Despite the fact that we were on our Songkran stay-cation, we figured it would be a shame if we had 5 days off and didn't at least go somewhere. So, we loaded up our left-hand-drive car and headed an hour north to Ayuthaya. Ayuthaya was the capital of Siam between the 14th and 18th centuries and the city itself is an island encircled by 3 rivers. While the kingdom there is long gone, the city is studded with ruins and wats everywhere. We didn't get to see all that we wanted, due to the oppressive heat and Songkran parties in the street making it difficult to navigate, but as such an easy drive (or boat trip!) from Bangkok, we'll certainly be back to see more.
We began at Wihaan Mongkol Bophit, a sanctuary hall with a 17-meter tall Buddha inside.
One of the Songkran traditions is to wash Buddha statues with holy water, which Eliana and I did.
Meanwhile, Shane made a new friend.
Then, we walked over to the adjacent Wat Phra Si Sanphet, a 14th century temple that was the largest in Ayuthaya. Now, it is mostly ruins although it's three large stupas still mostly remain.
(protecting Shane's pale bald dome with an umbrella, Thai-style)
(for some reason, in certain places, there was dander everywhere)
(the ruins are also known for their headless Buddhas, which we unsuccessfully tried to replace with Shane's head)
(of course, Eliana wanted to do the same)
After getting a bit to eat on a table made out of a canoe and doing a little shopping in the market (Sam finally got her triangle pillow!), we headed over to Bang Pa-in Palace. However, the drive over was interesting in and of itself. As we previously mentioned, Ayuthaya has ruins everywhere so you couldn't go for more than 30 seconds without seeing sights/sites like these:
In addition, the Songkran street party was in full force. While we took the hit the day before ourselves, this time our car was in the crossfire.
We finally arrived at Bang Pa-in Palace, built by King Chulalongkorn in the late 19th century. It has a mix of Thai, Chinese and Western influences, all intermingling on beautiful grounds with amazing plant and tree-life (mango trees!).
(Eliana running to the tower)
(the view from level 1)
(and then up the spiral staircases to level 3)
(the kids playing and battling for Cheerios outside the tower)
(our favorite building, the Chinese-style Wehut Chamrun--unfortunately no pictures of the ornate camelbone sculptures inside)
(amazing tilework)
(topiary elephants!)
(rooster walking the palace grounds)
