Buddha in the ruins of Wat Lokaya Sutharam, of which only the foundations remained. Its opposite is the small stone head of the Buddha at Wat Phra Mahathat, picturesquely entwined with tree branches, just like in Angkor temples.