Updated on August 19, 2017
Holidays in Thai: Ayutthaya on February 8th, 2016
Chinese New Year. Although this holds little meaning to me now.
Today we went to Ayutthaya, an hour’s ride north of Bangkok. Ayutthaya had been the capital city of Thailand, till the Burmese invaded it and set it ablaze. Then the capital of Thailand was moved to Bangkok, where the Thai people regrouped themselves and fought of the Burmese invasion.
So, currently ruins are all that’s left of Ayutthaya.
We familiarized ourselves with Thai temple structures in our visit to Wat Phra Kaew and Wat Pho on the day before, which was pretty much the same with the Ayutthaya temples. So our visit to Ayutthaya temple ruins were like a visit to the Bangkok temples 500 years from now on.
We took a Tuk Tuk outside our hotel to Victory Memorial
My mom had been complaining about the wind from “open-front” Tuk Tuk ruining her hair style along the way.
The mini van from Victory Memorial to Ayutthaya. We were the last to board, so we were right off.
We passed Don Muang Railway Station, and I remembered we seemd to board our taxi at this no-stopping area in its no-stopping time period.
I didn’t know why, but the police officiers along the expressway seemed to be blocking all the ramps, so we arrived in Ayutthaya with little traffic.
My not-good-at-English mom said after reading this sign: The king regularly lives here?
Streets of Ayutthaya, guess the white camps were for Chinese New Year celebrations.
The ticket price for any temple (ruins) in Ayutthaya that a normal tourist would visit is uniformly 50THB. Later that night in our hotel, I found all the tickets were the same except for their serial numbers.
We went to Wat Rat Praditthan first, which is the closest to the bus station, with some German archeologists representing United Nations doing restoration work. Since Wat Rat Praditthan is not the most famous temple ruins, there weren’t much visitors.
This should be what’s left of the walls of Wat Rat Praditthan Ubosot.
It’s easy to spot traces of fire on this wall. By Wikipedia the Burmese army set the whole city of Ayutthaya ablaze after its invasion.
By its official description, originally Thai government wanted to protect the relics, however, local police were bribed and had numerous under-the-table deals with artifact dealers.
Guess the amputated sculptures were the result of artifact thieves, which is quite similar to Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang, China where I visited last year.
Wat Rat Praditthan, where the bulk of Buddha towers made them more fortunate than sculptures.
Although homeless dogs were the norm of Thai temples, it’s still a little bit surprising to find them in the ruins of a temple. (Guess the restoration workers still fed them.)
Damaged sculptures in Wat Rat Praditthan
Scaffolding for the restoration work in Wat Rat Praditthan
The ground sank and the walls wound in Wat Rat Praditthan.
Wat Rat Praditthan where some Buddha towers in the opposite end of its entrance were less fortunate
A Ubosot far from entrance in Wat Rat Praditthan
Back door of Wat Rat Praditthan that’s sealed.
The bases of columns were all that’s left of this part of Wat Rat Praditthan
Maybe because I stayed too close to this dog when taking this photo and he sensed hostility, (maybe previously Thai dogs had been too friendly to me) he woke up, barked, and chased me down for quite some distance.
Wat Rat Praditthan
Sculptures damaged by artifact thieves in Wat Rat Praditthan
Details of restoration in Wat Rat Praditthan
Details of restoration in Wat Rat Praditthan
Overlooking Wat Rat Praditthan
Overlooking Wat Rat Praditthan
This Buddha tower looked quite shaky to this date.
Details of restoration in Wat Rat Praditthan
Overlooking Wat Rat Praditthan where the Ubosot near entrance still enjoyed some remaining columns.
I was quite surprised to find there’s interior structure for the central tower of Wat Rat Praditthan, the stairs led deeper down but this’s as far as a visitor could go.
Looking upward in the central tower of Wat Rat Praditthan
Back to the Ubosot of Wat Rat Praditthan
Ubosot and tower of Wat Rat Praditthan
Then we went to Wat Maha That which’s just across the road. “Buddha Head in Trees” is a famous photographed object of Wat Maha That, which attracts visitors and vendors alike.
By the way, since “Buddha Head in Trees” is so popular that models of it were the essentials on every vendor’s cart, which drew quite some contrast since not far away Wat Maha That (and many other Thai temples) educated people with posters that the selling of Buddha is disrespect to Buddism. Conclusion: It must be hard for Buddha himself to pick sides.
The city of Ayutthaya is sprinkled with relics, even like these in the middle of a road.
Perimeter walls of Wat Maha That
Near the visitor entrance of Wat Maha That. With the famous “Buddha Head in Trees”, it attracted more visitors.
Wat Maha That where the walls were as windy.
A Buddha tower in Wat Maha That where details were relatively well-preserved.
The famous “Buddha Head in Tree” of Wat Maha That
Buddha sculpture in the shade in Wat Maha That
Trees growing over the old walls of Wat Maha That.
Relics in the corner of Wat Maha That
This wall in Wat Maha That needs additional support, guess because of ground movement.
One of the few well-preserved walls in Wat Maha That (although there’s scaffolding at its back). Tree casting down lovely shadows.
Wat Maha That, guess this was once a pretty sizeable Buddha, now overgrowned by leaves.
One can see Wat Rat Praditthan on the north-east corner of Wat Maha That.
Wat Maha That with its plundered sculptures, guess the sheets were donation from local temples.
I found this lovely flower growing from the rocks in Wat Maha That.
This should be Wat Maha That Prang, which served similar purposes as the one in central Chiang Mai, just more weathered.
This should be a Buddha-filled cloister in Wat Maha That, much like the one in Wat Pho back in Bangkok.
The walls and column bases were still preserved in this cloister of Wat Maha That.
Wat Maha That, remains of central Prang.
Some of the better-preserved Buddha towers near central Prang of Wat Maha That.
Wat Maha That, remains of central Prang.
Wat Maha That, remains of central Prang.
Wat Maha That, remains of central Prang.
Wat Maha That, remains of central Prang.
Some of the disfigured sculptures in the corner of Wat Maha That.
A Buddha tower of Wat Maha That leaning badly.
Erosion of time on this Buddha Tower in Wat Maha That.
Wat Maha That
Wat Maha That
Wat Maha That, some column bases were still left in this chamber.
Wat Maha That
Wat Maha That is located next to Rama Public Park of Ayutthaya.
This should have been a doorway, but the teetering walls on the right seemed about to fall at any moment.
Wat Maha That
Wat Maha That
Quite some angle between the two towers in Wat Maha That.
Time flies as grass replaced bricks for the ground of this chamber of Wat Maha That.
Then we went across the road and finished our lunch in perhaps the only restaurant nearby. I was very surprised to find that the “default” non-English foreign language in Ayutthaya was Japanese (not Chinese), concluding that Chinese tour groups were yet to conquer Ayutthaya.
I had chicken noddles for lunch
Restaurant near Wat Maha That where we had lunch, I spotted that the dinning tables were actually modified sowing machines.
After lunch, we walked along Rama Public Park to Wat Phra Ram.
There were some structures outside the ticketed area of Wat Maha That
Guess some devoted followers placed a cream-colored carving here.
Lakeside of Rama Public Park
Buddha Tower outside the ticketed area of Wat Maha That
Sprinkles of relics in Rama Public Park
Sprinkles of relics in Rama Public Park
Isolated Buddha Towers in Rama Public Park
Central Tower of Wat Phra Ram, from Rama Public Park
Sprinkles of relics in Rama Public Park
Lakeside Rama Public Park
Back door of Wat Phra Ram
Front door and entrance of Wat Phra Ram
Buddha Towers were better preserved here at Wat Phra Ram than Wat Maha That
Buddha Towers in Wat Phra Ram
Remains of Chambers in Wat Phra Ram
Central Tower of Wat Phra Ram
I found these reddish bugs in Wat Phra Ram
I found these reddish bugs in Wat Phra Ram
A chamber in Wat Phra Ram that’s used to hold Buddha’s
From here, one should be able to see the central tower of Wat Phra Ram with its hollow internal structures, yet unlike Wat Rat Praditthan, it’s not open for visitors.
An alter used to hold Buddha’s in Wat Phra Ram
Some of the smaller Buddha Towers of Wat Phra Ram were relatively better preserved.
Central Towers of Wat Phra Ram
Central Tower of Wat Phra Ram
Wat Phra Ram, this should once be a cloister holding sculptures of Buddha
Details of remaining sculptures in Wat Phra Ram
Overlooking visitor entrance of Wat Phra Ram
Overlooking cloisters of Wat Phra Ram
Sculptures on the central tower of Wat Phra Ram without heads. It’s heartbreaking to see human damage to such relics, much similar to Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang, China.
Overlooking remains of Wat Phra Ram
One of the few passagesways that one can walk on the central tower of Wat Phra Ram
#AmazingLife as this flower grew literally from rocks 10 meters above ground.
Wat Phra Ram
Buddha Towers of Wat Phra Ram
Central Tower of Wat Phra Ram
There’s a model of Wat Phra Ram in its prime beside its visitor entrance, much contrast to the ruins today. (I didn’t take photos of the models for the previous few temples)
Then we walked to Wat Phra Si Sanphet just across the street.
By Wikipedia, Wat Phra Si Sanphet was the royal temple of ancient Ayutthaya kingdom, roughly the equivalence of Wat Phra Kaew on the Grand Palace in Bangkok (Wat Phra Kaew borrowed from the architectural styles of Wat Phra Si Sanphet). The three Chedis Towers were the only structures restored in Ayutthaya.
Probably due to its historical significance, probably because it’s situated next to a morden temple, there were quite some local visitors to Wat Phra Si Sanphet.
Dogs Bathing on Wat Phra Si Sanphet Walls
I didn’t know why, but there were quite some birds lying dead near the entrance of Wat Phra Si Sanphet.
Restored Chedis Towers in Wat Phra Si Sanphet
One can see from Wat Phra Si Sanphet a neighboring modern temple, Vihara Phra Mongkhon Bophit.
This should once be an entrance to Wat Phra Si Sanphet, now beyond visitors’ reach.
Ground beneath some Buddha towers had sunk significantly in Wat Phra Si Sanphet.
Ruins of west Wat Phra Si Sanphet.
A Buddha sculpture in Wat Phra Si Sanphet made out of bricks, which was not often seen in Ayutthaya.
The three restored Chedis Towers in Wat Phra Si Sanphet
Restored Chedis Tower in Wat Phra Si Sanphet
Internal structures of Chedis Towers in Wat Phra Si Sanphet
Restored Chedis Tower in Wat Phra Si Sanphet
Ruins of Wat Phra Si Sanphet, seen from its Chedis Towers
The walls of Eastern Ubosots were relatively better preserved, it’s not hard to imagine days of their prime.
Eastern part of Wat Phra Si Sanphet, where the only thing standing between Wat Phra Si Sanphet and streets was these half-broken walls.
East Wat Phra Si Sanphet, where flowers blossomed in front of Chedis towers, the new and the old coming together.
Ruins of Wat Phra Si Sanphet, only the bases of columns were left here.
When shot against the sun, Wat Phra Si Sanphet hardly looked like ruins
When shot against the sun, Wat Phra Si Sanphet hardly looked like ruins
One can barely see the contours of some broken columns in this shot of Wat Phra Si Sanphet against the sun.
Ruins of Eastern Ubosot of Wat Phra Si Sanphet
One could still see offerings being placed in the alters of Wat Phra Si Sanphet till this day, and the nice and considerate Thai people even supplied straws along with their drinks.
One of the many chambers in the Northern part of Wat Phra Si Sanphet
Restored Chedis Tower and unrestored remains of walls in Wat Phra Si Sanphet
Eastern Wat Phra Si Sanphet, where the walls barely survived with scaffolding.
Eastern Wat Phra Si Sanphet, the columns and walls that fortunately endured.
The three Chedis Towers of Wat Phra Si Sanphet, from its entrance.
Panoramic view of the three Chedis Towers in Wat Phra Si Sanphet.
Temple (Vihara Phra Mongkhon Bophit) near Wat Phra Si Sanphet, with flocks of pilgrims.
Passage leading to Wat Phra Si Sanphet and its neighboring modern temple.
Then we took a Tuk Tuk back to the mini van station, where we took a mini van back to Bangkok.
Streets of Ayutthaya
Streets of Ayutthaya
It was rush hour on our way back to Bangkok, as we witnessed total standstill on a 10-lane highway.
I brought this cup of Dairy Queen in a mall near Victory Memorial at 80THB.
I tried this “beef rice” at McDonald’s to experience McDonald’s localization in Thailand. The result is that, McDonald’s just put that strange Thai sauce (same as in the Thai Salad in Chiang Rai a couple of days back) onto beef. It’s like, ordering beef noddles in Chengdu without reminding the host not to put spice in it.
Having finished dinner in a McDonald’s near Victory Memorial, which was a little bit too much for my mom, who thus suggested we should walk back to hotel. Since the wonderful Google Maps provided us with numerous shortcuts, it didn’t take long.
(abandoned?) rail lines beneath Airport Express, it seemed not too different from a junk yard.
And portions of these rail lines hung in the air
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Holidays in Thai: Ayutthaya on February 8th, 2016 by Huang's Site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.