Ancient Ayutthaya & Lovely Lopburi

With less than 55 days left before the big return stateside (eeks!) and a Thailand to-do list of ike bajillion things, this weekend it was time to take some initiative and start crossing things off that list! Goodbye Bangkok, and hello Ayutthaya! Situated just 45 minutes north of Bangkok (minus the horrendous traffic), Ayutthaya is the former royal capital of Thailand, helping to establish the country as a great empire in SE Asia. Loaded with historic wats, or temples, it is trip back in time as the city is filled with chedis, stupas and Buddhas of all sorts!

Lauren, Thomas and I hopped on a bus early Saturday morning and about 1 1/2 hours later, found ourselves enveloped in the ancient ruins of Ayutthaya. The Siamese royal capital from 1350 to 1767, Thailand's empire was the largest during this period. The Ayutthaya period (as it is known) saw the Thai people conquer present-day Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar - giving the country world recognition before eventually being conquered by the Burmese. Here are some of the ruins at Wat Phra Mahathat - the center of the old sacred city!

Across the street from Wat Phra Mahathat is Wat Ratburana, which boasts one of the best preserved prangs (the tall, intricate structure I am standing on below) in Ayutthaya. This beautiful wat was built by one of the 15th century kings for his two brothers, who died battling each other in hopes for the elusive throne! So much history here, it's amazing!

Battling the increasing heat and humidity (I know it's snowing back home, but the heat isn't all fun and games!), we spent Saturday walking around the various historical parks and enjoying the crumbling ruins of Ayutthaya. Naturally, all that walking made us hungry so we stopped for a lazy (albeit delicious) late afternoon lunch at a corner restaurant (som tam, or spicy papaya salad for this girl!). Quite honestly, once you've seen a few wats and ruins here, a few wats and ruins there, they all start to look like one another...but, that didn't stop us!

One of Ayutthaya's most famous ruins is Wat Phra Si Sanphet! These three bell-shaped chedis are an example of quintessential Ayutthaya architecture and up close, are extremely elegant! Built in the late 14th century, it was used for royal ceremonies and even has one of the largest Buddha's in Thailand, just a one minute walk away! This was probably one of my favorite wats from the weekend - there's just something about it!

After spending the day exploring Ayutthaya, we then hopped on an open-air train and enjoyed a nice breeze as we headed farther north two hours to Lopburi. A cute little town with a Bohemian flair, Lopburi is also full of ancient ruins from its days as an important administrative center in Thailand (I hope the history lessons aren't boring you all too much!). Upon arriving, a large Thai man advertising a taxi called us over, wanting our Western business. We told him "Nett Hotel," where we planned on staying, and he agreed. Then he motioned us over, not to a convential taxi or even a tuk-tuk, but instead into the back of his Toyota pick-up truck! We said, why the hell not? So...here we are enjoying a joy ride through Lopburi, thanks to our "taxi driver"!

After a light dinner at our guesthouse, we retreated off to bed, ready to get up early and explore the place! First stop of Sunday - Phra Narai Ratchaniwet! The former royal palace is a wonderful collection of ancient ruins, artifact galleries and even a cute little museum! The gang (and by gang, I mean Lauren and Thomas) and I browsed, walked, perused and explored our way around the grounds, which was used as the second capital of Thailand by Ayutthaya's King Narai. Since many of the wats and ruins lack informational signs on them, the museum was nice to browse and get the chance to learn a bit about Thailand's history. Nerds, I know!

The lovely thing about Lopburi is not only that it is a quaint little place (maybe a bit rundown), but that it is notorious for the hoards of monkeys which have invaded many of its ruins. Yes, I said monkeys! Prang Sam Yot (below) is notorious for the notorious (and by notorious, I mean slightly confrontational) monkeys hanging around the place. Climbing on tourists with food, scaling the 50-ft. prang, fighting with each others - I am not going to lie, I was totally scared of the monkeys!

So there you have it everyone, your history lesson for the day! Although a girl can shop with the best of them in Bangkok, she can also temple-see with the best of them in Ayutthaya and Lopburi as well! It was definitely nice to get away from bustling Bangkok for the weekend, and enjoy some relaxation (except for the monkeys - they totally sent my blood pressure soaring) by exploring a bit of Thai history. Lauren, Thomas and I had fun as usual (usually making fun of each other), and unfortunately, now it is Sunday again and school as normal tomorrow. Hopefully there will be more checking off the Thailand to-do list soon! Take care everyone!