Thailand has a rich and varied history. Never colonised by any of the European powers, it developed its own unique identity.
Its golden age, culturally, was known as the Sukhothai period, after the city of that name. When it fell into decline in the middle of the 14th century a new city emerged.
Ayutthaya was to become so powerful that it would unite all the Tai people (as the Thais were then known) in one kingdom, Siam.
At the height of its power in the 17th century, the population of more than one million was larger than London's and envoys came from all the great European countries, and from China, India and Japan, and marvelled at what they saw.
Ayutthaya had 140 kilometres of canals and on a busy trading day as many as 20,000 boats and rafts could be seen moored on the Chao Phraya River.
While much physical evidence of the past has been erased by the passage of time, there is still a lot for visitors to see at this Unesco world heritage site.