Travelling further from Bangkok, my next destination came to Ayutthaya. This trip was planned together with bunch of Malaysian colleagues working at Bangkok, together with a local. We spent a day long at the Ancient City, travelling around with a small tuk-tuk, visiting one and another ancient temples under the soaring hot sun.
The Historic City of Ayutthaya, founded in 1350, was the second capital of Siamese Kingdom after Sukhothai. This great city is left with only archaeological ruins after being attacked and razed by the Burmese army in 1767, and this marked the end of the Ayutthaya Kingdom. In 1991, part of the Ayutthaya historical sites were listed in UNESCO World Heritage Site.
We decided to take minivan to get to Ayutthaya in the most convenient way. To take the minivan, drop at Victory Monument BTS station, and walk towards the big roundabout. Keep right and take the first staircase down when you are above the big roundabout, and ask for the booth selling minivan ticket to Ayutthaya. The journey will take about 1 hour and half, and you should reach to the heart of the old city. Beware of the scam of dropping tourist at the remote area and tuk-tuk approaches to take tourist into old city for ridiculously high price. Riding the minivan is a nightmare if you come with the big backpack, as the minivan seating is too cramped to cater for big luggage/backpack.
Once reaching, we arranged with a tuk-tuk to carry us around, I forgot the price though. =)
First we visited the Wat Yaichaimongkol, located out of the island of Ayutthaya. This temple was built in the 13th century, and rebuilt in memorial of King Naresuan the Great for his victory over Burmese. The significant landmark is the huge chedi which we can see from far. The chedi is covered in golden cloth, and stands at 62 meter high.
Wat Yaichaimongkol also features a large reclining Buddha in saffron robe. We were told that rubbing coin on the foot of reclining Buddha and when the coin stuck to the foot, it would bring good luck to us, and every visitors tried their luck to do so. I succeeded by the 2nd attempt. Yeay!
We can also see a lot of Buddhas in saffron robe surrounding the main chedi.
Other views in Wat Yaichaimongkol
After visiting Wat Yaichaimongkol, it's time to eat! We headed for the floating market in Ayutthaya and went for the famous boat noodle, originated from Ayutthaya itself.
Visiting the floating market was not only for the food, but also the souvenirs and handicrafts.
Do you see the giant meatballs? OMG!
Another delicious local dessert, Tarb Tim Krob, which becomes my favourite Thai dessert after coming back to Malaysia.
Next stop, the Wat Phanan Cheong. The popular myth says tears flowed from the eyes of 57 feet tall Buddha inside the temple when Ayutthaya was downed by the Burmese.
We proceeded next with Wat Mongkol Bophit, which is located beside the famous Wat Phra Si Sanphet. Wat Mongkol Bophit was built in the 15th century, and it was badly damaged by fire during the second fall of Ayutthaya to Burmese. What we see here is the final structure, rebuilt in 1957.
Small kids made offerings by putting coins in the row of containers.
Next destination to the magnificent Wat Phra Si Sanphet. This was the holiest temple situated within the ground of the old Royal Palace of ancient city of Ayutthaya. This temple was served as the model for Wat Phra Kaew in Bangkok.
The most significant landmark here were the 3 chedis, which were spared after the whole city of Ayutthaya was destroyed by the Burmese, including the Royal Palace.
The ruins left after being destroyed by the Burmese in 1767. Standing on the top of ruins overseeing the whole archaeological site, we could still feel how impressive the area was during the old days of Ayutthaya Kingdom.
The headless Buddha in the grand temple
Last stop of the day trip, we went to another famous attraction which was Wat Mahathat. This temple was built in the 14th century, and it was destroyed by Burmese in 1767. Now it was left with a lot of the headless Buddha statues, and some Buddha images that were left with burnt mark.
The gallery of Rabieng Khot, a lot of decapitated sitting Buddha statues
The main prang at the center of the temple, you could imagine how big it was before the prang became rubble.
A complete statue of sitting Buddha image, left with burnt mark
Here comes the main attraction that draws crowds to visit this temple. The Buddha head was entwined within the tree roots. Nobody could explain why this happened but this was surely an unusual sight.
Remember that this is a sacred site and visitors are advised to be respectful to the Buddha. Photograph with the Buddha image is allowed but photograph should be taken with kneeling position.
Here marks the end of the day trip to Ayutthaya, and we all reached back Bangkok with sun burnt on the face and behind the neck. Still, it was a truly enjoyable trip!
P/S: Ayutthaya was badly hit by the worst flood in modern Thai history, in 2011. It was really a heart pain looking at the historical sites that I have been to just a few months back, were covered by water. It is good that the sites have been rebuilt, and I hope this would never happen again.
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