"Founded c. 1350, Ayutthaya became the second Siamese capital after Sukhothai. It was destroyed by the Burmese in the 18th century. Its remains, characterized by the prang (reliquary towers) and gigantic monasteries, give an idea of its past splendour." - World Unesco
After living for almost 2 years in Thailand I finally had the chance to go to Ayyuthaya (The old capital of Thailand) yesterday. The city is full of rich history from hundreds of years ago. The Temples (Pagodas) from recent times are still to a certain number existent but also show big damages from wars in the past with the Burmese.
Location
Ayyuthaya is located quite close to Bangkok. You can take Busses or mini vans which drive up and down to the city daily.
The ride takes about 1 1/2 hours either with a car/mini van/train. Depends on the crazy traffic in Thailand ;).
How to go there?
- Mini Van from "Victory Monument"
- Train from "Hualumpong Station"
How to get around in Ayyuthaya?
(once u got to the city there are a several ways how you can travel around)
- By Bicycle - You can rent them in almost every street of the city (Also most hostels & hotels offer them)
- By TukTuk - Ayyuthaya has their own cool looking TukTuk's which bring you around easily (Always negotiate the price BEFORE you take one).
- By Car - If you have a car you can find parking slots on almost every temple.
(Ayyuthayas special TukTuk's)
Ayyuthaya
I was lucky that some friends asked me to join them by car. So it was really easy for us to get there and go around quite comfortable. The pagodas (Wats) are all around the area and we visted the 3 biggest ones of them.
Wat Chaiwatthanaram
Facts:
- It is a large compound part of Ayutthaya Historical Park
- The temple was constructed in 1630 by the king Prasat Thong
- The highest point reaches 35m
- It is surrounded by 120 sitting Buddhas
Wat Ratchaburana
Facts:
"Wat Ratchaburana was founded in 1424 by King Borommarachathirat II of the Ayutthaya Kingdom and built on the cremation site of his two elder brothers. The two brothers had fought to their deaths in a duel for the royal succession to their father Intha Racha."
Wat Mahathat
Facts:
"In the Year of the Tiger 736 C.S. Somdet Phra Borommarachathirat and Phra Mahathera Thammakanlayan built the great, glorious, holy, jewelled reliquary (Phra Si Rattana Mahathat) east of the palace (the Royal gable of the lion). He rose 19 wah in height and equipped with a nine-membered tip that is another 3 wah in height."
Resume
Even most of the Temples are ruins now (Used to be over 2000) - It's still a must go if you are around in my eyes. It was impressive seeing this old monuments of this beautiful religious city with its big history.
Except walking around the temples you also can visit some of the famous Seafood restaurants around the area. Also a lot of shops which offer coffee and traditional Thai deserts are all around. There are some must tries which you should not miss out!
Thanks for reading!
Best,
Chris
Posted from my blog with SteemPress : https://world-capture.com/2019/02/03/ayyuthaya-thailand/
This was high on my list to visit and after 2.5 years in Thailand I did not make it. Good for you to finally get there @worldcapture. I was planning to take the train and it was so cheap. I guess I will have to go back one day.
Interesting way to become King if your two older brothers fight each other to the death!
It really is a great spot to visit! And yes, the history of Thailand is often a bit confusing :D Just as everywhere else :D Thank you!
Haha! I was never good at that subject. Big congrats on the curie - you deserve it often :)
I didn't know about this city and I had no idea that it used to be a capital in the past :) It's nice that you got to go there after such a long time. Sometimes we just don't manage to travel in the country where we live :) We're so busy with other things that we only realized after a while how much we didn't do..
These buildings look very interesting. I wonder how they were built as they have various shapes, heights and widths. I really like the one photo with a face coming out of a tree - very nice and original :)
Thank you for sharing!
Thanks for the kind comment! Indeed, traveling in the country we stay in is something we should do more often.
Hope you have a great Sunday! :))
Thanks for the support ! :))
Stunning photography! Thanks you for trying out SteemPress too! Have added you to our whitelist of users.
Thanks a ton! Appreciate it :)) I will definitely use it more often now. Works really smooth!
Awesome images, again! Congrats.
The design of those vehicles on the parking lot :)
Thanks buddy! They look pretty cool aye! :D
Great post! Reblogged!
Posted using Partiko iOS
Wow! Thank you very much for the support ! :))
Hi worldcapture,
Visit curiesteem.com or join the Curie Discord community to learn more.
Whoaaaaaa!! Thank you @curie and curie community!!! What a perfect end for this week. Thank you!!!!!
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Thanks :))
Great travel report, stunning photos! Excellent job buddy! :)
Thanks bud! Appreciate it ! Wish u a great Sunday! :))
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Awesome! Thanks for the support! :))
Hey @worldcapture, stunning! I have also been there and I was so excited to get to Ayyuthaya that I took my camera in the morning but without battery. I was so angy, can you imagine. But I took some picture on my iphone and I plan also write a report from there. Did you rent a bike? :)
Hey @nikollettesunday ! Ahhh that sounds terrible. Somthing simular happend to me before - In my case I lost all pictures on a whole travel through a country. But hey, happens :D
Well we drove around by car this time. Took the most comfortable solution, ha :D
@delishtreats you are so totally right about forgetting to travel when you are in a country and need to do other things... Think that is a human habit we'd love to dive into things to keep us busy (most of the times called work...)
@worldcapture new edit style? Love how the yellow tones comes out of all the grey tones.
My favorite:
Funny I totally didn't know this town called Ayutthaya (an old capital even!), thanks for sharing, always lovely to read your posts and checkout the images you create!
Hey buddy! Thanks for taking the time again to give me a feedback!
Indeed - I'm recently playing around with more bluish tones as I like the vibes it gives.
I have to say that all the conditions to take good photos of the temples were terrible :D
1.) Light - Afternoon very strong sunshine
2.) Objects - Something where probably 1 Million + photos exist already
So I tried to make it look a little different than usual Ayutthaya photos. It was def a challange but I'm quite happy with the result.
Unfortunately the quality isn't as high in the post as it actually is. Does wordpress crop the photos? Hmm.. :D
Looking forward to seeing these temples personally someday. Thailand is definitely on the top of my list. If I'll be able to get some seat sales then its probably gonna be this year, before 2019 ends. Fingers-crossed. =)
Congrats on the well-deserved @curie vote. ☺️
Thanks for the comment! Oh yeah, you definitely have to go to Thailand when ever you have the chance to. Such an amazing country! Cheers :)
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STOPThanks! :))
A very impressive place i love the way you have capture the old ruins it's one place i haven't been to see yet looking forward to visiting this place great photos my friend :)
Thanks buddy! You def need to check it out. It's really easy to get there! Cheers!
You know i have been pass there a couple of times but it just wasn't the right timing to be stopping to take a look but i will get there and your right it's not far out of Bangkok city :)
Hiya, just swinging by to let you know you're being featured in today's Travel Digest. If you enjoy steemit worldmap and the manual curation effort we're going through each day, please consider supporting what we do!
Thanks you very much for the support ! :))
You are welcome :) I just went to Thailand myself, and we did cross Ayutthaya on our way up north, but we didn't have time to visit it. Now reading your post I regret not going haha, but at least I could see it with your help :) Where are you heading next?
Well maybe u got the chance to visit Ayutthaya another time :)) - Well I haven't planed my next trip yet but my next travel will be in April - Nepal or Pakistan. Already super excited about it :D Hope you have a great day @lizanomadsoul :))
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Oh wow! Thats awesome! Thanks :))
Very succinct but catchy introduction. I like your taking time to give every detail possible, form location to transportation options, including recommnedations.
It is a blessing to be able to contemplate these ancient civilizations. SO much history.
The photographs are incredible. I liked the one that shows a head trapped by roots. Impressive what nature has done.
Do you have any info about their building materials. I can see bricks, but I'm not sure about the pillars and walls or the statues.