After a relaxing day in Bangkok, where we had to take time to recover from our trip and say hello to the New Year, we woke up early and headed for Ayutthaya. There are tours that one can take but we opted for the train and bicycles. It was very inexpensive, which was a nice change of pace from the beaches.
Ayutthaya was founded in 1350 and was the second capital of Siam (Thailand) after Sukhothai. It was destroyed in 1767 by the Burmese. The old city is an island formed by rivers and a canal. Inside are the ruins of Ayutthaya. During the flooding this past year, this part of the country sustained a lot of damage. Ayutthaya is a UNESCO World Heritage site and there is still concern about preserving it.
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| Biking through the streets. |
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| Part of the Ayutthaya ruins. |
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| In this picture you can see the water line from the recent floods. |
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| An elephant center in the midst of the old city where the elephants were dancing and playing with hula hoops - and it was free to watch! |
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| A reclining Buddha - massive isn't it? In the foreground you can see the incense people light. |
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| Buddhist image |
We took a minivan back to Bangkok and were dropped here, at the Voctory monument. It was a beautiful evening, people were out shopping, and I decided that Bangkok isn't too bad after all.
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| Victory Monument |
My friend then left for home and I began my journey back towards Chiang Mai. I stopped in Kamphaeng Phet to see a former student and while there toured the Historical Park. It is from the 15th-16th centuries and coincides with part of the Sukhothai period of 1238-1438.
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| Wat Chang Rob |
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| Incredibly steep stairs. Glad times have changed! |
While I will admit that many of the buildings here tend to start looking the same to me, I also think it is so interesting to walk among ruins older than my country. Even here in Chiang Mai, I pass vestiges of a past that goes back to 1296. I think it's remarkable what has survived.
Next week we will be starting classes again, but I am so thankful I had such a great vacation, and was able to see and do so much!
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