I've just returned from Chiang Mai but I don't have my pictures and everything from that trip together yet. But on Wednesday we went to Ayutthaya which was the ancient capital of Bangkok. It was at it's prime in the 1300's and was sacked by the Burmese in the 1700's. There are several sites of the old city scattered about the new city. We visited 4 sites: Wat Chai Watthanaram - is one of the more complete sites and is very beautiful right on the bank of the river. A large group of school kids was leaving as we were arriving and I had to take some pics of their fantastically painted buses!, Wat Phra Mahathat - is best known for the Buddha's face within the roots of a tree, Wat Lokaya Sutharam - has a very large reclining Buddha but that's all that's left there, and Wat Ratchaburana - you can climb up the tower and then down into a crypt, which wasn't as exciting as it sounds, there are some remnants of paintings though.
Along the way we stopped at a place where they gave elephant rides. We didn't ride them but we did take some fun pictures with them! On the way home we stopped at Bang Pa-In which was a summer palace but is now only used by the royal family for special events. It's very grand and beautiful though! There is a shrine in the middle of a lake with a statue inside... the statue is of the King famed by The King and I. We also saw some soldiers doing their exercises around the grounds. So, enjoy the pics! Go to the Ayutthaya album and them there will be sub albums for all the different places!
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