Ayuthaya: Beautiful ruins north of Bangkok

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First of all, Merry Christmas and Happy Hannukah!!! Definitely not the most tradition Christmas but still it was a fabulous day. For a Hannukah gift Leah's mom got us a guide and driver for the day to take us on a tour of the place of our choice. We decided to go to Ayuthaya, the old capitol of Thailand. Ketsara (pronounced Kate-serah) was our guide and was great. I learned so much about Thai history and traditions. Fro example: The tower-like tombs scattered throughout Ayuthaya and a key architecture throughout Thailand usually has 8 rings because there are 8 levels of Buddhism to go through to reach enlightenment. The monks wear orange robes died by tumeric so that they did not appear dirty all the time. Thailand used to be called Siam. So as you can see I did have some education on my trip! We had an incredible Thai lunch along one of the rivers protecting Ayuthaya. It could not have been a prettier day. We saw so many different temples, ruins and the old palace that I cannot remember the names of them all.

That night we headed back to our hotel, the Buddy Lodge (highly reccomend it!) where we went swimming in the really cool pool. For dinner we wandered down Khoa San Road perusing the many food stalls until we all settled on falafels. They tasted sooo good! Falafels and cheap Chang beer for Christmas dinner- high class I tell ya. Khoa San Road is the backpacker haven in Bangkok. You have to go there if you go to Bangkok. It is quite the experience. Walking up and down the street is similar to walking down Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley- hippies and all types of people from all over the world. There were vendors selling bugs to eat! Gross! I am telling you all the coolest kids come from Berkeley - we ran into a group of boys from Jason's frat. Small world! I also got to meet up with my friend Jonathan who now lives in Tokyo (and a Berkeley grad). After too many beers I lost most of my common sense and going on a tuk tuk ride to Patpong to see a sex show seemed like a good idea. Our 2 tuk tuks were popping wheelies and racing...so safe I know. After taking us to the wrong areas (damn tuk tuks) we finally made it to the sex district. Girls at the sex shows are "very talented" I guess you could say. (If you would like more information inquire later). After 5 minutes and not really wanting to pay we took off back for Khoa San Road and got one last order of Pad Thai before heading off to bed.

Christmas 2005: Thai Ruins and temples, beer, falafel, and sex shows....does life get any better?

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Photos

Ayuthaya
Leah and I in front of a Thai Buddha and temple.

Local Market
Ketsara took us to a local market just outside of Bangkok. They acted like they had never seen foreigners before...at least not in that market

The Thailand Crew
Leah, Jeff, Casey, Jason, and Liz

Ayuthaya Temple
Jason and Jeff

Old Grand Palace
Us three girls with our tour guide Ketsara

Ayuthaya Temple
Lovely ladies

Buddhism
starting to practice the buddha ways ;-)

Thai Massage
An essential part of our day. 2 hour massage for 10 bucks...now thats the life!!! Liz and I with my massuse

Khoa San Road
Chaos, pure chaos...I loved it

Merry Christmas!!
This is how I spent Christmas dinner

EEEWWWW!
Jonathan eating the grasshopper I bought for him....bleh. I do not know what I would eat first, a grasshopper or natto. That's a toss up!

Crazy tuk tuks
Not the safest mode of transportation but definitely the most adventurous