King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand will celebrate the 60th anniversary of his accession to the throne but once and I feel fortunate to witness a commemorative procession of royal barges gliding down Bangkok's Chao Phraya River. The 52 gilded craft are rowed by the king's Royal Guards in full regalia in a procession that probably matches the regal brilliance of similar events once held in ancient Thai capital Ayutthaya.
Having stumbled upon the spectacle, it seems fitting to visit Thailand's ancient royal capitals, the places where the country's passion for ceremony and cultural tradition has its roots. Our first destination is Ayutthaya, 70km north of Bangkok. Like its modern counterpart, the old city was a centre of international trade, hosting settlements of Portuguese, Dutch, Japanese, French and Chinese merchants. It makes sense to travel to it on the Chao Phraya, the river that was once the city's main commercial link with the outside world.
The journey can take three to six hours, depending on your choice of craft: express ferry or catered tourist boat. As you pass along the river, Bangkok's concrete towers give way to the wooden riverside dwellings that characterise the outlying villages and towns.
Ayutthaya was established in 1350. In its heyday, the city had a population of more than 1 million, exceeding London's at that time. Though now in ruins, it is easy to imagine how splendid it must have looked. The three huge reconstructured Singhalese-style chedis (bell-shaped towers) of Wat Phra Si Sanphet - originally covered in gold - are still impressive. Five of the city's finest sites - Wat Phra Si Sanphet and Wat Ratchaburana among them - are floodlit at night, creating a soul-stirring vision.
Having spent the night in Ayutthaya's 'new town', the next morning we travel 80km north by road to Lopburi, the place that gave its name to the Khmer-dominated period of Thai history (from the sixth to the 13th centuries). While Ayutthaya's new town lies respectfully apart from the old, in Lopburi the ancient and the modern co-exist. Demarcating the city's central business district are the three archaic 'corn-cob' spires of Phra Prang Sam Yot, which have survived for 1,000 years. Classically Khmer in style, the shrine contains Indian iconology, with the three prangs representing the Hindu trinity. The site was converted to a Buddhist temple in the mid-17th century by Ayutthaya's King Narai the Great.
King Narai was also responsible for Ratchaniwet Palace, the substantial remains of which stand in immaculate gardens within the palace walls. The grounds contain the excellent Lopburi museum too, which houses an extensive collection of artefacts spanning the entire Lopburi period and beyond.
