Thailand Route Map

The red line at the bottom of the map shows how far from Bangkok we went today––to Ayutthaya.

On the Road

Crossing a canal.

On the Road

A farm house.

Bang Pa-In Summer Palace

Our first stop was at the Bang Pa–In Summer Palace. It was originally constructed in 1631 by King Prasat Thong, but it was abandoned and ended up in disrepair. In the mid–19th century, King Chulalongkorn restored the palace and did so mostly in an European fashion. The pavilion on the left side of the photo is the only Thai–style building in the palace complex, but there are a couple of Chinese–style ones. It is a beautiful palace complex with interesting buildings.

Bang Pa-In Summer Palace

The palace grounds were also beautiful. That is the Chao Phraya in the photo.

Bang Pa-In Summer Palace

Different architectural styles made up the palace complex. Photo: The Sages’ Lookout built to resemble a lighthouse.

I have put my photos of the Summer Palace on a slide show. Go to

http://www.peggysphotos.com/near–attutthaya–summer–palace/

(Slide Shows, Asia, Thailand, “Bang Pa–In Summer Palace).

Bang Pa-In Summer Palace Entertainment–Movie

This dancer was entertaining at the Summer Palace. The feast for the gods looked good.

On the Road

Modern houses here. There are also some modern house development outside Bangkok though I didn’t get a photo of them.

On the Road

Canal houses.

On the Road

Brightly painted apartment houses.

On the Road

A huge stupa right in the middle of the road.

Lunch Time

A photo of my two friends, Dave and Joyce, who I also traveled with on my Russian cruise in 2012 and who I much enjoyed traveling with again. They are world travelers and have been most everywhere.

Lunch Time

Our group’s table. We had soup and then a choice of dishes served family style, including Chinese dishes that I liked. And, of course, lots of rice!

Lunch Time

View from our table.

Lunch Time

Another view of the river.

Lunch Time

Close–up of the houses on stilts in the last photo.

Lunch Time

Cute toilet direction sign.

Lunch Time

Pretty garden at the restaurant.

Lunch Time

Salt–encrusted fish ready for the grill.

Ayutthaya Historical Park

Ayutthaya was the center of the Siam kingdom from 1351 to 1767 and one of the wealthiest cities in the East as it was a major trade center. The Burmese kept invading the city and was finally successful in 1767, leaving the city in ruins. What you see here today are the ruins left after the Burmese invasion. The city was big and the Ayutthaya Historical Park covers a large area.

When I first saw the ruins, I was wondering what they were doing here as they looked so much like the Angkor ruins in Cambodia, which I had been to in 2012 (see Albums, Asia, Cambodia, “Tour Day 2”). It seems that architectural styles were borrowed and then adapted locally, so the Ayutthaya ruins resemble those of the Khymer ruins in Cambodia but with their own adaptions.

Ayutthaya Historical Park

A Buddha statue at the park.

We visited three sites at the historical park but I have put my photos of all three of them on the same slideshow:

http://www.peggysphotos.com/ayutthaya–historical–park/

(Slide Shows, Asia, Thailand, “Ayutthaya Historical Park.”

Ayutthaya Squirrel–Movie

Coconuts are cut open and left for the squirrels on trees at the park.

On the Road

Before going to our next Ayutthaya Historical Park site, we headed to our hotel.

On the Road

Through the city.

At Our Hotel

Arriving at the Kantary Hotel. Since our luggage was taken to our hotels separately by truck, our suitcases were always in our rooms when we arrived. This was a treat as usually on tours you have to wait for them to finally be brought up to your room.

At Our Hotel

The Kantary is a residence hotel. We were given suites––living room, bedroom, kitchen, and bathroom. A TV in the living room plus one in the bedroom. Photo: My private living room.

At Our Hotel

My private kitchen.

Ayutthaya Historical Park

After checking in, we were off again, back to the Ayutthaya Historical Park. We went to see this large reclining Buddha.

(See http://www.peggysphotos.com/ayutthaya–historical–park/ for more photos of this Buddha.)

Back on the Road

House seen on the way to our next stop. The farther north we were, the more houses made completely or partially of teak we saw.

Back on the Road

A modern house.

Back on the Road

A teak house.

Ayutthaya Historical Park

We are now in another part of the park. We came here to see these ruins at sunset when they are lit up. We also were instructed to put on DEET as we would be near a river at the time the mosquitoes came out. Photo: ruins before the sun set.

Ayutthaya Historical Park

The same ruins lit up.

For more photos, see  http://www.peggysphotos.com/ayutthaya–historical–park/

Time for Dinner

When we got back to our hotel, it was time for dinner. The hotel had this cafe and also a restaurant. Dave, Joyce, and I were going to order pizza here but it would take 45 minutes so we went to the restaurant.

Time for Dinner

The restaurant sounded good to me: California Steak––just like home for me. Actually, the steak didn’t look that appetizing at the price for it, so I joined Dave and Joyce and had pizza. It took only 20 minutes here. I also had a glass of wine. I soon gave up ordering wine as all wine in Thailand is imported with a price to match. When in Thailand, drink beer!

A very interesting day.