Ancient Ayutthaya

A quick train ride brought us out of the hustle-bustle of Bangkok. Phew!  

Welcome to Ayutthaya, the ancient city on an island.   Most of Ayutthaya is located in what is called "the island" although its really just a piece of land surrounded by rivers. Its no wonder why the city has had severe flooding problems. Our first glimpses were granted by way of a boat ride around the island, giving us easy access the the Wats on the outer banks.    

Here we found ourselves stepping ashore to Wat Phanan Choeng.

Next stop, Wat Phutthaisawan.  

 Our first sight of a ruined Wat.  We found these to be somehow more interesting than the ones currently in use.  Maybe its the patchy textures, or maybe its the just bushes growing out of the sides.

And the statues were simply...captivating...

Last stop, and the most impressive ruin yet: Wat Chai Wattanaram.  As our arrival was graced with an orange backdrop of the sunset, the views were simply stunning.  

For our only full day in Ayutthaya, we rented out bikes to tour ruins on the island.  

After a quick breakfast at the street vendor...

...we headed for the ancient Wat Ratburana.  Here we see the central prang through a doorway in the main hall.

Ratburana is one of the few Wats that feature a crypt chamber in the central prang.  It was unclear weather or not we were allowed to check it out, but the railings were inviting and no signs seems to deter us.  The stairs here were incredibly steep, and each step only inches wide! 

Many of the Buddha figures in Ayutthaya are so ancient, their heads and limbs are often missing.  

 Sometimes their bodies may be split in two...

.... sometimes the heads can be found on the ground...

....where other times, as in the unusual case at Wat Phra Mahathat, they can be found wrapped in the trunk of a tree!

 Not all of the structures are entirely straight.  

 In fact, many of them are piles of rubble.  The prang in Rataburana has collapsed and been rebuilt twice! The central prang in Phra Mahathat was not rebuilt to reflect the crumbing state of these ruins.

Ahh, Wat Phra Si Sanphet.  Three prominent chedi (the pointy towers) stand tall after significant restoration.  

 An elephant encounter

 The reclining Buddha at Wat Lokkaya Sutharam

 All Wated out, we headed for a meal at Saithong, a restaurant on the river. That delicious looking soup was full of not-so-delicious pieces of pork fat, some seemingly inedible reed-like thingys, and uh, seed pods?  Sometimes you just have to deal with not getting exactly what you want.  

 The crab salad was a better choice here.