Ayutthaya part I

08.01.2012
  
The weekend after our trip to Kanchanaburi turned out to be an eventful one.  Everyone in Thailand had been granted a 4-day weekend to mark the beginning of Buddhist lent.  Brandon and I took the opportunity to visit the city of Ayutthaya which had been on our Thailand bucket list for some time.  It was the capital of Siam from about 1400 to the late 1700's, and is home to many historical parks containing ruins of all sorts.

The first day we settled in, checked out a few museums and then just relaxed.

Hello Kitty bus - Thailand's got it!

Rented this rad tandem bike for two days to tour the city.  The motorcycle taxi guys on the side of the road all seemed really impressed by it and cheered us as we passed.

Political campaign posters.

Cafe yen, cha yen nom, and a museum or three

Ruins were often intermingled with modern structures in the city

Stupa under construction

A sign for a guesthouse that we enjoyed.

Fattest dog I've seen in Thailand

This river used to be a bustling international trade center.  Now it's just a grotty and run down.

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08.02.2012

On our second day in Ayutthaya we visited 3 historical parks and certainly saw our fill of cool crumbly palaces, halls, and statues. 

He's so Asian now

Me bolting out of a structure after I discovered squeaky little critters living inside

The main prang of this wat

Garuda and friends

Art inside the burial chamber of the prang

Tourists!

A sacred bodhi tree growing around a likeness of Buddha.  This is deemed a very sacred place for Thais as you can see the man to the left praying and leaving an offering of flowers.

Someone is hired specifically to guard this site among the other ruins.  You are not allowed to take standing pictures next to this because they do not want you to be taller than the Buddha's head.

If you can stomach more pictures of crumbly brickwork, please see Ayutthaya part II for the rest of the trip!