The Ruins of Ayutthaya

Our last excursion before heading off to orientation and then our town was the ancient city of Ayutthaya. Located a short 45-minute train ride from Bangkok, Ayutthaya. Founded roughly 650 years ago, the city implemented a rapid building and expansion project that eventually propelled it to become the second capital city of Siam kingdom (Thailand, today). In fact, by the year 1700 Ayutthaya had become home to nearly 1,000,000 residents, making it one of the largest cities in the world. In the whole world. That puts it up there with the Londons, the Paris’, the New Yorks of the day…

…That is, until 1767 when the Burmese sacked the city, a blow that eventually resulted in the collapse of the entire kingdom. Today the city is relatively well preserved, with the remaining prangs (cone-like towers), chidis and monasteries giving you a sense of scale and appreciation for this once-magnificent city. You will also see countless Buddha statues, or at least what’s left of them, scattered throughout the ruins. Many of the statues have been destroyed either by invaders, looters or the wares of time. Most are missing heads and for some the crossed legged base are all that’s left of the hundreds, maybe thousands of stone tributes to Buddha throughout the vast ruins. There is one well-preserved head that remains however, and it has become the main attraction of Ayutthaya for those who visit the ancient city. Yet this head does not sit atop any statue or reside inside of a prang. Instead it can be found within the base of a tree, being slowly engulfed by roots.

Check out some of the pics below: