Ayutthaya

Last Sunday I took a day-trip from Bangkok to Ayutthaya with three other Lertlah teachers.  Ayutthaya is the former capital of Thailand, and now features many ruins left over from the kingdom’s fall to Burma in 1767.  We branched out of our comfort zone by taking the bus the whole way there.  The day started early when we caught a cab from the apartments to the BTS (sky train).  Then we journeyed straight across Bangkok on the BTS to a station that let us off near the northern bus terminal.  The BTS really is great for these situations, because it saves you a lot of time and money over using a cab.  The bus was not expensive to take, and we happened to time it perfectly so that we arrived and purchased tickets just as a bus was leaving to Ayutthaya. 

Our tuk tuk.

The city itself was not far from Bangkok, and when we arrived in modern Ayutthaya we were confused by how developed it seemed to be.  It turns out that the ruins of the ancient capital are now largely intermingled with the new developments and current establishments.  As soon as we got off the bus at the last stop, eager tuk tuk drivers, who act somewhat as guides that drive you around the city, approached us.  A tuk tuk is a three-wheeled vehicle that seems somewhat like a mini truck.  The driver sits in a tiny cab in the front, and the passengers sit on benches that line the “box” of the vehicle in the back.  The tuk tuk we hired was very affordable, and a good investment considering we didn’t have the faintest idea where in the city we wanted to go to see ruins. 

Wat Yai Chaya Mongkol.

On the grounds of the Temple.

Our first stop on the tour was Wat Yai Chaya Mongkol (The Great Temple of Auspicious Victory).  Unfortunately, since our guide was mainly just a driver, and didn’t speak much English, we didn’t gain a very good understanding of the ruins that we visited.  That was okay however, for we enjoyed just taking in the sights and the awe of the ruins themselves.  I do know, though, that this temple was proclaimed by King U-thong to be the royal temple.  It was also “the seat of the Buddhist patriarchs and monks of the Forest Tradition (Aranyavasi School), which was noted for the practice of meditation and insight” (quoth my entry ticket).  The grounds of the temple were small but very lovely and interesting.  Also, the steps leading up to the temple were somewhat menacing as they have been eroded over many years and are now uneven. 

The back of Wat Yai Chaya Mongkol.

Our next stop was the Ayutthaya Historical Park (or at least that’s what my ticket says).  It was a large segment of ruins that seemed to show some ancient remnants of brick buildings.  You could climb onto some of the ruins and walk around, which was a neat experience.  Others were closed for repairs after the recent flooding that devastated Thailand.  I think that these were my favourite ruins to see because the architecture was quite astounding, and seems as though it would be very difficult to produce in the 1700’s or perhaps earlier. 

One of our stops was at an elephant facility, where many well-trained elephants were being shown to and fed by the crowd.  You could opt to ride the elephants, although my group did not (considering we had in Kanchanaburi and may also in Chiang Mai).  You could also pay a small fee to pose with an elephant for some pictures, which friends of mine chose to do.  The elephant was extremely photogenic, and it seems he had been trained to take a good picture because he even wrapped his trunk around his partner to up the cuteness factor. 

Ayutthaya Historical Park.

This structure was built by the Burmese when they
 conquered the city, but as renovations have been made to
 it in more recent years, it's construction has
been altered to become more Thai.

Our tuk tuk driver continued to take us to different ruins within the city.  He seemed to have a very familiar route, and stopped at what I assumed to be the most notable tourist stops.  I don’t know if he sensed my group’s annoyance with the continual entry fees, but towards the end of the tour he took us to some very amazing sites that had no admission costs as well.  I was very happy with the trip overall, and it was certainly worth the effort of so much travel.  I think that getting to see so much is one of the perks of being in a foreign country so long.  If I was only on vacation in Thailand for a few weeks, Ayutthaya might not have been on my list of things to see, but considering that I have plenty of time to see everything I want, I am certainly glad I got the opportunity to experience the ruins and history that I did.  

This was one of the most significant attractions at Ayutthaya Historical Park;
 a buddha statue that was grown over by a large tree.  The lower part of the tree is
 slightly discoloured due to the flooding in the area this past year,
 when the Buddha was covered by the water.