Ancient cities in Southeast Asia to go

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With many old dynasties that powered through the entire region for centuries, Southeast Asia today features several ancient ruins that are part of the old cities before. Here are the 5 of the best ancient cities in Southeast Asia.

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Angkor Thom (802 – 1431), Cambodia

Angkor Thom in Khmer means “The Great City”. It was built in the early 9^th century by order of the Jayavarman VII after building the wondrous Angkor for 100 years. Angkor Thom is encircled by stoned walls and an impressive moat system of 3 kilometers each side of a rectangular. It was also the last city of the old Khmer kingdom. Over the last 1000 years, a great amount of Angkor structures have been destroyed by wars and natural catastrophes. However, the ancient city of Angkor Thom with the mysterious Bayon temple always captivates the imagination of visitors while coming to Cambodia.

Sukhothai (1238 – 1438), Thailand

Sukhothai is the first capital city of Siam Kingdom (1238 – 1257). The first king Phokhun Si Inthrathit was the one who establish the whole dynasty of Ruang Phra. 120 years after that, Sukhothai was reigned under several kings, but most notably is Ramkhamhaeng, who invented Thai scripts and set the foundation for Thai Buddhist monarchy. Today, the picturesque landscape also helps Sukhothai to become one of the most culturally important destinations in Thailand. Coming to this Thai ancient city, don’t forget to visit Wat Mahathat, Noen Prasat, Wat Si Sawai and the Ramkhamhaeng National Museum.

Mandalay (1859 – 1885), Myanmar

Mandalay means “The City of Pearls” was the last capital city of Myanmar’s feudalism, before the capital moves to Yangon. Mandalay was founded by king Mindon, a Buddhism admirer. Henceforth, he turned Mandalay into a Buddhist center of Myanmar, with many pagodas, monasteries which is exquisitely designed. The city nowadays is still able to retain the old charm in the spectacular Buddhist structures scattered across the city.

Hue (1802 – 1945), Vietnam

Like Mandalay, Hue is the last capital of the Vietnamese feudalism. Everything started in 1802, when Nguyen Anh became emperor, established the Nguyen Dynasty and decided to move the capital city from Hanoi to the central city of Hue. The remainders of the old city now is the well-preserved citadel and several intricate tombs that is built for the former Nguyen emperors. Hue is one of the 8 UNESCO World Heritages of Vietnam today.

Yogyakarta (1946 – 1948), Indonesia

Yogyakarta is a province in the thousand island country of Indonesia. Located on the Java Island, Yogyakarta used to be the capital city of Indonesia during the National Revolution (1945 – 1949). Today, it is considered as a cultural and art center of Java. Yogyakarta today is famous of several tourist attractions such as Borobudur, one of the wonders of Asia, the water palace of Taman Sari or Batik art which enchants visitors from all over the world.

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