A slideshow of photos can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8517813@N0 ... 60488/show.
NB: I don't profess to be a photographer, so I'm sure they could have been better.
I’d been coming to Thailand for well over 20 years before eventually settling here. One of the things that I have always wanted to do, but never managed was a trip to Ayutthaya. I never really knew why, but there has always been something burning in the back of my mind that it had to be done.
A couple of weeks ago, I bit the bullet, and booked a hotel – it had to happen now. The hotel, Grandparent’s Home (of a budget ilk), was perfect for what we needed – somewhere to rest our weary heads after a hard day of climbing around ancient remains. It was very clean, and very roomy.
Upon arrival, I saw that the owner was of a similar mind to me – he had 3 new Ford Rangers parked in the car park. This obviously broke the ice, as we could talk Ford Ranger, and compare extras. The people running the hotel were very pleasant, and gave us a tourist map of Ayutthaya right away. A quick look at the map showed that we could walk everywhere worth going to easily
.We dropped our bags, and off we walked. We were being regularly stopped by the weirdest looking tuk tuks (unsuitable for anybody taller than 3’ 6”) I’ve ever seen who were offering various deals because they said we wouldn’t walk it. Being British (and a tight git) I declined, although Mrs BB didn’t really agree.
We arrived at the first temple, Wat Rajaburana (5 minutes walk). Entrance was 50 Baht for foreigner and 10 Baht for Thai. This turned out to be one of the better Wats, having the ability to climb the Principle Prang and have a look around inside. This was brilliant, and we could really feel that we had arrived.
Next, we thought we’d take a short walk to the Old Royal Palace. 10 minutes into this walk, no palace was in sight. I told Mrs BB, and BB Jnr to wait there, and I walked back to get the car
. Trying to follow the map, we then drove to where we thought the palace would be.En-route, we came across another ruined temple, Wat Tummickarat. Entrance was free. So we parked up and had a look around, and found our bearings on the map. Mrs BB also did what Thais do with the local monk splashing water all over her etc.
Having worked out where we were, we then drove to the Old Royal Palace. This place had been totally flattened, and there was nothing to really see but very low walls and lovely grounds, so we gave it a miss.
We carried on to Wat Phra Si Samphet. Entrance was 50 Baht for foreigner and 10 Baht for Thai. This turned out to be a very grand affair. A lot to see as we strolled around the ruins. Probably the largest (acreage) of the old temples we came across. We were on a roll now, and were amongst a lot of ruins – probably where the tuk tuks would have taken us (all within about a square mile).
Next we moved on to Wat Phra Ram. Entrance was 50 Baht for foreigner and free for Thai. It was very good, but was now starting to be more of the same.
The final Wat on the first day was Wat Maha That. Entrance was 50 Baht for foreigner and 10 Baht for Thai. This was a fairly big Wat, and featured the Buddha head in amongst the roots of a tree. This is a well published feature when looking at tourist photos of Ayutthaya. A bit like Big Ben in London .
We then drove back to the hotel to freshen up for the evening.
We started off the evening by looking for something to eat. There was a nice looking restaurant across from the hotel, but Mrs BB said no. So, doing as I was told, I started driving blindly in search of food. We drove for 6 miles through the streets of Ayutthaya without finding another eating place. Then Mrs BB said turn left. I drove up this road and found somewhere to park. We got out and continued our search on foot. It soon became apparent that we had ventured on Ayutthaya’s red light district. Loads of massage parlours (some with Japanese pool) and bars. Most of these places were deserted. Still nothing suitable to feed all 3 of us. Eventually, Mrs BB said with delight that she’d found somewhere, and we duly followed. It was a horrible Thai place that sold Khao Man Kai. It was very busy though. Well, the food came and it was abysmal – quite tasteless. Khao Man Kai is probably IMHO the most boring meal you can get in Thailand. The cost with soft drinks was 178 Baht, which was probably 100 Baht too much. BB Jnr and I were very disappointed. I suppose the only winners were Mrs BB and my wallet
.After food (if you could call it that – I left 50% of mine), I retraced my steps and drove us back to the ruins where earlier in the day we had noticed floodlights. We took a floodlight drive around the ruins, which was very good, and quite eerie at the same time.
There were no bars in easy distance of the hotel, so it was back to the hotel for an early night before we started again in the morning.
I was up quite early the next morning, so I got onto the laptop to work out what to see, and what to do.
We started off by going to Wat Lokayasutha to see the reclining Buddha. Entrance was free.
In very close proximity to were also Wat Wora Chet Tha Ram and Wat Wora Pho. Again entrance was free. There were a lot of visitors who turned up at these temples, probably attracted by the free entrance. However, although very interesting, all that I can say is more of the same.
Finally in Ayutthaya, we’d saved IMHO the best until last. It was quite a long drive past The Monument of King Naresuan the Great to Wat Phu Khao Thong. This was a highly developed/landscaped area with proper car parks and roads, but amazingly we were the only ones there. I can only assume the tour guides and tuk tuks avoid it because of the fuel costs to get there (about a 10 minute drive
). Again entrance was free. This was a massive construction, and we were allowed to climb it. This was quite a struggle with my bad leg, but the views from up there were fantastic, and made the climb well worth it. Going down again was worse i.e. going up, you didn’t see how high you were going; and going down it was quite scary.All in all, I was well satisfied with my trip to Ayutthaya, and it got approval from both Mrs BB and BB Jnr. We all enjoyed it. IMHO 2 days was about right. Any longer, and looking at ruins would have become boring. I would highly recommend a visit to anybody who hasn’t been, but I probably won’t return.
I've been 'templed out' for many years now! 
(not to sure about that couple following you around, were they touts? 
)
