Thailand Scrapbook: Day Two

 The Ayuthaya Cruise 

After having our hearty all you can eat American/Asian/Continental Buffet breakfast, we are off to our Ayuthaya tour and the river cruise thereafter. Our first stop was the Bang Pa-In Summer Palace, built during the Ayuthaya era. The palace is beautifully decorated in both traditional Chinese and European style. It was said to be the Palace where the Royal Family of Thailand stays during the summer. But today, the palace is only used infrequently, and mostly for state occasions rather than as a royal summer residence. The landscape and the houses are truly a beautiful sight to see. We circled the Palace and went inside some of open houses. Kimchi even fed the turtles and the fishes in the pond.

At the Bang Pa-In Summer Palace

The Ruins at Wat Maha That

An hour later, we are off to our next destination, the ancient city of Ayuthaya. The former Thai capital for over 400 years, which was the center of trade between Thailand and other countries before it was destroyed. Nowadays the glory and the beauty of the grand palace and Temples in the past vanished leaving merely a glimpse of ruins, despite this it is a good reflection of the past. Our second stop was Wat Maha That. Over 600 years old, Wat Maha That was the heart and soul of the Ayuthaya people. It was almost completely destroyed by the Burmese during Thai-Burmese war. Then we went to Wat Na Phra Mane: which remains in perfect conditions, as it was used as the Burmese headquarters. This is the only temple that they didn’t destroy. Next we went to Wat Lokayasutharam, which has a mysterious past, because its origins are unknown. The temple enshrines a Largest Reclining Buddha Image, which was built during the early period of the Ayuthaya Region.

With the River Sun Cruise Captain

Afterwards, we depart for the River Sun Cruise, at the river sun Traditional Thai style pier at Wat Pho Taeng Nua. Lunch was already being served when we embark. Food was ok, I guess I’m to tired to notice what I ate. One thing that I remembered is that the fruits were delicious. Their guava is so sweet as well as the pomelo. After Lunch we just seated there and enjoyed the view but after a while to chit-chatting, I was getting sleepy and I did actually sleep with my head slumped on the table. And so at last, its time for a coffee break and we’ll be off the boat soon. But before we head the dock, we went to the deck and took some pictures.

We went back to the hotel to freshen up from our day’s tour and our guides picked us up to get a Thai massage, which we all needed after a tiring day. I was so excited to have my first authentic Thai massage. We had our massage at Body Relax, for 300 Baht you can already enjoy a two-hour massage. And they also give you jasmine tea to drink before finishing the massage. My masseuse, Pau was very kind and did a great job on my back and thigh. When I go back to Bangkok, I’ll surely visit this place again.

After our relaxing Thai Massage

Dinner at Suan-Lum Night Bazaar with L-R: 

KimChi, Tinette, Maya, Myself, Kim, Raffy and Baet

We then went to Suan-Lum Night Bazaar to start our shopping for “pasalubong” to our friends and families at home. For some reason, I was too relaxed and not in the mood for shopping. I want to go home and sleep. But I just went along with them. I just bought a string pants with elephant print. That’s it, while the other have plastic bags, left and right. We ate dinner around 11p.m. in one of the open restaurants in Suan-Lum. And the shopping didn’t end their, as we saw some stores are not yet close, we continued our walk around the bazaar. We left the night bazaar around 12:30 am and head to our hotel. We need to recharge for the whole day of shopping tomorrow.