A continuation post from the previous one. For the past 2 years when we go to Bangkok, we only visited the malls, Chatuchak and savour the delicious food. This time, our Thai friends who are ever so gracious, insisted that we should go to Ayutthaya, the ancient city of Thailand. Ayutthaya is about 1.5 hours drive from Bangkok and on the 2nd day after we were done in Chatuchak, they picked us up and head to the ancient city. I am so glad that we went because we had a really enjoyable time there. I love the History subject and I remember reading about this city and seeing the ruins and temples in the book. Ayutthaya existed from 1351 to 1767 and was a thriving city in the East. It was attacked by the Burmese in the 18th century and almost completely burnt the city down to the ground. Hints of the spectacular city can still be seen now in the many ruins of the monasteries, temples and palaces. The sight is pretty amazing.
Headless Buddha statues in a row at Wat Mahathat
One of the few complete Buddha statues
Buddha’s head embedded in the roots of the Bodhi tree. This is one of the most famous symbol of this ancient city. I have seen this image many many times before and being able to see it face to face was just awesome. On the notice near the tree, it says that those who wish to take a photo of the Buddha’s head with themselves would have to squat or kneel down so that they are not position higher than the Buddha as a mark of respect.
A description of the head of the sandstone Buddha image
Our friends quickly booked us on a elephant ride as soon as we reached Ayutthaya. It was our first time and I was quite scared initially. I felt so sorry for the poor elephant who had to endured our weight. Ashley was thrilled as usual. The elephant took us around part of the ancient city.
After this, we head over to the Chinese Buddhist Temple called Wat Panan Choeng located at the East bank of the Chao Phraya. It has a beautiful gold Buddha that is 19 meter tall.
Photo taken from google.
It was a memorable trip for us and we are so grateful to our lovely friends for taking us to Ayutthaya and treating us to a sumptuous Thai food for dinner. We had been feasting on lots of seafood, tom yum goong and my favourite glass noodle with prawns. Simply marvellous!
