Barai Pond
Barai Pond is a man-made pool located in Ayuthay. It serves as a reservoir for "runoff" water for the Alchemy Well. In the center of the pond is Barai Temple, home to the Insight Glass. The party in Golden Sun: Dark Dawn needs to cross it while it is full in order to get into Ayuthay's proper "settlement" portion, and they later need to cross it while it has a lowered water level to access Barai Temple as a dungeon.
Walkthrough
Entering Ayuthay
Ayuthay can first be entered as soon as the party leaves Harapa and gains access to the Ei-Jei region, but the only possible rewards to doing so that early are an Herb that can be found in the northwest barrel and an Antidote in the northeast jar. Otherwise, there will be no point to any visit until the party comes with both the Tree Flute from Passaj and Wo's Letter from Kaocho in their inventory, the latter of which is what the guards standing at the bottom of the pond require you to present before they will stand aside. There is no point to presenting the letter to any other soldier standing guard even though the game brings up the menu automatically whenever you talk to one.
Stand on the raft and cast Whirlwind in the southern direction to propel it north, then cast east to propel west to reach lily pads. Hop left three times and up twice, and climb up the very thin tree on this island and interact with seemingly nothing to get a very well-hidden Apple. Step onto the raft right of that and, if you want a Cookie, propel yourself north and then west to get to the chest at the west end of the map. Otherwise, go east and then north and head up the palace steps and present the letter again to the soldiers. Enter the doorway for a cutscene, then present the letter to the blue general on the left, Ku-Tsung.
After the generals leave, take the right fork out and cast Growth on the sapling, and climb the resulting vine, head left, and enter the door far to the left. Head right through the watery hallway and follow along until you get to a courtyard out back in front of a tree with a stone face. Enter the doorway left of it first and claim 53 Coins from the upper left jar inside. Interact with the tree's face and use the Tree Flute to be brought inside Ayuthay in a cutscene, which will lock you inside for a while.
Searching for Barai Temple
Some time later, when you have gained the Arid Heat Psynergy and reduced the water level of the pond by adjusting the Alchemy Well inside the city, you can come out of the previously submerged lower exit from Ayuthay, with a raft to your left. Propel yourself left to get the chest with the Leather Boots, then propel yourself back right, then down and right. Hop down the lily pads and right to the island with the stone pillar on it and move that two spaces down so that it falls into the water. Now hop right from the giant lily pad the raft is brushing up against.
Another raft far to the right lets you transport yourself down, then left against the sunken pillar, then down to a chest containing the Glittering Tiara. Propelling yourself left is all you need to be able to hop several lily pads left and enter the Barai Temple dungeon, but before you do so, propel yourself up so that you end up left of the sunken pillar, then transport yourself left and then up. You end up next to the door you came through to enter the sunken pond, but now you can transport yourself right into some lily pads allowing access to two separate ladders at the northeast corner of the map. Head up the one further to the right and enter the palace screen above to find another raft. Propelling yourself all the way to the northeast corner of this screen gets you to a chest containing a Water of Life, and propelling yourself to the giant lily pad to the left lets you collect the Jupiter Djinni Breath without a fight. Walk down from the raft to take the near ladder down and blow the raft left and down to get in jumping distance of Barai Temple.
When you eventually complete the dungeon, it is a simple matter of blowing that same raft back north and entering back through the northern doorway. Cutscenes that take place in Ayuthay will automatically raise the water level back up, and a boss battle with Ku-Tsung and Ku-Embra will take place as soon as you attempt to leave for the pond. Afterward, a Kaocho soldier will now be standing on a raft and will provide the option of ferrying your party between the top and bottom ends of the pond, skipping all the tedious usage of Whirlwind needed to make future visits to the city.
Collectables
Herb: Found in a barrel near the initial entrance to Ayuthay.
Antidote: Found in a jar near the initial entrance to Ayuthay.
Apple: Found in a tree on a small landmass in the center of the pond. Climb up the tree to automatically collect the Apple.
Cookie: Located in a chest near the northeast corner of the pond.
Leather Boots: Found in a chest after the water level is lowered.
Glittering Tiara: Found in a chest on a small landmass after the water level is lowered.
Water of Life: Found in a chest at the northwest part of the moat outside of the main building, which can only be reached after the water level is lowered.
Jupiter Djinni Breath: Found on a lily pad near the entrance to the main building. Cannot be approached until after the water level is lowered.
Story
When Matthew's party travels to Ayuthay, they are faced with the obstacle of crossing Barai Pond, as there is no raftsman to carry them across, despite a large number of Kaocho soldiers hanging around. However, the Adepts are able to use their Psynergy to cross via a series of rafts and lily pads.
After entering Ayuthay, the Adepts learn that Barai Pond is a man-made reservoir that is meant to hold the runoff for the Alchemy Well. Prior to the well's reactivation, the pond's water-level was much lower, allowing access to Barai Temple. According to King Paithos, the temple is now underwater due to the immense amount of water the Alchemy Well produces. This is a problem as the Adepts will need to explore the temple to find the Insight Glass, a treasure necessary for their current quest to restart the Alchemy Forge in Passaj. Luckily, however, the Adepts are able to use the Sand Prince Stone, which they find in Ayuthay, to reverse the flow of the Alchemy Well. This lowers the water level of Barai Pond, allowing access to the temple. After finding the Insight Glass, the flow of the Alchemy Well is restored, raising the water back to its normal levels.
After the Adepts leave Ayuthay, a Kaochan soldier is now available to ferry the Adepts across Barai Pond.
