Our day began at a 6 a.m. pick-up by a Thai driver who seemed as though he had OCD. He was touching all the mirrors of the van and had this uneasy twitch. We were told that the drive to Ayutthaya would be no longer than 2 hours, but since Bangkok traffic is unbearable, it may take longer. I decided that I would sleep in the van since 6 a.m. was too freakin early! After making a pit-stop at a local Bangkok hotel parking lot to pick up our tour guide, we were then transferred to our driver’s personal whip. Believe me, at 6-7 a.m. we didn’t even care about what was going on; it was too early to function.
After transferring to his car, we arrived at Ayutthaya at about 9 a.m. Our first stop was Bang-Pa where the king spends his summers. Our tour guide, Gim (or Jim?) did a great job photographing Lara and I. It’s always nice to have someone with perspective to take photos for you. Here are a few photos of this place
Once we were done touring the sight, we drove to Wat Panan Choeng (p.s. Wat means Temple) which houses the largest ancient golden Buddha known as “Luang Po To”. The Buddha image, settling in a meditation posture is 57 feet in height. I was amazed to see how enormous this statue was! I couldn’t believe how massive it was. I forgot to ask whether it was built inside or if the temple was built around it first. Before entering into the temple, we were greeted by Thai traditional dancers as well.
Some things I’ve learned about Buddhas per Gim:
- Buddha’s are given offerings every day in various forms like food, drink, money and gold flakes
- Buddha statues in distinct postures indicate specific meanings: Buddhas that are sitting cross-legged are in meditation, those standing with one palm faced in “stop” gesture indicate a yield in family conflict and those standing with two palms mean to calm the waters
- There are different Buddhas that are praised
Our next stop was Wat Maha That, which was once known to be the original Grand Palace. This space was destructed by the Burmese in the 14th century. All along this palace were several Buddha statues that were slaughtered and beheaded by the Burmese, leaving an eerie and disturbing presence in this once revered historic sight. This place is also known for the outlandish landmark of Buddha’s head grown into a tree. Gim explained that the Burmese attempted to destroy it by burning this place down and because they beheaded and dismembered the Buddha statues one head was thrown into the ground where a tree began to grow.
Before going into this site, there was this guy taking pictures of tourists. I didn’t notice that he was taking photos of us until Lara mentioned it, but before we left a woman approached us with these two plates in her hands. Tell me why we look so moded… oh I know, because the guy could have asked us to smile instead of being a stalker and taking pictures of us! Why would anyone want to buy a picture of them with their mouth open looking silly like that? Haha, gaaaaad.
This place was incredible and had so much history tied to it. I hope you like my pictures!
After we took a quick lunch over to a designated restaurant along the river then to our final sight, Wat Phra Sri San Phet. Once we were finished, we headed back to Bangkok and made a default stop to the gem warehouse. We didn’t buy anything, but we did enjoy the complimentary soda, tour of the factory and quick film of how gems were excavated in Thailand.
As I’m nearing my departure from Thailand, I can’t help but appreciate the amazing history of this country and all these beautiful places. We’re almost leaving and it feels like we’re leaving our hearts in another place again.
I’m always charmed by you. Thank you.
More photos from Ayutthaya
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