Ayutthaya

Hey Friendfolk!

My school organized a trip for all the exchange students to see the old capital of Thailand - Ayutthaya. (A-you-tea-uh)Yeah, took me awhile to learn how to say it too! It was free and amazing, double whammy! Ayutthaya means "The invincible city" - it is because the city is built with a city surrounding it making it difficult for attack. It took us 2 hours to drive there by bus, where pretty much everybody slept at awkward angles since the roads are so bumpy and it was 6AM. Early starts are NOT my thing, and apparently everybody agrees here!! But they fed us when we got on the bus, normally at 6am you're looking for a biscuit and orange juice, maybe even a coffee if you're lucky enough to find any in Thailand.....but what do they give us? Tuna Sandwiches. What the?? haha exactly...we were all somewhat confused so we all just passed out and figured we'd eat it for lunch instead!! We had this tour guide who I thought was great, he was quite chatty though, but very informative, so I learned alot about the whole area we were driving through and tons of details on all the temples and ancient thailand. :) But I took photos and videos for you to experience all the splendors of the ancient city!

This is a whole group of us sitting in an ancient temple in the three pagodas of Wat Phra Si Sanphet in Ayutthaya historical park.
Jackie and I posing at top of a temple.

Me, after walking all the way up to the top. these steps are so high. They are the length of my foot to my knee and they are straight up, it was funny to watch me climb all up. Aw look at how proud I am to of made it all that way!! haha

Me sitting infront of some ancient walls, they were built in the 1300's. It was fantastic :)

Buddah! :) It was the only one with its head still attached. The people removed all of the heads of the Buddahs because they are made out of incredibly heavy rock, and they were scarred the Buddahs would break or somebody would attack and deface them. They removed all the heads, so there are these bodies all over the temples that are headless. Spooky at times.
This thing is amazing. It is a buddah face carved into a tree. It is made of stone and over the years the tree had grown around it. its beautiful. It reminds me of Pocahontas a little bit. The stone buddahs all have one of three facial shaps. Big Nose, Big Lips, long ears. Big Nose, small lips, Long Ears. Or Big nose, small lips, short ears. The nose is always the most prominant part of the buddah. :)
This is Phra Thinang Wehart Chamrun. It is located in the Bang Pa-in Palace on the way to Ayutthaya City. It means Royal Residence of Heavenly Light. It was the residence of King Chulalongkorn in 1889. It is made of beautiful gold and designed chinese-style by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce.