I decided to take a train to my first destination after hearing about the challenges in crossing the bridges on the outskirts of Bangkok. Thanks to jet lag I was wide awake at 5am. I loaded my panniers and cruised down the quiet streets of Bangkok to the train station accompanied by a few street vendors setting up for the day and prostitutes waiting in doorways to close up the night. The train station Hua Lamphang offers several services that I fortunately didn't need to use; showers, restrooms, luggage storage. I bought the ticket to Ayutthya for ~300bt and then had to go to a different booth to buy a ticket for my bike ~90bt. What a steal! Bikes are stored in the end cart and the porters are really helpful loading and unloading the bike. I left my panniers on the bike and felt totally comfortable in their security.
I rolled into Ayutthya around 8:30am which landed me at the Baan Lotus Guest House around 9am. The owner is a great resources, offering helpful tips on close restaurants, massage houses and sites and they had cold Birdy cans (yeah!). At $10 dollars a night, the place was perfect. 
There are several historic sites within a quick 15 min ride and the ridiculous Elephant Kraal where elephants dance to techno music.
I had someone suggest riding out to Bang Sui to find authentic Thai handicraft. The signs showed an enticing 37 km distance, however, after getting lost and inaccurate markers, it turned out to be more like 60km one way. After taking a wrong turn, I found myself on an "A" road at rush hour competing with freight trucks, heavy traffic and horrible exhaust. I rolled back into Baan Lotus just as the sun was setting without my bike light or reflector jacket. Lesson learned!
