Aug 22 2007

The journey in Thailand is about to end. Today I spent a fascinating day at Wat Mahathat in Ayutthaya about 100km north of Bangkok. Ayutthaya is the ancient Thailand capital until it was moved to Bangkok. There are a tremendous amount of ancient temples in Ayutthaya, many of them in glorious states of disrepair to the hardships of time or attacks from Burmese armies.

Wat Mahathat was built in the 1300's and is one of the most photographed temples in Ayutthaya, in part due to a buddha's head that has been overgrown with tree roots.

I decided to skip the mob taxi and take a hotel car...it was more expensive but I'm happy with the choice. Nice new mercedes, the driver knew the area up and down (and he needed to as I had him driver to 8+ temples, from one side of the city and then back), and outside of an offer to hook me up with a nice massage or handbag on the way home no hassles (thought I will say, his breath wasn't the most pleasant and I was always treated to a nice waft of it when I returned to the car). He also suggested a great little place for lunch on the river which was a nice break from the heat (I may just have to throw away the t-shirts I brought on this trip, between the heat and humidity...well...let's just say I probably beat out the bad breath odor by the end of the day (yeah...probably too much information, huh?).

Overall it was a great day, really glad I went and if I'm ever back in Thailand I'm definitely going to spend more time in Ayutthaya. The light wasn't the best for taking photographs, but the ruins are fascinating and even with the tour buses if you time your visit separate from when the buses drop of their hordes you can have the entire place almost to yourself (which most of the time i was lucky enough to do).

Tomorrow's plan...no idea...but my feet are suggesting something that doesn't involve walking.

Oh, and apparently I'm also Mr. Adorable in Thailand as I had a number of schoolkids rushing me and some coming up and asking to take my picture. So bizarre.

Ayutthaya, Thailand
August 2007