March 22, 2020
For our second to the last day in Thailand, we booked a tour in Klook to see Ayutthaya. For someone like me who's against tours, I felt like this was decent enough. And I was a little too tired to research about the commute for another destination.
We chose the itinerary with Bang Pa-In Summer Palace, Wat Lokayasutharam, Wat Mahathat, Floating Market, Wat Phra Si Sanphet and Sunset Boat Ride Tour.
We had 2 guides. They are very nice and shared a lot of stories. I feel like there is a guarantee that tours booked in Klook have great guides! My only concern now is that I don't have a say in the time and the destinations, overall it's a great tour βοΈ.
The best part is the bus. It was the most comfortable bus I've been in. The seats are made for the purpose of sleeping (I don't have a photo sorry!). I loved it so much I didn't want to leave.
The biggest turn off in the tour was the tourists with me. We were all Pinoys in our group and everyone complained a lot! Giving out so much negative energy that it has become contagious π©. I'm starting to feel like the complaints is a Filipino thing because this was not the case when we went to an elephant sanctuary and we were the only asians in the group. So that's what I learned for the day π€·π»ββοΈ.
I feel like this destination could be skipped. The little history was nice to know and the place was a mix of European and Asian architecture but it felt like all we did in there was walk. It was different from the temples we saw a few days ago and the temples we were about to see after this. It was a bit boring for me, I would've skipped it if I did my own research of Ayutthaya.
Despite my rant, few of my favorite photos of us where shot here π
This one has another reclining buddha! It was different with the one in Wat Pho because it is located outdoors and sometimes they put on an orange fabric over it, there was none when we went.
At the back there's an abandoned part (I don't know what they're called send help) made out of bricks. I guess this is something that's unique to Ayutthaya because the next destination has the same bricks. This is like going back in time which was not the case in the temples in Bangkok.
This is my favorite part βοΈβοΈβοΈβοΈβοΈ.
The difference with Wat Mahathat and Wat Lokayasutharamm is that there are a lot of Buddhas here. Most of them does not have a head and are broken. They bombed this place a long time ago which explains their condition.
This is where the Buddha Head in a tree is also located. According to our guides, that happened unexpectedly π€―! I never would've guessed that.
Since Buddha's are sacred, they have a strict rule when taking photos wherein the Buddha should not be below any person as a sign of respect.
This is not the real floating market and it was a bit of a scam for me. Since our time is limited, we quickly followed where everyone is going and went straight to the floating ride. As it turns out, we were just going to go around the place and that's it. The actual shopping is still by foot and come to think of it, I'm not really sure now if it's like this too in the real floating market.
The only good side is, prices here are cheap! We already had our shopping in the Chatuchak Weekend Market the day before and noticed that everything in this floating market is less expensive, but with less options (mostly souvenirs, snacks and clothes). So yeah, should've included that in my research for Thailand π .
Elephants were everywhere in Ayutthaya and they were in the floating market too. And it smells so bad π©! Riding an elephant does look really nice, it was a photo opportunity I dreamt of a long time ago. It has this appeal, probably why it's still a best selling business despite being unethical.
βοΈβοΈPLEASE DO NOT ENGAGE IN THESE BUSINESSES βοΈβοΈ
We also saw so many chains all around the elephants body π, they were also chained to their own child πwhich I still don't understand. Near our parking spot, there was one elephant who was also chained and has little space to move I only hope he does not feel the heat we do π.
Elephant sanctuaries are great alternatives! We recently went and despite spending a little more for it, it was worth it and more fulfilling π.
Our last temple for the day! It was a great and unique view just like the others but we were already too tired to take photos.
Also we got lost and couldn't find where the bus was parked π.
I really wasn't in the mood any more for this part so I am starting to be a bit cranky (hungry) π€·π»ββοΈ.
So I didn't really like this as much as I expected. It was a 1 hour long boat ride and yes we got wet π πΌββοΈ. We saw some temples from behind and the main attraction was the last temple we've seen at sunset.
That one was really nice I have to admit.
In the end I was still glad that we decided to book this tour as there were more good than bad. One big difference might be the history our tour guides had shared and I now proudly overshare to anyone who asks me about my Thailand trip π€π»
Thanks Klook!
Also checkout The Little Things in Thailand.
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