Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 11 – Part 4 – Ayutthaya Historical Park & Wat Maha That

Continued from Thailand – Laos: Day 11 – Part 3 – Wat Yannasen & Wat Thammikarat. For pre-travel, please refer here.

Still persistent to finish the story of the adventure that is already 2 years old.

This is the reason why we rent bikes because there are too many historic sites in the form of vast parks. So, it’s easy to get all the way inside. In addition, motorcycles are prohibited from entering.

From Wat Thammikarat, we cycled along the edges of the park and still on the outside of the fenced area.

Pictured above and beyond is Ayutthaya Historical Park. It is actually designated as one of the UNESCO historic sites. Actually, I can’t explain in terms of historical facts due to a lack of information. So you just enjoy the pictures I shared here.

Intrigued by this ziggurat-style construction that looks modern. Many are available in Chiang Rai and are colored white.

I think this is a fort built around the area in the old days but some of it has been broken.

The middle part of the fort is collapsed.

And it continues to the end there as I showed by hand.

During our bike ride here, apparently, we passed on the edge of long forts.

Another ‘checkpoint’ for the 2nd fort we found here.

Connected by an artificial canal here and its water forms a mini lake.

Arriving at the edge here, we saw the entrance allowed for tourists and bicycles, then we entered.

Took a picture of the part of the fort we passed earlier before moving in the other direction.

The building around here with bricks is not over 500 years old. Probably built in the years between the 1700s and 1800s. The stones are the same as the ones we found during our car trip to Perak in Kota Long Jaafar in Bukit Gantang (Perak, Malaysia). However, the surrounding area has existed since 1351.

From a distance is visible a gate that somehow I don’t know which direction is the enters or exits. If we assume that there’s another monument behind it, but there isn’t. Then I suggested to Tatie that she ride her bike from the back and come out of the gate for me to take a picture of her.

Look at how vast this area is.

The main area here is Wat Phra Si Sanpret.

The many corners of the stupa roofs here remind me of the atmosphere in Bagan, Myanmar that I used to see in Google.

On the edge of Wat Phra Si Sanpret.

I took a picture of the outside as much as possible. When I return to Malaysia later, then I take a closer look at the picture. If I want to review it in-depth, there is not enough time. Importantly, touch this place first. Let’s feel it with our hands. The experience and feeling are very different even if you don’t research it thoroughly.

Chedi found here.

The construction of the same stupa is the same in almost all the Wats in Ayutthaya.

I don’t know what the hole is.

Behind me are three main chedis.

I pretend to be a historian and archaeologist.

The time here is 4.30 pm but there are not many tourists.

Return to the outside of the bike parking lot. There is also a hole and I told Aqif to go there for me to take his picture.

Actually, I didn’t dare to park the bike here for a long time because it wasn’t locked. As far as I remember, there are no iron bars to lock our bikes here.

Monument built to commemorate King U-Thong. Also known as King Ramathibodi I. He was the first king to rule Ayutthaya (now Thailand) from 1350 to 1369. It is believed that he was of Chinese descent and sailed from China to here. After sailing for trade, he gained strong influence to rule Phetchaburi before moving to Ayutthaya.

My excitement to see the view of the corners of the chedi roof is not over yet.

Ok, that’s enough, we move on to another place.

Seen in front is Wat Phra Ram.

Because of already being here, we visit this place even although we had enough of Wat already. After all, the shape of the chedi looks very old.

But we didn’t go all the way inside. Just zoom the camera from a distance only.

Then, paddle to the largest lake found here. When viewed from Google Maps , this lake seems like small ponds that are connected to each other.

Lotus in lake Ayutthaya.

On this lake, there are another two to three historic Wats and can be crossed through several bridges built here. Since time was running out, we had to carry out other activities as soon as possible.

Pictured with the only roundabout found in Ayutthaya. Enough as the memories and proof that we have set foot here.

In the middle of it, there is also a monument. Sometimes in some places, its entire history here is briefly devoted to the middle of a roundabout, much like the lettered stone roundabout in Kuala Terengganu (Malaysia).

This is the last Wat we will stop by and is the most unique Wat in all. It is also considered sacred by Buddhists for reasons that I will show below.

After parking and locking the bike, we rushed in because it was 5.20 pm. Exactly at 5.30 or 6.00 pm (sorry I forgot), this place will be closed.

We continued walking to get into the main part of the Wat.

There’s also an entrance fee but due to the day of mourning of the deceased king, all entrances to these places are free.

Finally, we arrived at Wat Mahathat as well.

Wat Mahathat (or Maha That) houses the relics of the Buddha. The construction of this wat was started in 1374 by King Borommaracha I and completed during the reign of King Ramesuan. The pagoda collapsed during the reign of King Songtham and was rebuilt in 1633.

At the fall of Ayutthaya in 1767, this Wat was set on fire during a Burmese military invasion. The pagoda continued to be destroyed and all that remained now was the stairs.

We just look around the pagoda or chedi found here because the most interesting to us is …….

…… here it is!

Originally, it was the head of a Buddha statue that broke and fell to the ground. From the beginning, it was trapped between the roots of the Bodhi tree. Over time, the head continues to hang inside and begins to creep upwards as its roots grow.

It is believed that the Buddha statue with the remains of this head was built in the 1600s.

There are various styles of tourists who come here. For them, this is sacred.

We couldn’t afford to take a closer look because there are so many tourists here. Enough just from afar as a sign that we have arrived here.

If I’m not mistaken, behind that is the site of an old pagoda that had collapsed and burned down by the Burmese army.

The black rock here caught my eye.

There have been many relics of Buddha statues whose parts have been stolen or confiscated by certain parties.

Our memories are here with the intertwining of tree roots. Pretend to be Angeline Jolie in the movie Tomb Raider.

Our last pagoda before waving to leave Ayutthaya. If observed from the air, it is octagonal in shape.

Ok enough about Wat whose shape is all the same. But whatever, being here is worth it, especially since it is one of the UNESCO historic sites.

When I looked back at the pictures while we were there while reading the historical facts, then … “ohhhh ohhh”, “oh like that !!” … too much “ohh”. That is the consequence of coming here without studying anything about local history.

The route we rode started from the bike shop all the way to Wat Maha That and back to the bike shop. Although 7.3km, I expected over 9 km because the map did not include the trip back to the bike shop and also mistakenly entered another route.

Time to leave Ayutthaya. Goodbye Ayutthaya. Let’s go to Nong Khai!