When I was living in Thailand, I tried to discover as much as possible the country. We decided with a few colleagues to go from Pattaya to go to Ayutthaya (it as quite a trip using the bus to go to the airport, then the Sky Train, the local bus, and finally the train. It was so inexpensive that it was a great deal, but it took us almost 8 hours of transportation during the day). Ayutthaya is only 70 km / 50 miles from the heart of Bangkok, and it is the ancient capital city of Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya. It is famous for its incredible collection of ancient temple ruins.
The city was founded in 1351 by King U Thong (King Ramathibodi I). In the 16th century, foreign traders described Ayutthaya as one of the biggest and wealthiest cities in the East. It remained the seat of the Kingdom os Siam until 1767 when the town was destroyed but the Burmese army.
The ruins of the old city and the Ayuttaya temples are present in the Ayutthaya Historical Park, which is a Unesco World Heritage Site.
Ayutthaya was named after the Indian holy city of Ayodhya, which was the birthplace and seat of Rama, an important Hindy god. Since 1782, Thai kings have all been known as King Rama….
When we arrived at the train station, we took a tuk-tuk (and negotiate the price), and he made us stop at seven temples.
The first one was Wihan Phra Non.
The second one was Wat Yai CHaimongkhon.
The third one was Wat Pana.
The fourth one was Wat Phra Mahathat. It is the one who is well known for the Buddha’s head in the famous banyan tree. .But it’s not the only thing. We loved this place and all the ruins (it was feeling a little bit like Angkor Wat in Cambodia, you will read an article about it on my blog later)
The fifth one was Thanon Si Sanshet. It’s the big temple in Ayutthaya and was the first palace built there: the Grand Palace. It is now best known for the three chedi, which houses the remains of King Borommatrailokanat, King Borommarachathirat III, and King Ramathibodi II.
The sixth one was Wat Phrasisanpeth I
The last one was Wat Phra Ram where we found this gigantic reclining Budha. The monastery at Wat Phra Ram was constructed on the cremation of the first Ayutthaya monarch, King Ramathibodi I, who reigned between 1351 and 1369), hence its name.
Our day was great, but it is was so hot!!! We were so happy when we jumped in our bed when we came back in Pattaya!!!!(at least, we had one day off before going back to school)
