One buddha, two buddha, three buddha, four, five buddha, six buddha, seven buddha, please no more!!!

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Unfortunately, on our journey to our next destination, we were accompanied by a group of backpackers who epitomised all of our worst fears about type of fellow travellers we would meet on our trip. We were subjected to 4 hours of them swearing, showing off about how many happy shakes and mushroom pizzas they had consumed and the amount of money they had spent on tattoos (one of them had spent over £600), and then complaining they were too broke to see any sights. When we arrived in Ayutthaya we breathed a sigh of relief when they got off at a hostel a few stops before us.



Over the next day and another very early morning we set out on foot to explore the ancient capital and its temple ruins. The city was founded in 1351 and used to be extremely wealthy, having double the population of London in 1645. Unfortunately, the cities fortunes changed when in 1797 it was ransacked by the Burmese and left to ruin. We took an evening river boat trip to see even more temples and buddhas and tried our luck with some more street food. However, this time our luck wasn’t in, and we ended up with a chocolate, banana and scrambled egg pancake…yuk! (Not quite what we were expecting!)



The next morning Cel thought that we still hadn’t seen enough buddhas, so dragged us off to see another temple before breakfast! As if that wasn’t bad enough, she decided it would be a good idea to walk there, but when we found ourselves on a busy flyover with no pavement, we quickly flagged down a tuktuk.

Our next destination, Sukhothai, also a former capital of Thailand, but for only a brief period of the 140 years between 1238 – 1376. This time, we attempted to explore the historical ruins, and you guessed it, more temples and buddhas, on 2 wheels. However, those of you who know Cel well will know that her and bikes don’t mix. After several attempts of trying to both balance on one bike, we gave up, returned it and got a tuktuk instead.

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Photos

Ayutthaya
Wat Ratburana

Ayutthaya
A Garuda- a mythical bird like creature in Hindu and Buddhist mythology

Ayutthaya
Wat Phra Mahathat

Ayutthaya
Buddhas even grow on trees it seems...

Ayutthaya
A little precarious!

Ayutthaya
The three chedis of Wat Phra Si Sanphet built in 1448 as a private royal chapel

Ayutthaya
Wat Na Phra Mane

Ayutthaya
Trees also grow out of chedis!

Ayutthaya
The giant knee of the 19m high Buddha at Wat Phanan Choeng

Ayutthaya
The reclining Buddha at Wat Phutthaisawan

Ayutthaya
Wat Chai Watthanaram. The central 35m prang is surrounded by 12 lesser prangs

Ayutthaya
Dinner at the night market

Ayutthaya
Yes that is intestine you can see on the left!

Ayutthaya
Our early morning trip to Wat Yai Chai Mongkol

Ayutthaya
One buddha, two buddha, three buddha, four, five buddha, six buddha, seven buddha, please no more!