Ayutthaya, Thailand
Ayutthaya is a small city just north of Bangkok in the country side of Thailand. This isn’t a party place at all, in fact it’s the quietest part of Thailand I’ve been to by far. However it makes up for this by being home to some of the most historic temples in the entire country. Ayutthaya used to be the capital of Thailand way back in the day before it was leveled by the Burmese in the late 1700’s. Today it is packed with tourists exploring that historic temple grounds, parks, and even checking out the local markets and elephants.
I took a van from Bangkok to Ayutthaya and it was pretty easy. If you want to book anything that isn’t a flight in Thailand I suggest you check out 12goasia.com. It’s by far not the best website ever made but is helpful in booking buses, vans, trains, and even ferries. Prices are usually very reasonable too. When I arrived in the city it was a short walk to my hotel, The Avail. Since it’s the only place I’ve stayed in Ayutthaya I recommend it. The room was very nice and the location was perfect! Literally a 5 minute walk to the historic temple grounds, nightly street market, and numerous local cafes.
There are numerous temples to explore but the most popular is Wat Mahathat, which is also famously known for the Buddha head imbedded in the base of an old tree. The grounds were absolutely stunning to wonder through and is amazing place for pictures. At sunset the temple erupts with bats and is a really pretty sight to see with the sunset. I’ll share of bunch of pictures below, but I promise none of them do it justice. You have to see it with your own eyes!
To the right of Wat Mahathat is the big tower temple of Wat Ratchaburana. This tower looms over the surrounding park and is another great place for pictures!
Behind Wat Ratchaburana is another temple called Wat Phra Si Sanphet. This giant complex is home to many ancient spires that you can walk around and explore.
To the right of that is The Old Royal Palace, which once again is a really cool spot to check out. All 4 of these temples are within walking distance and Centrally located in the city. Be sure to pack your sneakers!
As we were exploring we came across a local in a tuk-tuk who offered to give us a tour. We haggled and accepted the offer, it was a fair price between the two of us. If you do this just be sure they’re legit, most of the tuk-tuks have a tourist police sticker on them to show the drivers are legit. He took us to a few locations. One of those was the reclining Buddha Wat Lokaya Sutharam which was super pretty and was also a great place to pic up some local art and trinkets.
We also went to Wat Chaiwatthanaram which was a super pretty temple complex. My friend Allison and I were actually interviewed by a local school about our experiences in Thailand which was super cool. Thankfully we both live in Thailand so we had a lot to share! This temple also had a lot of bats sleeping in the towers you walk though which was cool to see and it was undergoing some restoration while we were there.
These were the main temples I can remember sticking out to me, but theres are dozens to explore! I want to talk about the elephants you’ll see in town. Please don’t ride them. We never saw any mistreatment of these animals but they were still working elephants and that’s becoming more frowned upon in Thailand. If you wish to see some elephants and interact with them please visit a certified reserve and make sure your money goes to protecting and caring for the elephants!
We ate at a couple really cool places in Ayutthaya. I’d recommend Coffee Old City for breakfast! It was a really good place for breakfast and the lady there was so nice! Up the road is BORAN Cafe and Restaurant which was super good too. We had dinner there one night and they had really good Thai food! Just around the corner was this little sushi shop I ate at one night called Sushi-Holic. It was just myself, the owner and her daughter. The sushi was incredible and it was the best customer service I think I’ve ever had. Last but certainly not least was the Ayutthaya Night Market. So many delicious meals for so cheap! I posted a couple videos about the street market on my Tik-Tok so be sure to check them out! There’s also a shop on the corner called Tuk Restaurant that had great Thai food and ice cold beer for cheap! It’s literally right on the corner of where the night market is!
If you finish touring the temples and you’re looking for something to do I’d recommend checking out St.Josephs Church on the outskirts of town. Or go far outside of town to Wat Niwet Thammaprawat Ratchaworawihan near the Bang Pa-In Palace. These places were cool to look at but weren’t super special. Just beware that getting a ride back to Ayutthaya is very difficult from these places, so maybe rent a scooter if you want to check these places out!
Overall Ayutthaya was a really cool city to visit. It was so cool to wonder all around the historic grounds and touch these historic temples that are older than my country by 200 years! That being said anymore than 2-3 full days in the town is unnecessary. It’s still worth the trip, but there’s much cooler places to visit in Thailand! I have so many pictures of Ayuthaya so I’m gonna post them down below! If you go remember to be safe, have fun, and be sure to watch the sunset at Wat Mahathat!