We started our day in Bangkok with a trip to one of the Unesco Heritage Site, the Autthaya City.
Some brief note on our trip to the Historic City of Ayutthaya.
Location: Ayutatthaya, North of Bangkok (former capital city of Thailand)
Duration: 1 hour by car
Tips: Hire an agent whether private tour like us (get 1 dedicated car to drive us around the city) or take train and than rent a bicycle or take tuk tuk to tour that place
Package: around 2000 baht. (not including the entrance fee to the temples).
Entrance Fees: Range from 20bath to 50baht
Tips: Bring a lot of water (pretty hot there) and camera and some food
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| Wat Phanan Choeng |
Extracted from Wikipedia
Wat Phanan Choeng (Thai: วัดพนัญเชิงวรวิหาร (Pronunciation)) is a Buddhist temple in the city of Ayutthaya, Thailand, on the east bank of the Chao Phraya River at the south-eastern side of the confluence of theChao Phraya and Pa Sak rivers.
Built in 1324, some 26 years before the city of Ayutthaya was officially founded, the temple must have been partly connected to early settlements in the area. These notably allegedly included a 200-strong refugee community from Song Dynasty China. The large wihan, the highest building within the temple complex, houses an immense gilded19 meter high seated Buddha from 1334 CE. This highly revered Buddha statue is called Luang Pho Tho (Thai: หลวงพ่อโต) by Thais, and Sam Pao Kong (Thai: ซำเปากง) by Thai-Chinese. The statue is regarded as a guardian for mariners. Allegedly, prior to the destruction of Ayutthaya by the Burmese in 1767 CE, "tears flowed from the sacred eyes to the sacred navel". The statue has been restored several times in history. King Mongkut named the statue Phra Puttha Thrai Ratana Nayok after its restoration in 1854 CE.
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| souvenir |
Wat Phra Chao Phya-thai, populary known as Wat Yai Chai Mongkol, is situated to the southeast of the city. The large chedi there can be seen from a great distance. This monastery was built by King U-Thong which exhumed the bodies of Chao Kaeo and Chao Thai who died of cholera, and cremated in 1357. The monastery was dedicated to the monks who had gone to study practical Buddhism in Ceylon. As the group gained the popularity, the King then appointed the head of the sect to become Somdet Phra Wannarat or the right supreme Patriarch. The temple was finally rebuilt in memorial of King Naresuan the Great for his victory over the Burmese.
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| Ticket Fee is just 20BAHT |
The 3rd temple is the Wat Maha That
Admission Fee: 50 Baht
The most expensive ticket of the day. The temple area look just plane. Left behind the red brick. Most of it was broken down in early 1900s.
The main attraction here was the a Buddha Head surrounded by trees..main tourist area for taking pictures. We walked a lil bit far and found the less visited area is more attractive and ancient feeling.
Extracted from ayutthaya travel website
Wat Mahathat was a grand temple, likes Wat Ratchaburana. Wat Mahathat is located to the east of the grand palace. It is the royal temple and most scared in Ayutthaya during glorious time. Buddha relics were enshrined in the Mahathat Chedi(the principal pagoda).
This place make a suitable place for wedding photography or any modelling photoshoot.. the colour is just perfect.l green and red brown on the ground and blue sky covered the top area..Subhanallah.
4t Temple is the Wat Ratcha Burana
In 1424 AD King Intharachathirat passed away. His two sons, Chao Aye Phraya who reigned over Suphanburi, and Chao Yi Phraya who reigned over Sanburi, met in battle as each desired the throne. This took place at the approach to the Pa-Than bridge and ended with the death of both sons. A third son, Chao-Sam Phraya came down from Phitsanulok and acceded to the throne whereupon he declared his intention to organize a funeral for his father and his two brothers. Afterwards he ordered the building of a wat, namely Wat Ratchaburana, at the site of the cremation and at the place where his brothers fought and died he had two chedis created in which to keep their ashes.
Next stop is Thanon Si Sanphet
Look like a museum or like the first temple we visited. The building still look good. Maybe due to regular maintenance and visitors that came for their prayer..
We decided to visit the next historic site.
6th: Wat Lokayasutha or Temple of Reclining Buddha
No entrance fee.
The main attraction is the sleeping Buddha.
Extracted from local website
Wat Lokayasutharam is located near Wat Worapoh and Wat Worachettharam. The primary feature of this wat is the huge reclining Buddha image, Phra Budhasaiyart, located in the ruins of the viharn and facing towards the East. It was constructed of bricks and cement in the Middle Ayutthaya Period and is 37 meters long and 8 meters high. The head is resting on a lotus and the legs overlap squarely to show the equalized toes (a sign of enlightenment and beauty). The image was restored in 1954 and again in 1989.
7th: Can't recall this name. Just stop by near the river bank and snap some photos
8th and i think the final one: Wat Chaiwatthanaram
Extracted from Wikipedia
Wat Chaiwatthanaram (Thai: วัดไชยวัฒนาราม) is a Buddhist temple in the city of Ayutthaya, Thailand, on the west bank of the Chao Phraya River, outside Ayutthaya island. It is one of Ayutthaya's best known temples and a major tourist attraction.
The temple was constructed in 1630 by the king Prasat Thong as the first temple of his reign, as a memorial of his mother's residence in that area. The temple's name literally means the Temple of long reign and glorious era. It was designed in Khmer style which was popular in that time.
It has a central 35 meter high prang in Khmer style (Thai: พระปรางด์ประธาน) with four smaller prangs. The whole construction stands on a rectangular platform. About halfway up there are hidden entrances, to which steep stairs lead.
The central platform is surrounded by eight chedi-shaped chapels (Thai: เมรุทิศ เมรุราย - Meru Thit Meru Rai), which are connected by a rectangular cross-shaped passage (Phra Rabieng). The passage had numerous side entries and was originally roofed and open inwards, but today only the foundations of the pillars and the outside wall still stand. Along the wall, there were 120 sittingBuddha statues, probably painted in black and gold.
The eight chedi-like chapels are formed in a unique way. They had paintings on the interior walls, the exterior ones decorated by 12 reliefs depicting scenes from the life of Buddha (Jataka), which must be "read" clockwise. Just fragments of the paintings and the reliefs survived. In each of the rectangular chedis were two sitting Buddha statues and in each of the four middle chedis was one big sitting Buddha statue, also lacquered in black and gold. The ceiling over those statues was of wood with golden stars on black lacquer.
Outside of the passages on the east, close to the river was the temple's ordination hall (Phra Ubosot). North and south from the Ubusot stood two chedis with "12 indented corners" (Thai: เจดีย์อมุมสิบสอง), in which the ashes of the king's mother were laid.
After the total destruction of the old capital (Thai: กรุงเก่า - Krung Kao) by the Burmese in 1767, from which Wat Chai Watthanaram was not spared, the temple was deserted. Theft, sale of bricks from the ruins and the beheading of the Buddha statues were common. Only in 1987 did the Thai Department of Fine Arts start restoring the site. In 1992 it was opened to the public.
That's all..
There are still plenty of temple and historic sites worth visit in this area.. but u need more than 4 hours to visit all.. we had a good time here.. 4 hours approximately.. weather is nice to us.. so no need to walk with an umbrella.. just let urself burn..haha..
Alright, until then..
