Last September, I went on a family trip to Bangkok (DUH) and I arranged a day trip to the
ancient city, Ayutthaya, one of the places that had been on my list for a
while. *stares back a my friends who WTF me when I started "sight
seeing" in Bangkok. * My Cousin was nice enough to arrange the pick up and
what nots for me and basically all I had to do is to find the driver and hop on
to the ride and set off.
I would take the
public transport off anytime so to explore more, but comfort is key when
travelling with aunties and children. Basically it was like a guided trip, with
our driver bringing us from places to places. The journey there is about 1.5
hour from Bangkok. We paid less than $200 for the ride, excluding driver's
lunch ( treat on us)and no we didn't tip.
The whole experience was pretty amazing and eye opener. I would definitely recommend ANYONE planning to visit Bangkok to set aside one day for this beautiful place. I can’t wait to be back to take more pictures. We only visited five places and was back to Bangkok before dinner time. Ayutthaya is also a city that's filled with temples everywhere you go, good for you if you are as religious as I am
Brief History of
Ayutthaya :
The Historic City of Ayutthaya, founded in 1350, was the second capital of the Siamese Kingdom. It flourished from the 14th to the 18th centuries, during which time it grew to be one of the world’s largest and most cosmopolitan urban areas and a center of global diplomacy and commerce. Ayutthaya was strategically located on an island surrounded by three rivers connecting the city to the sea. This site was chosen because it was located above the tidal bore of the Gulf of Siam as it existed at that time, thus preventing attack of the city by the sea-going warships of other nations. The location also helped to protect the city from seasonal flooding.The city was attacked and razed by the Burmese army in 1767 who burned the city to the ground and forced the inhabitants to abandon the city. The city was never rebuilt in the same location and remains known today as an extensive archaeological site. At present, it is located in Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya District, Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Province.
First stop : Bang Pa-In Summer Palace.
This is the second palace that I've been to in Thailand,
first being the one in Hua Hin and okay la,maybe can skip this place.Admission ticket : 100 Baht
x
The palace features a little of the European styled architecture and it looks really modern from the outside.
Something to note : Always wear long pants/ skirt and cover your shoulders for both gender.
One interesting fact is that ladies have to wear the sarong over if you are wearing pants.
BUTTTTT, I highly recommend to take the river cable car over to the other side to see Wat Niwet Thammaprawat Gothic Temple. Even the river crossing experience was interesting.
It is this church style structure with yellow exterior and you would not expect what you will see inside.
I googled and found out that the structured was a piece of commissioned work designed by an Italian architect and were build in Western style to reflect the modernisation of the country.
Second stop : Wat Phanan Choeng
The temple has a Buddha statue at 19m tall and was said to be built in 1324, some time around the era with the Burmese destroy the Ayutthaya city.
Third stop : Wat Yai chai mongkhol
Here comes the ruins. This temple had several names where it used to be called Wat Pa Kaeo - an exhumed and cremation site for two princes who died of chloera in 1357. It was later renamed after the King defeated the Burmese army in 1592.
Then we went for lunch..
Fourth Stop : Wat Mahathat
I would say this Wat is the most popular place with tourist for its remains while it was one of the more important temples during the ancient days for its close prioximity to the Grand Palace. The place is also going through restoration, and hopefully a old-new look the next time I'm there.
Fifth stop : Wat Lokayasutharam
The feature of the place would be the huge reclining Buddha, sitting at 37 metres long and 8 metres high, it's really amazing to just think about how it was built with the limited resources.
There are sooooo
many more Temples and ruins that we did not finish cause my fam say they all
looked the same can skip wtf. I was a little regretful not bringing along a
drone as well? Oh well, there is always next time I Guess. Before we head back
to Bangkok, don't forget to buy their traditional sweets, Roti Saimai, or what
we called Fairy Floss in present terms. Now you know where you all fairy floss
comes from ok, from this ancient city.
With that, I sum up
the day trip to the ancient city of Ayutthaya !
