December 12, 2006
Rest Day in Ayuthuya: Visiting Wats is what we do today
We get up early as usual and have breakfast at 7:00 at Tony's Place. After some coffee, eggs and toast we start today's temple tour. Ayuthuya is a UNESCO World Heritage Site with historic temples scattered around the city. We don't aspire to see each and every one, instead have chosen a couple of the most interesting and accessible to visit today.
Our first stop is about a kilometer walk away, we see a line of elephants with their mahouts headed to work. We visit Wat Phra Mahathat first, this one is the most famous for the Buddha head encased in tree roots. Built in the 14th century it has an impressive Khmer style tower and many Buddha statues, most with their heads knocked off though... We then cross the road to visit Wat Ratburana, a complex with a large Chedi that still shows some of the plaster reliefs that once covered all these brick buildings. It is apparent that most of these buildings were too heavy for their foundations on the soil they were built upon. Buildings collapsed over the years and were often rebuilt, larger even, on the ruins of the previous one. Many walls show signs of settlement and most Chedis lean precariously. Patrick doesn't think there are many earthquakes here, these buildings would not have stood this long.
It's starting to get hot, and we have one more temple on our list: Wat Pra Si Sanphet, about a kilometer further east. This is one of the largest temples around here and it is famous for the impressive line-up of three huge Chedi. All around it are more, smaller stupas and ruins of walls, columns and smaller buildings. By the time Patrick finished taking pictures here it is hot and just about lunch time. We take a tuk tuk back to our guesthouse and treat ourselves to a Big Mac, the first one in Thailand. Though we love Thai food, it's nice to have familiar food from home. Even if when at home it's not the food we eat.
In the afternoon we relax, try to contact Krasin, our contact in Bangkok, via email and finally talk to him on the phone. He will not be picking us up, instead we will ride south to Nonthaburi tomorrow and meet him at the city hall.
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