Ayuthaya - The Ancient City

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It's now Thursday in Bangkok and I'm up early for a day trip that will take me about 2 hours outside of the city. I'm heading to Ayuthaya. This city was the capital of Siam from 1350 to 1767. The history here is incredible. 33 kings ruled this city. 70 wars were fought between 1350 and 1767. It was a major hub for trading. It was a city rich in pride, traditional and culture with merchants visiting from all over the world. In 1991 it was declared a Unesco World Heritage site and said to be something not seen anywhere else in the world. For me, places lime this are the reason to travel.

I load up at 7 am in a small tour mini van. We make our way around Bangkok picking up a few others and then make our way out of the city. It's a drive much like any city departure. The high rise buildings break and make way for a little more green space and homes. I'm surprised by how incredibly flat the area is. No rise in ground height at all. As we continue on and really make our way into the countryside, fields of crops begin to pop up. It's a beautiful country.

As we pull into Ayuthaya, the mix of modern life and history are immediately evident. I wish I had planned to spend a few nights in this town!

Our 1st stop is Phra Chedi Chaimongkhan. It's not a large complex but has one very impressive temple. It also has a beautiful laying buddha. The first thing that strikes me about this place is that all.of the buildings are made of red brick. The white buildings and decorative roofs are non-existent. This was built in a time far prior to that and there is a beauty in these buildings that stretch far beyond something brightly colored. The other lovely feature that was a theme throughout the day...trees. Massive trees spread throughout all the grounds. Again simply due to the age of this area, and the beauty of nature next to these ruins was amazing. This temple is still in great shape. You can see in some places were walls have sunk and things are now crooked due to the earth settling of hundreds of years. The main temple has a center row of steps you can climb up and then there is a wall all around the perimeter. There are two entrances and each one has a large buddha on a raised platform. Inside the wall, Buddhas are lined up one after another. Most of them are gold and draped in a yellow scarf like fabric. There are a few larger white Buddhas that are stunning against the red brick. Behind the temple is a beautiful garden space with a collection of white Buddhas together. In the sun, they seem to illuminate. The top of the in temple is a dome and I make my way towards it up the now uneven brick steps. The views from the top are amazing. You can see out over the city and into the surrounding farm land. Inside the small room of the temple there are several Buddhas and people are sticking these small gold square pieces of paper to them. I'm not sure why but the effect is very pretty.

Back in the mini van and off to the next stop...Wat Maha That. This is a much larger temple area and the destruction is more widespread. When the Burmese conquered Ayuthaya in 1767, they burned, looted and destroyed all the temples. The evidence of that is seen here. Most of the buildings are gone and you see just the foundations left. In some places one pillar or an original wall is still standing. The fun thing about this is you get the sense of how large these temples were. The one erie thing is that the Burmese also cut off the heads of all the Buddhas and took them to other places to sell them for money. So as you walk around the grounds, all the places you see buddhas, you only see a state from the waist down. These Buddhas were all made out of stone. The temple still has some good structures standing like several of the dome shaped buildings and a few spire buildings. This is also a famous stop because there is a tree that has gone into and over a wall and in the roots you can see a buddha head. I took time walking thru the grounds and soaking in all that was there. To think of what this was 700 years ago is a bit mind boggling but the beauty of it takes over and almost transports you there.

Back out at the mini bus I sit in the shade and wait as out group collects. All around town you see the 3 wheel carts similar to the Tuk Tuk taking tourists around. What I love is that they are all decorated. Some with bright colors others really decked out with themes. One of my favorites was Nemo, painted with an underwater theme.

Our next stop was Wat Lokayasutha. This is the place of the very impressive and massive laying buddha. How long and tall, I don't know but huge! It's completely made of stone and draped in a yellow cloth. In the bright sun of mid day it's striking. The grounds here overall are much smaller but there is one area of ruin that you can see was once a very large temple. Only the foundation is left and it takes up a massive area.

The next stop is Wat Phu Khao Thong. Completely different from everything else we've seen today, this massive white tiered temple sits alone in a large field. There is a low red brink wall that surrounds it but overall your eye only sees the large white temple. It's a mix of Burmese style and Thai style architecture and the only color on the building is over the alcoves at the very top. They are decorated with gold detail. The rest of the building is quite plain yet very pretty. There are stairs on 4 sides and I make my way to the top. It's quite the hike! The steps are uneven and the sun is blazing down but the views from the top are worth it. It feels like you can see for miles up here. Inside, there is a single narrow low tunnel that leads to a very small room with a single buddha in it. Think of what this building has seen thru the years!

After climbing back down and loading up, it's time for lunch. We have a traditional Thai lunch family style and I get to know a few of the other girls on the trip. 2 from Spain and 2 from France. I talk about my trip to Spain and learn about the French girls. Thailand is just a stop over for them on their way to Auckland where they will be learning English for 2 months. Lunch is fabulous and I enjoy the company and conversation.

We have one more stop for the day and that's at Wat Phrasisanpeth. This is another very large complex and has a mix of architecture. There are the red brick ruins and buildings all around but then also the white stone spires mixed in. We spent almost an hour here and it took that long just to see it all. The walls that are now held up but support beams, the spires that have crashed to the ground and left in there place for all to see, the headless buddhas, the small alcoves with tiny gold buddhas, the hidden buildings behind emense trees...the entire area was filled with discovery and just a joy to walk around.

As we drove around the city today everywhere you looked there was another temple. I have to say, I wish I had stayed in Ayuthaya. I recommend that if you venture here, stay a few nights. Rent bikes and really take your time wondering around the city. It will be completely worth it!

As we headed back into the city I was happy to have a little AC. I had one more adventure planned for the night. After a dip in the pool, a shower and some down time, I hopped in a taxi and went to what is considered to be the best place in Bangkok for Pad Thai. I arrive at Thip Samai to a busy crowd and several cooks set up on the sidewalk. I wait for a table and when I sit down I'm delighted to see that Pad Thai is the only thing on the menu. They sever it several different ways but I go with the traditional one. It's fabulous!!! Pad Thai is one of my absolute favorite things to eat and to have it here is such a treat. Sometimes it's the smallest joys when we travel!

*I still can't upload photos. For photos, please follow me on instagram at Her Sole Abroad.

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