Puppets and Ruins

We took the train to Ayutthaya, the old capital. The man sitting across from me during the hour and a half ride was a Muay Thai boxer, the scars on his face and the eagle tattooed across the entirety of his chest spoke to his merit. A man and a small child sat next to me for a while, the child did not accept my peace offering of a mento and I was deeply offended.
We took tuk tuks to the island to the Toto Inn, party room for 8. Most of us ate Thai food that night but apparently we should have sprung for the Italian place next door. Lasagna in Thailand, anyone? I slept well despite the cold and the general lack of blankets, though I was one of the lucky ones who didn't have to share one of the thin plaid strips of cotton.
Breakfast and bikes the next morning, after much ado over the continued use of tuk tuks and our general ability to bike to all of the ruins successfully. We almost died 5 times. I will never get used to driving on the left or riding bikes next to double decker buses airbrused with curious combinations of Disney characters. Few tourists were around and most of the ruins looked pretty much the same--lots of old bricks built into awesome 600 or so year old Wats that are now falling apart. I have now seen Ayutthaya.
The night before was another school sponsored trip to a culturally relevant puppet show frequented exclusively by tourists. Three people control each 3 foot tall puppet as they use their legs and faces to further illustrate the actions of the puppets they are controlling. A traditional band, 4 men acting as the voices of the puppets and a whole lot of dry ice accompanied the puppeteers on stage. I could have done without the obnoxious voices for the most part, but the weird music grew on me.