Ayutthaya

Ooaj Travel Guide, tourism, hotel reservation, residence, plane, cheap pension for you holidays in ayutthaya

Free Travel guide Ooaj.com A free travel guide for holidays. Hotels in ayutthaya, Bed and Breakfast!

Ayutthaya (??????) is an ancient capital and modern city in the Central Plains of Thailand, 85 km to the north of Bangkok.

	ayutthaya Travel Guide : 1 Understand 2 Get in 2.1 By train 2.2 By bus 2.3 By minibus 2.4 By boat 3 Get around 4 See 4.1 Temples 4.2 Museums 5 Do 6 Buy 7 Eat 8 Drink 9 Sleep 10 Get out

Understand

Founded by King U-Thong in 1350 within a bend of the Chao Phraya river, Ayutthaya was the capital of the Thai kingdom at its mightiest. Conquered and sacked by the Burmese in 1767, today only ruins of its splendor remain.

Among Thai cities, Ayutthaya's English name is probably the least standardized. Ayutthaya, Ayuttaya, Ayuthaya, Ayutaya, Ayothaya, Ayotaya, Ayudhya and even the Sanskrit original Ayodhya (usually referring to the Indian city) are all used.

Get in

By train

The cheapest and most colourful way of reaching Ayutthaya is by train. All north and north-east line trains depart from Bangkok's Hualamphong Train Station and stop in Ayutthaya, a trip of about 1.5 hours. Second class costs 35 baht (seats can be booked in advance), while third class is just 20 baht (no reservations).

Ayutthaya's train station is to the east of the central island. The easiest way to get to central Naresuan Rd is to walk straight ahead from the station and take the cross-river ferry for 2 baht.

By bus

Buses operate every 20 minutes or so from Bangkok's Northern Bus Terminal (Moh Chit) directly to Ayutthaya. First class air-con buses charge 45 baht, while second class is 35. Allow at least two hours for the trip since the buses stop rather frequently and there are often jams on the roads out of/into Bangkok.

In Ayutthaya, the central BKS bus station is on the south side of Th Naresuan next to the Chao Phrom Market. songthaews to Bang Pa-In also leave from here. Some 1st-class buses to Bangkok, however, leave from the north side of the road some 500m to the west, on the other side of the khlong (canal); the queue of air-con buses is easy to spot.

By minibus

Convenient minibus service (can get stuck in traffic, but makes no stops like regular busses) operates from the Victory Monument square in Bangkok. Take BTS Skytrain to the Victory Monument station, an go right on the elevated walkway -- keep on it until you cross a large road, then descend -- the buses are parked at the side side of the main traffic circle). The cost is usually ~80 THB, takes around 1 hour.

By boat

Cruise boats run up the river from Bangkok, often stopping at Ko Kret and Bang Pa-In along the way. You'll need to book in advance as there are no scheduled services, just trips for tourists. It's a fairly lengthy trip (at least one whole day) and some of the larger boats offer (pricy) overnight tours.

Get around

It is advised to rent a bicycle. You should get a copy of a map for free at the shop that rents you the bicycle. Alternatively, you can hop around town by tuk-tuk or motorbike for 20-30 baht a pop. Ayutthaya's tuk-tuks are larger than the Bangkok variety and you can easily squeeze in four or more on the two songthaew-style facing benches.

See

All of Ayutthaya's sites are on the protected western half of the island, while the modern city sprawls to the east.

Temples

All the temples listed below are in ruins and no longer in active use, so no dress codes are enforced — although visitors are still requested to refrain from blatant stupidity like clambering up the Buddha statues. Most charge a 30 baht entrance fee, although enforcement is rather lax.

• Wat Phra Si Samphet (Sri Samphet Rd) is the largest temple in Ayutthaya, known for its row of chedis (Thai-style stupas). Housed within the grounds of the former royal palace, the wat was used only for royal religious ceremonies. It once housed a 16-meter Buddha covered with 340 kg of gold, but the Burmese set fire to the statue to melt the gold and destroyed the temple in the process.

• Wat Ratchaburana (Naresuan Rd) stands out for having a large prang recently restored to its original condition, clearly visible if you come in from the east. A major find of golden statues and other paraphernalia was made here in 1958, although much was subsequently stolen by robbers — the remnants are now in the Chao Sam Phraya Museum. You can climb inside the prang for nice views and a little exhibit. The mysterious staircase down, leads to two unrestored rooms with original paintings still visible on the walls.

• Wat Phra Mahathat (Naresuan Rd), across the road from Wat Ratburana, is a large temple that was quite thoroughly ransacked by the Burmese. Several Leaning Prangs of Ayutthaya are still feebly defying gravity though, and the rows of headless Buddhas are atmospheric. This is also where you can spot the famous tree that has grown around a Buddha head.

Museums

• Chao Sam Phraya Museum (Rojana Rd) is where you can find some of the Buddha heads that are so conspicuously missing at the sites themselves. Opened in 1961 and looks the part. Perhaps the most interesting displays are the golden regalia from Wat Ratchaburana, on the 2nd floor of Hall 1. Open Wed-Sun from 9 AM to 4 PM, entrance 30 baht.

• Ayutthaya Historical Study Centre (Rojana Rd), across the road and to the east of the Chao Sam Phraya museum, is a more modern museum that tries to depict life in Ayutthaya with models. A good place to start or end your tour, but a little pricy (by Thai standards) at 100 baht.

Do

Buy

• Chao Phrom Market. Corner of Naresuan and Uthong Roads (on the east edge of the island). A bustling provincial market. There are particularly many protective Buddha amulet vendors here.

Eat

• Siam Restaurant (Chee Kun Rd) serves unremarkable Thai and Vietnamese food, but makes up for it with an excellent location with views of Wat Mahathat as you eat, air conditioning, and possibly the best toilets in the city. Most mains 50-100 baht.
• Boat noodle In front of telephone authority building. Original boat noodle was cooked on a boat. It's noodles and soup with meat and vegetables. They are served in a little bowl and most people would eat more than one to relieve their hunger. Expect to pay about 10 Baht per bowl.

Drink

Sleep

There are a reasonable number of guesthouses available, but not much in the upper price brackets. Many people choose to day-trip from Bangkok.

Get out

• The eccentric palace of Bang Pa-In, 20 km to the south, is 40-minute songthaews ride away.

Biggest country to travel: Biggest cities to travel: Islands in the top travel 40: World Travel guide Random travel link: South Africa United Kingdom Argentina France Lagos in Nigeria Delhi in India Los Angeles Shanghai in China Bali Maui Bahamas Galapagos_Islands Ionian_Islands Burkina_Faso Northern_Mariana_Islands Bahrain Coral_Sea_Islands Mongolia Edinburgh Oslo Oslo Manchester Marseille

• Url Rewriting, optimisation, referencement professionnel: Atuvu Referencement
• Cours 2 langues, cours d'anglais tous niveaux Cours 2 Langues
• Photographe aix en provence Daniel Weiss
• Ooaj Travel Guide Home Page