Travel to Ayutthaya, Thailand

 Next: Travel to Ayutthaya, Thailand

We leave Bangkok and travel by bus to the city of Ayutthaya.  This served as the second Siamese Capitol for over 400 years and was once glorified as one of the largest cities in Southeast Asia.  Ayutthaya is a modern Thai city studded with archeological wonders.

Our first stop in Ayutthaya is the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Ayutthaya Historical Park.  The park comprises ruins of towers, monasteries, temples and palaces of the capital of the ancient Ayutthaya Kingdom.  The city of Ayutthaya was founded by King Ramathibodi I in 1351. It was captured by the Burmese in 1569. Though not pillaged, it lost many valuable and artistic objects. The beautiful city was the capital of the country until its destruction by the Burmese Army in 1767.  

Next stop: Wat Maha That:  Wat Maha That or the 'Monastery of the Great Relic' is located on a city island in the central part of Ayutthaya.  The monastery stood on the west bank of Khlong Pratu Khao Pluak, an important canal which had been covered over sometime in the early 20th century. In ancient times the temple was likely fully surrounded by canals and moats. The structure has been registered as a national historic site by the Fine Arts Department on March 8, 1935 and is part of the Ayutthaya World Heritage Historical Park. 

A model of Wat Maha That showing its probable historic appearance was located inside the park. 

Wat Maha That is widely used for photography – I hope I did it justice!

The following four photos show how the ancient Siamese built their temples and monasteries.  These are not photos of reconstruction.  The buildings were built using laterite, instead of sandstone, and bricks enhanced with stucco.

From ruins we travel to splendor as we visit the site of the Bang Pa-In Palace, a collection of beautiful buildings in various architectural styles.

Ornate buildings are sprinkled across Bang Pa-In Palace's 47 acre gardens.  First established in the 17th century having been built by King Prasat Thong in 1632, it served as the Royal Summer Palace for the Thai Kings.  It fell to disrepair and became overgrown in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.  King Mongkut began to restore the site in the mid-19th century.  Most of the present buildings were constructed between 1872 and 1889 by King Chulalongkor. Then the palace was revived in the 19th century by kings Rama IV and V, the latter adding most of its European styling. Today an eclectic assortment of architectural styles is arranged around manicured lawns, including the intricate Chinese-style Mansion called the Wehart Chamrun, the orange-and-red-striped lighthouse shaped observatory called Ho Withun Thasana (1881) and a Thai pavilion that appears to float on the water. 

How would you like this guy living in your backyard?

“On pain of death, do not touch Queen Sunandha!”

Sunandha Kumariratana was born on  November 10, 1860 as the daughter of King Mongkut of Siam (Rama IV) and Princess Consort Piam.  Sunandha was the first Queen consort of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) of Siam and also his half-sister. All of his four wives were also his half-sisters. King Mongkut (Rama IV) had at least 82 children with various consorts and concubines.

Sunandha Kumariratana had a daughter on August 12, 1878,  named   Kannabhorn Bejaratana and she was pregnant again when tragedy struck on May 31, 1880.

While on the way to the Summer Palace Bang Pa-In the royal boat she and her daughter were travelling on capsized. There were many onlookers who witnessed the capsizing: however, they were unable to help as they were forbidden from touching the Queen on pain of death, even if it meant that they couldn’t save her life. They were even instructed to do nothing by a guard on another boat, though he was later punished for his strict view of the law in such circumstances. It is so sad considering this tragedy could have been avoided.  A memorial for Queen Kumariratana and her daughter can be found on the grounds of Bang Pa-In Palace  while their ashes are in Memorial at the Royal Cemetery at Wat Ratchabophit.

There are military guards all around the Bang Pa-In Palace and we watched the changing of the guard during our visit.

It’s time to say farewell to this beautiful Palace and grounds.

After dinner we were surprised with a lovely river boat ride to see the sites and to see the Elephants!

Well, the elephants had to go to bed after we all fed them several packages of biscuits!  So the boat turns around and starts to head back to the dock.  Here are a few of the sights we saw that depict life along the river in Thailand, on the way back.  

Wat Chaiwatthanaram is a Buddhist temple in the city of Ayutthaya Historical Park, on the west bank of the Chao Phraya River.  The temple was conceived as a replica of the Angkor Temple in 1630 by the king Prasat Thong, to honor his mother.  It was the first Temple of his reign.  We passed by at sunset.

 Heading back to the dock.

More coming soon 😊 

Jan 🌷🌷🐾🐾