I was wondering as I begin this blog if I should label the place as Bangkok or Ayutthaya. Technically, Ayutthaya is not located in Bangkok but really, who would come here unless you go to Bangkok. If you scroll down the places that I've explored, you'll know that I'm a fan of ruins. As a fan of ruins, I should definitely be here because the Ayutthaya Kingdom is one of the most important ancient city in this part of the world.
By the time I've finished exploring this place, I realised how some countries really did a damn good job in preserving the remnants of the ancient civilization under their care. Ayutthaya pales, so pale in comparison to the likes of Angkor Wat and Borobudur. There's not much information you can gather about Ayutthaya ancient city. So you just hired a driver and go there, and hope he brings you to the right temples.
Anyway, here are the few temples / wat that I managed to cover in my sort-of-1-day-tour.
1. Wat Mahathat is the reason why we came to Ayutthaya.
This Buddha head trapped in between tree roots is a sacred ground in Ayutthaya. Legend has it that the Buddha statue is destroyed in the war and that over the years, the tree roots pulled the head of the Buddha up from the ground. Not sure if that's true.
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| This Buddha head is the hot spot in Ayutthaya |
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| This is a pull-back from close up. |
You will not missed the Buddha's head because there's where everyone is standing / queuing to take a picture.
In fact, they placed a bench for people to sit and pose! So here we are ... Ayutthaya!
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| Wat Mahathat |
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| Wat Mahathat |
2. Wat Yai Chaimongkol is also one of the most important or must visit wat in Ayutthaya. Located not far away from Wat Mahathat, it is slightly bigger and structure are still quite intact. It was built sometime around 1300s by a Siam king for monks who had returned from Ceylon.
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| Sleeping Buddha in Wat Yai Chaimongkol |
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| Wat Yai Chaimongkol |
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| Buddha images in Wat Yai Chaimongkol |
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| Behind me the main chedis (stupa) of Wat Yai Chaimongkol |
3. Next up, Wat Phanan Cheong is a temple looking all oriental and Chinese. The story goes that, once there was a Siam King that has asked the Emperor of China's daughter to be his wife. She travelled from China to this area by boat. When she arrived, the King was not there to greet her. She was heart broken. She waited for a long time but the King did not come. Finally, she killed herself. The King was very sad, so he had this temple built for her. Well in actual fact, if this does happened, China would have launch a war at Ayutthya, don't you think?
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| Buddha statue inside the temple |
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| Chinese writings carved at the door |
4. Finally, we also visited the Wat Phra Si Sanphet
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One of the chedis / stupa of this wat which is located within the ancient royal palace ground.
So I presume this is a temple for the royalties. |
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| There all altogether three chedis believed to have kept the ashes of three Kings |
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| Me and the Chedis |
Oh, did I mentioned that Ayutthaya is about 1 and a half hour drive from Bangkok? Its probably 2 and a half hour if you are caught in traffic jam back to the city. If you are a fan of ruins, its probably worth your 1 day trip when you happened to be in Bangkok.
Location : Ayutthaya, Thailand
Date of travel : March 2014
