Travels in Thailand - Part 7

...a private tour of Ayutthaya continues... 


After enjoying the King's summer palace, our small group moved to the most famous temple in Ayutthaya, Wat Lokayasutharam, or more widely known as the "Temple of the Reclining Buddha". 
There were very few tourists during the early morning hours, so we could enjoy the enormous sculpture with little disruption. 

The Reclining Buddha: 

A worker adjusts His blanket..^_^ 

Standing nekko, reclining Buddha: 

This temple has lines of stone carved Buddhas which are all draped in bright yellow sashes. I love this image:

The central pagoda is also wrapped like a X-mas present, again, with a large yellow sash: 

We climbed up the pagoda to enjoy the view of the ruins below: 

The stonework is outstanding here....but I think this photo is missing something....

Let's add an excited Canadian....et voila! (laugh) 
 

Ayutthaya is filled with World Heritage sites; visiting these sites is something I love to do during my travels. Our next stop was quite a shock for me though, as the temple of Wat Phra Sri Sanphet I had visited 2 years earlier, had suffered extensive flood damage in November, 2011. The temple complex now, was under heavy renovation. 

Central pagoda: 

Brick wall in front shows the height of the flood waters 
(The white bricks were under the water):

This temple was built in 1448 A.D. While most of the complex is slowly crumbling away, visitors can get a sense of the grandeur that once was....

Workers restoring parts of the temple: 

Next, we visited another, smaller temple to observe a giant Buddha image. The temple and Buddha inside, were originals. During the war, the Burmese used the temple as their headquarters, attacking the King's palace on the other side of the canal, thus this temple is one of the few that suffered no damage.
(Sorry, I can't remember the name of this temple...)

Columns: 

Side view: 

Back view: 

As my readers know, I am a big fan of boats and travels by ship. So, I was actually excited to end our tour, as it featured a slow boat ride back to Bangkok. We enjoyed a buffet lunch while cruising down the river.

My lunch: 

View from my table: 

The weather was just perfect as we sat out on the deck. I loved watching the flags flapping in the wind as the waves lapped our boat:


We approached the same bridge we saw on our tuk tuk tour:
 

About 2 hours later, our boat finally docked at River City, in Bangkok. I really enjoyed this tour! 

cutenekko + boats = always happy! ^_^

If you visit Thailand, a day trip to the World Heritage sites of Ayutthaya is a must. Please enjoy! 

Ayutthaya is located about 1 hour by car from Bangkok. Information about its ruins and World Heritage sites, look HERE. 

Information about Wat Phra Sri Sanphet can be found HERE. 

Information on Wat  Lokayasutharam  (Temple of the Reclining Buddha) can be found HERE.