Ayutthaya, Thailand: Days 48 & 49

Day 48: Arrival and Night Market

After a long day on the train, I finally got to the station in Ayutthaya where a man persistently offered me a ride in his Tuk Tuk as soon as I stepped onto the platform. After repeatedly telling him 'no thank you,' I eventually caved and accepted his ride for 100 Baht to 1301 Hostel.



The hostel is brand new and in a great location. I will say that the owner yelled at a friend I made there for "walking too loudly" in the morning and waking him up, which I thought was rude. Dude - you run a hostel - people are going to walk around at all hours of the day. Other than that, if actually recommend it - extremely clean and quiet.

Tonight, the girl from my room and I joined some others to check out the night market and grab some food, before returning to hand out and go to bed.

Day 49: Biking to all the sights

Ayutthaya is a very picturesque city with all of the ancient ruins of temples scattered about, previously and rich kingdom, and I believe a capital at one point. It's not too big, so taking a bicycle turned out to be the most enjoyable way to see the sights. The lady at our hostel provides you a map upon check in, circling the highlights. So, we set out to the furthest place first, Wat Chaiwatthanaram. We must have arrived before they officially opened, because no one was there to charge us entrance, so in we went, saving 50 Baht.

Pretty much every attraction costs 50 Baht, but you can purchase a pass for all of them for 200 Baht at a visitor's center. Although we tried to find this center, we were unsuccessful. In searching, we did stop at a little restaurant for breakfast which was cheap and delicious (is it weird that I now crave rice for breakfast and hangovers?!)

Onwards we went seeing.....

Wihan Phra Mongkhon Bophit (a temple full of monks)

Wat Phra Si Sampet (previous temple/miniature city) ((also - kind of weird to see monks with cell phones))

Wat Lokayasutharam

And finally... Wat Maha That

All of these beautiful places were destroyed in the 1700s by the Burmese. 

We returned to the hostel, where I showered and used the wifi for a bit before heading to the train station. Delicious curry at a restaurant across the street completed my less than 24 hour visit. It is more than worth a stop - and only a 90 minute, 20 Baht train ride from Bangkok! NO excuses if you are ever here.