This for me was the highlight of my Thailand trip because I got to explore an actual UNESCO Wold Heritage site. We saw century old temple ruins and headless buddhas. Buddhas that are either reclining or sitting, some made of gold and others made of clay and stone.
We don't have a tour guide or a book to explain to us the history of the temples so what we did, we would just follow other groups with English speaking tour guide and pretend like we were just passing. #waysways
How we got to Ayutthaya?
1. Hired a TukTok (100Baht) to Hualamphong Station
2. Took a train and dropped off at Ayutthaya Station (15 Baht). Travel time is 2 hrs.
*Hualamphong Station
We asked the Cab drivers outside our hotel in Khao San road what their rates are for a Day trip to Ayutthaya and they gave us 1500 Baht rate. We were like hell no. It was too expensive for budget travellers like us so we ended up taking the train. The taxi is cheaper if its a group of four so you can split the total.
The train ride to Ayutthaya was very provincial. It looks the same as the PNR in Manila. There's no aircon, just the fresh open air. There are ceiling fans but don't do you much good. In every station we stop by, food vendors hop on the train and sell their goods. It is a good venue to interact with the locals and get to know the Thai culture. At some point, Thai police boarded the train and checked all the passengers ID's and passports. I read from a blog its to check illegal immigrants. So always bring your passport.
Once you arrive in Ayutthaya, make sure you check the last train ride back to Bangkok. You don't wanna get stuck in the province or hire an expensive cab back to city.
Tuktok drivers will greet you upon arriving in the train station and offer tours which usually starts at 1000 Baht. Haggle. Thats way too high. We got our tuktok ride for 600 Baht for 3 hours. You can also rent a bike or take cab for the tour but its not for us. Biking is cheap but its too exhausting. The cab is convinient but way too expensive. Tuktok is definitely the way to go. 👍🏻
*Wat Yai Chaimongkon (20Baht)
The stairs are uneven because it is century old so be extra careful.
This is the same spot where Mario Maurer and Erich Gonzales shot scenes for their movie "Suddenly It's Magic"
Back part
Reclining Buddha*Wat Phanan Choeng Worawihan (20Baht)
Big Golden Buddha
*Elpehant Trail (400 Baht)
Kaye was afraid to ride the elephant and I didn't wanna go by myself so weskipped this and just passed through the trail.
*Wat Phra Ram (50 Baht)
*Wat Phra Si Sanphet (50Baht)
*Wat Mahathat
Headless statues
Now how did the Buddahs head end up here?
*Wat Lokaya Sutha (no entrance fee)
Last Stop
Ayutthaya is definitely worth the days tour. The historic big temples and stupas and buddhas compensated the afternoon heat Kaye and I endured. We were climbing up temples with uneven stairs and taking selfies with the buddhas and walking around ruins of different kinds. It was really fun and exhausting at the same time.
The parks are huge but its almost imposible to snap a photo of the temples and buddhas without any tourist in it. There were so many its hard to complain because they're too good looking. Kidding.
When you do your temple and buddha visit make sure you wear your most comfortable clothes and brings lots of water to keep you hydrated.
