Indochina Adventure (Ayutthaya)

Bangkok was our last destination and exit point in our Indochina adventure. But before I start with my story, I would like to share my experience before crossing the border of Thailand. You know, when we reached the border, we got off the bus and proceeded to the immigration office of Cambodia (Poipet) to have our departure card stamped by the immigration officers. But it was so disappointing to know and to see how crude these officers were, while extorting money from ASEAN member passport holders, when we're supposed to be "visa free"! They were asking for $3 from each tourists and we have no choice  but to give because they won't stamp the departure card. I just don't understand why those illegal activities are being practiced! If I am not mistaken it's been going on for a long time but nobody has reported them to the proper authorities. So just a precautionary measure in case you'll travel in that part of the world, be good with your haggling skills because the price is negotiable (pathetic) or just don't haggle over a few dollars at all. We made it to Bangkok, at 6:00 PM, it was a long travel. I can't wait to get to the hotel but it's TRAFFIC! After 3 hours stuck in traffic we finally arrived in the hotel and I  was starving! Hmmp!

A bowlful of Tom Yum and a hot shower soothed my tired body and beat the stress out of my system. I slept deeply that night. The day after was the 6th day of our trip and we got up early and ready to rock and roll again!

Since the pattern of our trip is mostly temple hopping we went to the ancient city of Siam, the Ayutthaya Kingdom. Our tour wouldn't be possible without the help of Klook, as usual! They made our life easier, but the traffic going to the meet up area, doesn't seem so! My gosh, we were stuck again in traffic because of the ongoing train constructions, and our hotel was sooo far far away from the meeting place and that we were so brave to take the bus! To make our travel fast, we saw motorcycle riders on the sidewalk who transports passengers! And because we were running out of time, I thought its the best option to beat the meet up time...so we took it and flew, arriving at the meeting place 15 minutes earlier! Isn't that cool?

Moving onto the first stop in the province of Ayutthaya was the Bang Pa-in Royal Palace. It is also called Bang Pa-in Summer Park where Siamese royalty dwells during summer. The park is European  inspired which said to be a gift of the King to the Queen. The landscaped garden is accentuated with colorful flowers and the river gives off a cool atmosphere to the park.

It has a lighthouse where a 360 view of the park is seen. By the way,  the Bang Pa-in park is open from 8:30 am-4:30 pm everyday for 100 baht. Dress code is strictly observed, no short skirts or short parts, no sleeveless shirts.

After the tour we had a quick lunch of pad thai and satay in one of the authentic restaurants in downtown Ayutthaya. It was a hot day the ice cold soda cannot appease the temperature so we went on scramming into a cooler place like the air conditioned van. I wanted to sleep for a moment but we  have to get to the next destination.

The Wat Phra Sri Sanphet is in Ayutthaya's Heritage park,  it is the most important temple of Ayutthhaya and situated within the palace grounds. At present, it is being restored by UNESCO for being a World Heritage Site.

The three chedi in the park represents the three Kings who ruled Ayutthaya in the early times. The stupa were built to house the remains of the these Kings. It is also under restoration at present.

Hundreds of headless Buddhas were all over the monastery and it was a strange sight to see them all like that! And according to the tour guide, all Buddhas in the holy place were all made of gold and silver of the purest quality, they have crowns and wore jeweled bracelets. The pedestals were also made of gold and silver and adorned with diamonds!

But on the eve of Burmese invasion in 1700s Ayutthaya fell. Burmese ransacked and burned the monastery to the ground leaving the chedis. Buddhas were beheaded and was taken and burned to melt off the pure gold that encased them. Such a tragic downfall.

Another temple in Ayutthaya is Wat Mahathat, it is the center where the Buddha's relics were enshrined. A story was told by our tour guide that some Buddhas during the invasion of  Burmese were buried that some of them has not been recovered or they cannot remember where they were buried.

This bizarre site could be the answer to the buried Buddhas that remained underground and just came out embedded within the roots of century old trees. This is the most photographed area in Wat Mahathat. People taking photos with this Buddha should sit on the ground as a sign of respect, any poses higher than that Buddha like standing is strictly prohibited.

The temperature that afternoon was getting hotter! And we don't have plans of getting out of the vehicle but we got one more place to visit, the Wat Lokaya Sutha! The what? It's a temple that shouldn't be missed because of that 42 meter reclining ancient Buddha, resting on lotus flowers under the heat of the sun! It is situated within the complex of the Royal Palace. The structure is timeworn that even if its paint has already faded it still looks dignified. A beautiful Buddha that should be photographed and kept in my folder.

Well, that ends our week long adventure,  we have a lot of unforgettable memories from people we have met, places we have been, food that we ate. We learned so many things about their history, culture, and religion. We may differ from our beliefs and traditions but the common thing that could harmonize humanity is mutual respect! And I thank you!

By the way, we planned to do DIY  but again, the name of the places was really hard to pronounce and remember so we took the package, I swear it will save time.