DIY: Ayutthaya Thailand

April 22, 2012

Ayutthaya Adventure

From our hostel, we walked to the on-nut station and headed for Hualamphong Station for the train going to Ayutthaya. When we were walking from the BST Station to the train station, someone approached us and offered us a deal: a taxi will take us to Ayutthaya and will be our means of transportation throughout Ayutthaya. At first we did not want to take the deal since it costs 2000Baht. But after realizing that there was no train available that would allow us enough time to travel the area, we yielded to the offer but not after it was agreed that she gave the deal at 1500Baht. It took us around 1 1/2 hour to get to Ayutthaya.

First stop: Elephant Village.
When we arrived at the area, a lady greeted us and showed us the packages they have. When we asked for the price, she said that a 30 minutes ride around the area would cost 1000Baht per person. I was shocked since from what i read, it would cost 1000Baht for two persons and that there was a 10 minutes ride for only 200Baht per person. However, this was not the case. At first, we were contented on taking pictures of the elephant though it was part of our to-dos that we will ride an elephant. When the lady saw how disappointed we were, she agreed to allow us to ride the elephant for 10mins for 250Baht. It was not what we budgeted but atleast it was cheaper than the first offer; we just wanted to ride the elephant and have pictures of us riding them anyways. Our elephant guides were also nice. They allowed us to sit at the back of the elephant and volunteered to take our pictures. At the end of the ride, before we arrived at the "loading/unloading" area, they asked for tips. I think this was usual in Thailand. We expected that the elephant smell would be so nasty. Good thing it was not as bad as we expected.

First elephant we saw

Shot taken by our elephant guide

Since this was already past lunch time, we asked our driver to bring us to a restaurant for a quick lunch before we start with our temple tours. He brought us to the restaurant in front of Wat Ratchaburana. At first we were hesitant to eat there but we had no choice. But when we saw their food and when we tasted the food, we were glad we ate there. The food was authentic Thailand cuisine and it tasted so good. Thumbs up!

See foods

Shrimp

 After eating our lunch, we were ready for our "Temple Hopping" tour.

The first temple we visited was Wat Ratchaburana since it was the nearest from where we ate. The admission cost 50Baht per person. We were so excited since this was the first temple we visited. The temple was a beautiful ruin. We went up the temple for a view of the whole place. It was okay. There was a very steep stairs inside the temple. One of us went there and saw paintings in the wall. That was basically it.

 

 Before heading for the next temple, we asked the driver to take us to the nearest money exchanger since our Baht was almost gone. It was a big mistake not to bring US dollars with us since we expected that it would just be like Hongkong that has money changers everywhere that accepts Philippine peso. So he brought us to Wat Yai Chaimongkhon that has a reclining buddha. Unfortunately for us, the money changer there do not accept Philippine peso. Oh well. Off to the temple after paying 20Baht each. This was my favorite temple from those we visited since there were so many things to see there. We even got the chance to offer our prayers. The admission fee was cheap compared to what the place has to offer.

Reclining Buddha

One of the favorite photo spots of visitors

Shoes off

View from the top

Lighting wicks submerged in oil

Inside of a temple

This wax was so good. It really looked like a real person sitting there

The next temple we visited was Wat Maha That. One ticket costs 50Baht. They were selling key chains at the ticket booth at 10 pcs for 100Baht. It was a bargain. Wat Maha That was also ruins of temples. The tourist attraction here is the head of the Buddha stuck at the trunk of a tree. I was told that flood in 2011 reached the Buddha head. The whole area was beautiful. It was good that Thailand was preserving these temples. Though I wondered how beautiful these places were when they were newly built. It must have been so great!

Part of the ruins of Wat Maha That

The Buddha head

Beautiful Ruins

 After witnessing the Buddha head stuck on a tree, we headed to Phra Mongkhon Bophit.The temple was so beautiful. It was not a ruin too! Inside was one of the largest bronze Buddha in Thailand. But that was it.

Phra Mongkhon Bophit

One of the largest bronze Buddha in Thailand

Before heading back to Bangkok, we tried these ice cream for only 10Baht each. These tasted so delicious after a tiring day.

Yummy ice cream

 When we arrived in Bangkok, we asked the taxi driver to drop us off at the On-nut BST Station. We had dinner at the mall beside the station, bought some groceries for the next days and headed back to the hostel for the free wi-fi and to rest.