Day 43 – Bangkok & Ayutthaya
Today we were picked up from around Khao San Road (hotel pick up was available but we thought it would be easier given the Grab driver’s difficulty finding our hotel) for our day tour of Ayutthaya.
Ayutthaya Historical Park
Wat Yai Cha Mongkol
The tour consisted of 4 mini buses and one English speaking tour guide. This was definitely the largest tour I have been on with around 50 people. After a group debriefing at the first site, Wat Yai Cha Mongkol we were left to explore the site.
Wat Yai Cha Mongkol, is a large temple with a courtyard that is surrounded by several statues of Buddha. There is a large reclining Buddha too. The temple was nice, because you can take the stairs to the top and have good views of the surrounding area.
Wat Mahathat
Upon arriving, I was able to finally take a photo of some of the pimped out tuk tuks that were driving around.
The next site was Wat Mahathat, which is the location of the iconic Buddha’s head in tree roots. The guide explained that all the statues in the temple, had their heads cut off by invaders.
Wat Lokaya Sutha
The next stop was Wat Lokaya Sutha, which is a large reclining Buddha. There was once a temple around it, but that is long gone.
Wat Phukhao Thong
After which we went to another temple, which was a lot more maintained so you couldn’t tell it was originally made 600 years ago (However, restorations have occurred several times). However, the stupa on top was leaning to one side.
Lunch Break
The tour included lunch, but we had to pay for drinks. The food was surprisingly Pad Thai 😛
Phra Mongkhon Bo Phit / Wat Phra Si Sanphet
The final temple we visited was Phra Mongkhon Bo Phit, which has a large bronze Buddha image.
This temple is adjoining Wat Phra Si Sanphet which has a few large buildings nicely preserved. This was the end of the tour.
China Town
At night time, we walked around 30 minutes towards China Town to meet one of my university friends who lives in Bangkok. It was very cool to catch up and there is nothing like having a local to take you around. We were able to order at non touristy shops and then for dessert we went to a very popular dessert bread shop, which had amazing flavoured bread. During our dinner another downpour began and continued until after we finished our bread.
And then we waited for the midnight market to begin, which is where shops buy their merchandise from. The market occurs every midnight in China Town. The stalls have cheap items as long as you buy in bulk.