Most visitors see Ayutthaya from a tour bus. This afternoon starts somewhere they never get to go: Sricharoen Shipyard, a working wooden boat yard on the Chao Phraya, run by our family since 1973 and not open to the public. You’ll walk among boats hauled out of the river, see repairs in progress, and learn how traditional wooden boats are still built and kept afloat today.

From there, step next door into Baan Hollanda, where Dutch merchants traded in the 1600s, then board our boat to see the old city the way traders once did: from the water. You’ll pass the old Japanese and Portuguese quarters and riverside temples, then end with the engine off, drifting quietly beneath Wat Chaiwatthanaram, part of Ayutthaya’s UNESCO World Heritage Site, as the sun goes down.