Wat Chaiwatthanaram at sunset

On the west bank of the Chao Phraya, outside the island, Wat Chaiwatthanaram is where an Ayutthaya day ends. Its central prang, a tall tower in the Khmer style built in the seventeenth century, stands on a raised platform ringed by smaller towers and a gallery of seated Buddha images, many of them damaged. In the last hour the sun goes down behind it, and the towers turn from orange to a dark outline against the sky.

It is the busiest ruin at the end of the day — this is the sunset frame everyone knows — so arrive early enough to walk the grounds while the light is still warm on the brick, and keep the silhouette for last. Some couples come in rented Thai dress for exactly this hour. The Buddha images in the gallery are photographed on their own; the two of you stand on the lawns and the paths, never on the platforms.

The temple stands right on the riverbank, which makes it the natural turning point for a longtail around the island at the end of the day: about an hour on the water, with ruins, riverside houses and barges sliding past, and the quietest way to propose in Ayutthaya. Ask about life jackets, and late in the rainy season, around September and October, expect the river to run high and fast.