Hi folks. Well two more sleeps and we are on a plane to TO. Time just flys, hehehe, no really. Just a few short months ago I was wondering if I was up to blogging, now you can't shut me up. Well there might be a little hiatus. I will give you some updates from TO, but since most of you will be part of TO it may seem redundant, but maybe for posterity I will make entries while at home. I know somehow at the end of all of this Deeds will find a way to get these blogs into a photo album or some such!!
So the last entry from BKK is about our last day trip up to Ayutthaya.
There are two sets of pictures to be viewed at this link: please click on this link and then click again on the address offered go to link ; Ayutthaya PICS
Hope you enjoy those.
We started out that day with an early morning start. We had a five minute walk down the street to meet the tour mini bus. Our pick up time was 6:30. Yeah, on a weekend as well. Sad part was that we ended up driving around picking up other people and then congegating in a parking lot until all were ther and loaded onto a big tour bus. Wasted a lot of time. It was then a leisurely hour plus ride up to Bang Pa-in. The history of this summer palace of the royal family goes back to when Ayutthaya was the captial of Thailand in the 17th century. The first residence was constructed in 1632. Various other additions and deletions have taken place over the years. Temples added, etc. It was a gorgeous day and the palace did not disappoint. The ground were outstanding as you will see in our pics. The disappointment is that it is still a summer retreat and therefore only the royal family is actually allowed into the palace. No walk arounds for the tourista. Oh well, a joy to see.
From the palace grounds we are back on the tour bus and off to the historic city of Ayutthaya.
These ruins sit in the middle of developed urban and populated areas. It is not like they are out in the boonies. Well they are to an extent, however they are a large part of the tourist process in thailand, supporting a large number of people, who live in and around the ruins. Not unlike the coliseum in Rome as an example. To actually find it on a map you would need to look up Pra Nakon Si Ayutthaya.
We spent another hour or so at the site walking around. The tour guide gave us a little intro into the site but after that left us to ourselves. He did mention to not miss the free elephant show before we boarded the bus again to head off to the last leg of our tour down the Chao Praya River.
The site was filled with many ruins as the pics detail. The history of Ayutthaya goes back to 1600. It is estimated that Ayutthaya had a population of about 300,000, with the population perhaps reaching 1,000,000 by 1700. This would make it one of the largest cities in the world at that time.
In 1767 the city was destroyed by the Burmese, resulting in the collapse of the kingdom. The ruins of the old city now form the Ayutthaya National Historic Park which is recognized internationally as a Unesco World Heritage Site. The present day city was refounded a few kilometers to the east.
We toured the Wat that is on the site and then made our way over to the elephant show. Man I wish we had been to this earlier.
First we had our pictures taken with some of the stars of the show. Great fellas these elephants were, well except for the one who kept trying to undo my shoelaces! Cheeky bugger, he kept tuggin away. We had totally misunderstood the tour guide about this free show. We thought we were going to bus to a location. So when we finished our little sojourn into the Wat we sat down at a shaddy table for a rest and then sauntered over to the tour bus with about 5 minutes to go before departure. We then noticed all of the elephant action caught wind of the show and went over and sat down. We were mesmerized by the tricks they performed. So mucy so that the tour guide came over and hustled us away. We were holding up the bus! You know that couple that is alwasy last on, you sit in the bus saying, "Why aren't we leaving Hayzoos? Is something wrong" As the tour guides walk up and down the aisle counting heads. Then the bozos arrive chattering away, "How could she not take 15 cents for the bedspread, pillow cases and two sheets. It was totally a good offer! I was negotiating. Just like they tell you in the travel books!"
It was a show I hope I get to go back and see.
Back on the bus we were 45 minutes to a location closer to BKK to continue with the river cruise portion of the tour. We had a great lunch on board and quickly made it up to the observation deck. It was sunny and hot and we took the opportunity to catch some rays. See the river and all of the neighbourhoods along the way. Too much to remember. Some great sites and a look at life on the Chao Praya. The lifeblood of BKK.
Off now to watch the rest of the Habs / Flyers game.
Hope this finds you well.
Sawadee Krup
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