As we wanted to explore the old Thailand but didn’t want to stay overnight in a dodgy town, we joined up on a tour for Ayuthaya. The tour is with River Sun Cruises which includes a visit to Bang-Pa In Palace (the King’s summer palace) and then off to Wat Maha That, Wat Na Phra Mane and Wat Lokayasutharam…oh forgot to mention, the tour comes with an annoying tour guide hehe!
Bang-Pa In palace is one of those places where no explanation is required. You’re given a map so you can explore the grounds. Our annoying tour guide decided he wanted to talk about everything…history recited from a textbook and make us all wait in the scorching sun while he did it. The grounds is still partially used by the current Royal family so there are Royal guards everywhere with riffles on their arms.
40mins later, we were ushered on our bus and transferred to the 3 Wats. (Wats are temples for those that don’t know) Most of the temples were ruins mostly from the attack from Burma in the 17th century. Most of the heads on the Buddha’s were cut off clean. Only Wat Na Phra Mane was intact as this was used as the headquarters for the Burmese army during the invasion.
After touring all the Wats, we were transferred to the pier for a luxury cruise down the river back to Bangkok. The boat was surprisingly luxurious and the food wasn’t bad either. There was so many waitresses and crew, even a toilet lady that opened the toilet door for you hehe!! The cruise went for around 2.5hrs and by the time we got back to the pier it was 4.15pm. The tour was ok, way too long and a bit slow though, but then again we had the annoying tour guide to dull the whole day.
We had a seafood dinner by the street from a cart vendor. We ordered a whole grilled fish, stirfry morning glory, stirfry clams, papaya salad, grilled squid, chicken fried rice and drinks at a total of 450baht…that’s like AUS$15.50! What a bargain!! I love how food is so cheap overseas! Hehehe!
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