Off we went by coach some 65km north of Bangkok, to Ayuthaya, Thailand's second capital from 1350 to 1767. It was first to Bang Pa-In Palace, a very grand place that has hosted Kings and Queens up until quite recently, a Summer Palace with a number of different architectures in its buildings. They include a Chinese Temple, a Chinese pagoda in a lake, a band stand, a Russian style building and a very smart European styled pavilion, which was where the visiting royalty stayed. We heard quite a lot about the various Kings, particularly King Rama IV, of the 'King and I' film fame, catapulted to the throne from being a strict monk.
Next stop was a dilapidated remains of Wat Maha That. It was rather in the Angkor style, made of hand made bricks and took 5,000 labourers some 40 years to build. Flooding has been the main cause of subsidence and collapse, but it was still impressive after 650 years!
Then it was Wat Na Phra Meru, with two main shrines of worship,and last was Thailand's 3rd longest/tallest reclining Bhuda, but it was rather sad, being made of cement, mouldy because it was in the open. Bangkok has the 2nd, which is gold painted and inside.
The Reclining Buddha
Gold Leaf attached to a shrine in front of the Reclining Buddha
There was a very fine Thai buffet on the boat on the way back down the Chao Prahya, River of Kings and some notable landmarks were seen, including the notorious Bangkok Hilton prison.
Department of Corrections
The infamous Bangkok Hilton prison
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