Day 6 Thailand, Ayutthaya

Our hotel this time was more modern that the other two we stayed in, but it was for only one night. Ayutthaya was once the capital of Siam. After hearing the name of this place over 100 times last night, we finally got to see it. Today we visited 3 of the 504 temples in the Ayutthaya area: Wat Phra Si Sanphet, Wat Mahat That, and Wat Yai Chai Mongkhon. Otherwise known as Wat 1,Wat 2 and Wat 3. All three were amazing and we really wanted more time to experience.

Wat Phra Si Sanphet was our first stop, and we were fortunate to had sunny, blue skies with a breeze. It 9was really a beautiful siteWe learned about the stupas, which were built by the kings to hold the ashes of the king that passed. After cremation, the king was placed in a gold urn, but part of this ashes were thrown in the river as he moves onto his next life. There were three large stooptas and they were surrounded by smaller ones. All of the were empty, because they were robbed for the gold. We were surprised they were made of terra-cotta bricks and cement placed on top of that. They had white and black color. Erika and Matt walked up the stairs to one of them, and Bowman and I walked around the bottom. Gary walked into the only one that you could enter, and saw pigeons and bats.

Wat Mahat That was one of the most important monasteries of the Ayutthaya kingdom, not only because it was the religious centre and enshrined relics of the Buddha, but also because of its proximity to the Grand Palace. At the fall of Ayutthaya in 1767, the monastery was set on fire in the Burmese attack. Monks lived and trained here and the ordination room was surrounded by Buddhas but only two of them remain intact. The others either had no head or body. There was one famous Buddha heads that you may have seen pictures of that a banyan tree was growing around. Another interesting part of the ruins was the division between the royal family and others, there was a sign made of limestone that marked the division.

We were supposed to see one of the biggest Buddha’s in a Temple next to the grounds, but something happened and we weren’t able to go in. So instead we went to a market next to it. Let’s just say JJ was so much better. But we all watched this man make the Thai version of cotton candy. He made a crepe like thing then used that as a wrap,for this sugary treat the looked like stiff gold hair. It was sweet, and a little odd, but tasty.

Wat Yai Chai Mongkhon was our third stop before lunch, unfortunately we only had 30 minutes there, and it would have been nice to have more time. Erika and Matt walked up the stupa steps and went inside to see an older Buddha and a hole, like a well where the ashes were placed. Bowman and I walked the perimeter to photograph the xxx Buddhas. At this place they were all intact and quite exquisite. They were amazing and the best we’d seen so far. Not all the Buddhas were the same, and you could see the subtle differences by looking closely. At the back of the stoopta there was a white Buddha with other figures around it.

I learned today that each day of the week represents a color, and every person has a Buddha associated with the day they were born. Since I was born in a Sunday, my color is red, Bowman’s is green.

When entering the ordination room you had into remove your shoes. It had a gold Buddha outside and a bunch of golden Buddhas. The last thing we saw on the way out was a reclining Buddha. Amy said it was undergoing some reconstruction, but it wasn’t noticeable. It was white and draped in gold cloth. The monks were raising money for monk uniforms, and thy would remove part of the cloth when hey hit a goal. Sounded like a Buddha strip tease.

After lunch we left the the airport to head to Chiang Mai, which is about 7 hours by car north of where Ayutthaya. We will be there 3 nights, and the first night is at a Home Stay. Since our plane was an hour late, Amy told us that we wouldn’t get to see the children tonight, and Matt almost jumped for joy. To get to the house we pulled down what looked like a back alley in a not so great section of town. Matt was on the side van closest to the sliding barn door and the first thing he said,was, “Oh my.” We were the first van to arrive. The door opened and it was quite surprising. It looked like part stage, part restaurant and part boarding house with children every where, boys with no shirts in a knife fight, and young girls surrounding us helping with the luggage. It was a beautiful experience with lanterns hanging, people welcoming us. Once everyone arrived, we were assigned rooms, and had 5 minutes to drop off our bags, and come back for dinner and a show. Here’s how Bowman described it – Heartwarming unexpected, graciousness, Thai smiles, whole cultural emersion experience. There were about 10 different performances that lasted the entire dinner. For the last song, all of the children came out and sang. When they came out to each of us, and brought us into a dancing. If Le. It was cute. One girl was correcting my hand movements. Then we thought it was over, but not quite. They brought us to the center of a circle, said a few words they we didn’t understand, but were basically welcoming us to Chiang Mai. They they screamed and yelled at us. Then all of the children came up to us and hugged us and said good night. Erika and Matt were sure I had planned that just for them. It was hilarious. Children and hugging. What a way to end the night.

I’m not sure that I mentioned much about our travel companions yet. But we have a diverse set: