Ayutthaya--- The Ancient Kingdom of Siam's Central Plains (1351 AD- 1767)
In between the last tours, I took a day trip outside of Bangkok and headed North (3 hours by local train) to the UNESCO World Heritage ancient city of Ayutthaya. Ryan (ISV project leader) and I rented bicycles for the day (only 50 Baht!) and cycled our way through the ruins of the old city.
A lot of these structures were built in the early 1400s and were temples and palaces representing the strongest period of history in the fight against the Burmese invasions. In 1767 the city was destroyed by the Burmese army, and burned to the ground. The Burmese supposedly destroyed everything sacred to the Thais, including manuscripts, temples and religious sculptures....this could be bias-soaked information I was given though.
These lions stand guarding the entrance to the temple's sacred stupa/chedi (structure that is believed to hold sacred scripture, Buddha relic and/or Buddha bone)...the architecture looked Khmer (Cambodian) in style, more so than Thai traditional representation of the lions.Ryan striking a pose, near one of the more scenic lakes of the ruins:
Ryan climbing the steps of an ancient chedi...
The famous 3 pagodas: Wat Phra Si Sanphet---the site served as the royal palace from the city's founding until the mid-15th c. when it was converted into a temple. Although the grounds are now well taken care of in comparison to others, they can't hide the effects of war and time.
The surrounding buildings are worn through to their orange bricks, leaning to one side from gravity over time. This complex used to hold a 16m high Buddha standing statue that was covered in gold; it was melted down by the Burmese conquerors.
Big Buddha---Little Buddha:
More of the grounds...
Sometimes it felt like we were walking through a maze, one could easily get lost in the feeling of stepping back in time.
Buddha, being swallowed by a fig tree. This used to be a sitting Buddha, but now all that remains to be seen is only the head.
The ferry to and from the train station to the old city: one bored boat man goes back and forth all day long, the 5 minute ride from one side of the river to the other...
Buddha, being swallowed by a fig tree. This used to be a sitting Buddha, but now all that remains to be seen is only the head. 
Defaced Buddhas---unknown if they've been defaced by time, or defaced during the Burmese army's invasions.
The ferry to and from the train station to the old city: one bored boat man goes back and forth all day long, the 5 minute ride from one side of the river to the other...
A video to help catch the mood of the park...including traditional Thai temple music for ambiance!
In the end, not a bad day trip to kill the time in between adventure tours!
