Ayutthaya: Once a flourishing temple city

It was a global centre of economics and trade, and an important connecting point between the east and the west. The Ayutthaya royal court exchanged ambassadors across the world, including with the French court at Versailles, the Mughal court in Delhi and the imperial courts of Japan and China. Right at the entrance of the site, a plaque gives an idea of what it holds."Wat Mahathat (The royal temple that houses Buddha's relics," it reads.