After an amazing time in Vietnam, we spent the next two months in Thailand. This was one of our most anticipated countries to visit and it didn’t disappoint. For the first week, we stayed in Bangkok, but our first adventure was a couple of hours drive north to the Historic City of Ayutthaya, another UNESCO World Heritage site. It was founded in 1350 and became the second capital of Thailand, then known as Siam. By 1700, it was actually the largest city in the world with a population of one million. But all good things must come to an end, and in 1767 it was razed to the ground by the Burmese.
We only went for a day trip but were still able to visit five sites, including Wat Phra Si Sanphet. This site was the largest and holiest temple in Ayutthaya and was located within the Royal Palace grounds and only used by the kings. Its main attraction today is a row of three enormous restored chedis that enshrine the ashes of three of Ayutthaya’s kings. They are the only buildings in the temple that have been restored. There also used to be a giant 16-meter tall Buddha covered in hundreds of kilograms of gold, and not surprisingly, it was melted down and taken by the Burmese invaders.
It was a great start to the day and since we went so early, there were only a few other people there. Unfortunately, we can’t say the same for the rest of the sites we visited, but none of them felt too overcrowded. There are so many other sites we didn’t visit, I feel like it might have been better to spend a night there to give us two days of exploring. But if you can only do a day trip from Bangkok, it’s well worth the visit.
