Travel Diary: Ancient city of Thailand Ayutthaya

Hello wanderers, how are you today? I am so excited to share with you my recent trip yesterday to the ancient capital of the Kingdom of Siam, Ayutthaya. Sounds like a chasing scene in the forest with Lara Croft. LOL. If you haven’t seen my last visit to Cambodia, where Angelina Jolie shoot a scene in the movie Tomb Raider, click HERE. Thailand also has its own history, and that’s why we visited the Ancient City of Thailand.



Short history of Ayutthaya, “the Historic City of Ayutthaya, founded in 1350, was the second capital of the Siamese Kingdom.  It flourished from the 14th to the 18th centuries, during which time it grew to be one of the world’s largest and most cosmopolitan urban areas and a center of global diplomacy and commerce. Ayutthaya was strategically located on an island surrounded by three rivers connecting the city to the sea.” – whc.unesco

How to get there / vice versa

If you are planning to visit Ayutthaya for a 1 day trip, then this is for you. I am currently residing in Pattaya, which is 2 hours’ drive from Bangkok. So we woke up too early from 7:00 AM and took a bus going to Mochit Bangkok bus terminal for 2:30 minutes. We arrive at Mochit bus station around 10:00 AM, then we asked for locals where to find a van public transportation going to Ayutthaya. We found one, it cost us 60 THB per person, and travel time is 1 hour, we arrive there at around 12:00 noon. If you are going to get a tour package transportation around Ayutthaya, at the end of the tour, the driver will take you immediately to the terminal of van public transportation going back to Bangkok.



Where to eat

Finding a place to eat is not that hard for us, as we are not looking for a fancy restaurant. At the last stop of the van in Ayutthaya, there is a small noodle place, they also serve dishes with rice. We paid 50 THB each for our lunch including a bottled water.

Transportation to get around

If you are travelling to Ayutthaya and don’t know how to use a motorbike and you’re with a family, then this travel tips around Ayutthaya is best for you. I don’t know how to use a motorbike, and even if I do. I can’t use a motorbike with the family of my friend who’s with me. They are a bit old to be in a motorbike ride (safety first) and the weather is so hot.  Good thing, when we arrived in Ayutthaya and get off the van there are locals selling tours around Ayutthaya. At first, we are hesitant to avail their packages because it’s quite expensive, to think someone told us we can find a “songtew” a public transportation in Ayutthaya and rent to go around for 1,000 THB. Me and my friend tried to search but we can’t find any so we ended up availing the tour package of 500 THB/person without entrance fee to ruins, temples and parks.







Entrance Fee

The tour package transportation does not include food or Entrance tickets to the ruins and park. So we have to pay for it. The first ruin that we went to is Wat Yai Chayai Mongkol and we paid 20 THB/person for the entrance fee. And the rest of the parks and ruins are 50 THB/person











Tips

1.      If you are visiting the temples, ruins and national park in Ayutthaya, be mindful of your outfits. Sleeveless, off-shoulder even backless and short shorts and short skirt is not allowed. Be respectful tourist, these are sacred places.
2.      Bring a lot of water, it’s very hot in Ayutthaya, and there’s not a lot of shade inside the parks and ruins. So bring also an umbrella or a huge hat.
3.      Drones is not allowed in the parks and ruins, I wanted to fly my drone, but it’s prohibited. There are signs at the entrance. If you really wanted to fly a drone, you must ask permission to the Ayutthaya Historical Park office. Which I don’t have time and energy to do so.
4.      Always take care of your belongings, there is an incident that happened to me yesterday. I suddenly lost my phone, I don’t know how but when we came back to our “tuktuk” (transportation) I realize that my phone is not in my pocket anymore. So I hurriedly go back again to the path where we went to and I can’t find any. While I’m searching, my friend called my missing phone, and it was answered by a Thai man. Good thing he returned it to my friend. I’m not actually worried that time, I don’t know why. LOL! Sad to say, I have not met the man who found my phone, whoever you are. God will remember your kindness.
5.      Wear sunblock, I’m not quite sure what month is the best time to visit Ayutthaya, but I’m pretty sure even November is still hot and humid, so protect yourselves loves.
6.      The last and important tip that I can share with you loves, is DO NOT BE A PART OF ELEPHANT RIDE IN AYUTTHAYA, not only in Ayutthaya but anywhere in Thailand or in the world. I saw two tourists yesterday who enjoyed riding the elephant. Like what? I understand that you are not aware how the elephants are being treated just to follow the orders or their guide or owner. But being observant is better than being ignorant. There is this pointy sharp object that the guide used to smash at the head of the Elephant just to follow them, and they put chains around the Elephant neck and foot and a lot more of mistreated actions to Elephant. If you want to see the horrible story of Elephants in Thailand click HERE. However, if you want to see the elephants, take care of them by feeding them, bathing with them and touching them (no riding) visit the Elephant Sanctuary you may visit their website HERE.

My Personal Experience

I honestly did not enjoy much the ruins and temples of Ayutthaya, it’s not that they’re not beautiful, they’re actually. However, I’ve seen a lot of ruins and temples in my past travels and it doesn’t give me a “WOW!” factor when we explored Ayutthaya. However, I enjoyed the company of my friend and her family.






And that’s it loves, it was a very short day exploration around Ayutthaya, I also saw a lot of tourists renting and using a bicycle instead of a motorbike. If you will ask me, if I will go back there, I probably would, there’s a lot of attractions in Ayutthaya that does not relate to temples and ruins and I love to check it out soon. Hope you enjoy this Travel Diary of the week, comment down below if you would like to see more Travel diary. And by the way loves, I also have a cinematic video of Ayutthaya, you can check out my Youtube channel www.youtube.com/c/AnnCatherine. And don’t forget to LIKE and SUBSCRIBE.
  

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