Thai television series aren’t known for their subtlety, and on occasion, they provide useful historical backstories. One such programme, the melodramatic Love Destiny, is about a tubby archaeologist Kadesurang who travels back in time to ancient Ayutthaya to find herself in a new life as the resourceful and quick witted Lady Karaked. The 15-episode series, a combination of War & Peace and The Twilight Zone, is filled with tales of metamorphosis, soul swapping, karmic retribution, true love, espionage and doing the right thing. It’s possibly an apt serial to stream while on the Loy River Song, a super luxe converted teak motored rice barge that slowly churns on the meandering Chao Phraya River from the banks of Anantara Riverside in Bangkok to the ancient city of Ayutthaya.
As depicted in Love Destiny, the Chao Phraya River has seen travelling noblemen from China, Europe and India sail its waters to their outposts in Ayutthaya, during the empire’s golden age. But on the Loy River Song, the mood might be old world, but fast Wi-Fi means that work emails and Zoom calls aren’t too far away.
Interiors within this century-old vessel are all about decidedly tasteful teak overtones that hint at a rarified time wedged stylishly between past and present. Rooms and public areas are bedecked in antiques sourced from Bangkok’s most esteemed markets, and resplendent Thai silks that would make Jim Thompson’s jaw drop. The four exquisite staterooms are named after Thailand’s major rivers: Nan, Wang, Ping, and Yom. These living spaces bring out the best of two worlds: 21st century luxury accoutrements including everything one expects from a room in a five-star hotel, contrasted with a deliberately slower, more considered pace of travel. Highlights include the loft-style Ping room with a staircase leading to the ensuite bathroom with funky nightclub monochromatic flooring, located in the boat’s underbelly, and an elevated bed from which you can glimpse bypassing river traffic. A magical spot to catch up on work and hooky Thai television series.
Although theultimate stop for the Loy River Song is Ayutthaya, the journey itself becomes the destination. Off-boat excursions include a mid-morning trip to Wat Arun, also known as the Temple of Dawn, one of Thailand’s most revered spiritual and cultural sites. Meanwhile, another side trip to the National Museum of Royal Barges offers rare glimpses of the profound ways in which boats and rivers inform the history of Siam and later of Thailand.
The next day, as the boat completes its 100-kilometre trek to Ayutthaya, an ancient city founded in 1350 and now a UNESCO World Heritage Centre, one finds a sleepy suburban town on one hand and the setting of one of ancient Siam’s most violent conflicts, on the other. The city’s then-geographical uniqueness of being an island, protected by the strong tides of three rivers as these waterways flowed to the Gulf of Siam, meant that it could not be invaded by sea. But Ayutthaya’s vulnerabilities on land meant that it underwent centuries of attacks by neighbouring Burma. This culminated in the 1700s when King Hsinbyushin oversaw the disintegration of the Ayutthayan kingdom. These horrific battles led to the formation of the Thonburi district on the outskirts of Bangkok, a precursor to the magnificently eclectic and enigmatic city of today.
In-between the history lesson-slash-tour by the boat’s bubbly guide (with a narrative augmented by Lady Karaked’s adventures), guests taste a sampling of dishes by the Loy River Song’s Chef Phong. Mealtimes are lively events, and on a 70s style glass top dining table, guests tuck into authentic dishes with a side of opulence. There are Thai appetisers such as yum ma khua nue puu – crispy vermicelli noodles with an addictive tamarind sauce; as well as grilled eggplant salad laden with crab meat, egg, chilli paste and caviar. Soups take agreeable forms of the tom jaew nue wagyu. Yes, you read correctly: that’s wagyu in a spicy seafood broth with chilli, lemongrass and fresh lime.
These dishes, albeit added with over-the-top luxe 21st century ingredients, are perhaps symbolic of the country’s food evolution since the Ayutthayan era. Three hundred years ago, the city was a cosmopolitan hub of culture and commerce, populated by merchants and dignitaries from around the world, who added spice and intrigue to everyday life. Presumably these visitors made their influence apparent in dishes such as the steamed seabass with pounded Thai garden herbs in a chilli and lime dressing, or pla neng manao. The seabass tastily riffs on steamed seafood dishes, beloved by the Chinese, a community with a centuries-long history of settling in ancient Siam.
The return trip of the Loy River Song to Bangkok, minus the stops and excursions of the previous two days, lasts around three-hours. It coincides with a celebratory and sumptuous brunch of Canadian lobster thermidor, beluga caviar, Angus tenderloin, Iberico ham, freshly shucked oysters and champagne as free-flowing as the waters of the legendary River of Kings, the Chao Phraya. Perhaps it’s a fitting moment to raise a toast to the explorers of yore who sailed from Ayutthaya on that very route to the world beyond.
