Back in Bangkok and onwards to Ayutthaya

Back in Bangkok, but this time, at a different hotel, located in the old part of town, near the legendary Kao San Road. After checking in at our rather classy hotel (the good thing about Bangkok is that you can stay at pretty cool hotels for very reasonable prices...), we headed out to check out the neighbour hood (with the specific objective to have dinner). We got a hot tip for restaurant serving Thai food by the receptionists, and after quite a lot of hassle (which did mean we did quite extensive exploration of the neighbourhood - we even ended up at a Thai boxing rink!), eventually found the place. Quite a classy little place, with an amazing view over the river, and no complaints about the food either (even though it was a bit more expensive that what we'd been used to so far - the price to pay for a nice view I suppose!).

Our stomachs filled, we decided to head off and check out Kao San Road. Kao San Road is the focal point of the huge backpacker community that is constantly present at Bangkok... By night-time, it's basically packed with youngsters, old hippies, regular tourists of all imaginable nationalities (make an effort and you can spot a few locals, even...) partying and having a good time. It's quite an interesting place to walk around - but not really our cup of tea (we prefer a more local vibe, and at least I may be getting a bit too old for that backpacker partying scene!).

The next day, we decided to head off to the famous Chatuchak weekend market. The place is absolutely massive, covering 35 acres (it's the biggest market in Thailand), and pretty much everything imaginable can be bought there. It's a great place to stroll around, and certainly a more pleasant experience than walking around markets in India or middle-Eastern countries in that you are actually allowed to walk around in relative peace... (without having people try to sell you everything from their grandmother to cheap tourist trinkets). So even though I'm not generally a big fan of shopping, I have to say this place is definitely worth a visit! And no complaints about the value for money either - I even bought a couple of tee shirts!

In the afternoon, we decided to visit some of the touristy sights near our hotel. Which, being old Bangkok, mostly means temples... (there are probably more temples in Bangkok than churches in Florence!). We started with Wat Bowoniwet - not one of the most famous temples in Bangkok, but one that benefits from a Royal status (the current king was ordained a monk here).

We then carried on to Wat Ratchanaddaram. The temple is best known for its  Loha Prasat, a multi-tiered structure 36 m high and having 37 metal spires, signifying the 37 virtues toward enlightenment. Apparently it's only one of three of its kind in the world (the other ones being in India and Sri Lanka). We hiked all the way to the top of the Loha Prasat, and were treated to some nice views over the surroundings... It's quite a nice and peaceful place to walk around - as opposed to the more famous temples in Bangkok, there are hardly any tourists here...

Or next stop on the temple trail was the legendary Golden Mount. Wat Saket is one of the biggest and most historical temples of Bangkok - dating back to the Ayutthaya era (14th to 18th century). In the 18th century, construction of a huge cedi (a big hemisphere containing religious relics?) started, but unfortunately it collapsed. Left to abandon, it formed a hill of sorts over the years. A small temple was built on top of this hill (now known as Golden Mount) in the 20th century. The temple itself isn't that impressive (compared to some of the other temples in Bangkok), but the views from the top are certainly worth the hike...

By now, we were starting to suffer from Temple fatigue (a phenomenon similar to Church fatigue, which we sometimes suffer from in Italy), but decided to check out one more temple, as it was on the way back to the hotet - the Wat Suthat. The main highlight of this temple (once again, we quite enjoyed this  place not only since it's a beautiful place but also due to the absence of tourists) is the huge bronze Buddha statue - the largest of its kind conserved from the Sukhothai Era.

For dinner, we decided on some Japanese -  we'd seen a nice-looking little Izakaya (a kind of Japanese drinking establishment which also serves food). Excellent choice - we really enjoyed the food and vibe of the place.

The next day, we decided to head off to nearby Ayutthaya (it's some 80 km's from Bangkok - an easy minibus ride from the Victoria Monument).

Ayutthaya was the capital of the Siamese kingdom (bearing the same name) that reigned this part of Asia between 1351 and 1767. In its heyday, it was one of the richest and most powerful cities in Asia. These days it's a decent-size modern city, which still preserves an impressive collection of temples in various degrees of disrepair. It's kind of like a small version of Angkor Wat, if you will (in fact, Angkor Wat and Ayutthaya were often at war with each others).

The temples are quite widely spread out in Ayutthaya, so the best way to visit the place is by bike, so we rented one at a hotel we found near where the minibus dropped us off. After some mechanical difficulties with Mathilde's bike (thankfully we found a friendly local who helped us out!), we arrived at the first temple of the day Wat Phra Sri Sanphet. This impressive temple - the most important at Ayutthaya, dates back to the 15th century. It was basically the royal temple, as it was located just next to the Royal palace (which no longer exists). The temple is dominated by three impressive, bell-shaped, well-preserved Chedis (which contains the remains of three kings). A most impressive little place to visit - and not too badly overrun by tourists either. 

After a quick visit to the more modern adjacent Wihan Phramongkhon Bophit (with its impressive Bronze Buddha), we jumped back on the bikes and cycles over to the next must-see temple - Wat Mahathat. It's one of the oldest temples in Ayutthaya, and less well-preserved than the first temple we visited (due to the fact that the Burmanese army badly damaged the temple in the 18th century when they invaded Ayutthaya). The main sight at this temple is the Buddha head that is entwined in tree roots - certainly an interesting sight! Nobody quite knows how the head ended up in the tree - there are naturally plenty of theories (the most likely - and boring - explanation is that the tree and its roots simply grew around the Buddha head during the centuries it lay abandoned.

To finish off our visit at Ayutthaya, we decided to visit one more temple -  Wat Ratchaburana (temple fatigue was hitting us again). This temple is mostly known for its well-preserved Prang (a tall spire-like tower, a typical feature of Temples of the Khmer empire). Unfortunately, the prang was being restored, but I was able to visit a tomb located in the structure (which required some acrobatics I'm not really accustomed to - the staircases and chambers were certainly built for smaller people than me....).

After lunch at a nice little restaurant we found across the road, we headed back to town centre, from where we took a minibus back to Bangkok. All in all, we rather enjoyed Ayutthaya, even if it can get a bit intensive temple-wise... (not sure there is much else to do in Ayutthaya, apart from visiting temples and possibly having an elephant ride).