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A aldy met us in our hostel lobby at 7am & took us to our bus which was again full of some odd ones!! A group of Americans, a German couple, a whole Japanese family & a few odd travellers. We travelled 86km North of Bangkok & after an hours drive arrived at the old city - Ayuthaya & was met by our tour guide for the day, Mr Pok (he looked like Mr Miargi from the Karate kid lol, look at the photos!). The town was the capital of Thailand for 416 years (1351 until it was captured by the Burmese Armies in 1767). At the end of the war most of the town was left in ruins but it still retains an aura of royalty & some remarkable historic monuments.
Our first stop was to Phu Khao Thong Temple (Golden Mount Chedi), the tallest Pagoda in Ayuthaya - it was huge! We were able to walk up the Pagoda however when I reached the top I had a sudden rush of vertigo & a slight panic attack! My legs went to jelly & I couldn't breath! Getting up there wasn't a problem but when I made it I then realised how high it was & that the only way down was to walk down the old, crumbling steps that were mega steep! Nick calmed me down & after some photos & lots of slow breathing he was very patient & helped me get back down! We walked around the rest of the grounds, it was beautiful & so old.
Next stop - Wat Thammikarat. Got out of the bus & saw the massive bronze Buddha head! Tour guide explained all of the different Buddha positions to us & the different styles of Buddha images. The ground here was entirly ruins, hardly anything left. Saw the reclining Buddha here too.
Then we moved on to Wat Phra Ram - again ruins but alot more left standing. This used to be the palace grounds, was amazing to walk around to see what was left. Here we also went into the nearby temple & saw the biggest bronze Buddha in Thailand, around 45m high! There were some elephants nearby so after a refreshing coconut each we went to have a look. You could have a ride with one which we chose not to do but took some photos of us with one. Her skin wasn't what we were expecting at all, so much tougher & covered in really tough, wirey hair. Nice to get photos and a cuddle but not sure how well they are looked after, hence not wanting to pay for a ride on one!
We then made our way to lunch, much the same as the other tour, rice with a range of dishes. Across from where we ate was a huge reclining stone Buddha which we all went to see before then going to Wat Phra Mahathat - again ruins. When the Burmese took over in the war they came here & removed the heads from the Buddha statues, you can see remains of where the bodies were. One remains complete - quite breathtaking where there & thinking of the history that happened there. Just by this Buddha is a larger Banyan Tree & in amongst its trunk is the head of the Buddha, which they say has grown up from the ground with the tree (probably one of the heads that got chopped off by the Burmese). It is so beautiful, I can't explain it - you can see where the trunk of the tree has formed around the staue head, really beautiful & quite magical. You have to be careful how you approach it if you want to get close, as you can not be higher than the Buddha - they have guards there! Our guide was saying how he has seen them call in the police before as it is against their law.
Took lots of photos but being there was really something, such a special site. Made our way back to Bangko - worst driver in the world! All the Thai's see to refuse to change gear, instead once the revs are high they release from the accelorator & then push again & continue like that - "Just change gear" !!!!! At one point we had to stop as a massive lizard was crossing the road, it was huge! Took up a quater of the road!!
When we got back we quickly checked emails & printed hostel confirmations for Phuket, booked our airport transfer for the morning & had some dinner. Have just finished packing up as we are leaving Khoa San Road at 5am, so wanted to be ready tonight! Can't wait to get to Phuket!
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