I've been to Ayutthaya, the ancient capital of Thailand, a bunch of times... but only ever as a day trip. I had never stayed overnight before. Last week, my wife and I took a very short two-night getaway to explore the old city. We were going not to tour the ancient ruins, which we've done plenty of times before, but to see all the other awesome stuff that we hadn't experienced before. It's a cool little city with a lot to see and do, but since it's so close to Bangkok, most people usually just go to tour the ruins as a day trip. Staying overnight gave us time to explore the cool, off-the-beaten-trail stuff that we otherwise would have overlooked.
 |
| Bangkok Bus Terminal (Chatuchak) |
We had to leave after my wife finished her night shift at the hospital, and wanted to get to Ayutthaya as quickly as we could, so we set off for the Bangkok Bus Terminal just past Chatuchak Park in Bangkok. We booked two chap tickets on a short-distance minibus, and were soon off on the hourlong trip from the new capital to the old.
 |
| inside the bus terminal |
We didn't do much that first day. Both of us had been working extremely hard since arriving back in Thailand after last summer's visit to the US, and neither one of us had taken a day off in months. We needed some time to rest and relax before setting out to explore on our one full day in the city.
 |
| our hotel |
The hotel was fantastic! We booked a bungalow in a beautiful, quiet garden right in the middle of Ayutthaya island (the old capital was built on a well-defended island surrounded by the Chaophraya River) near some of the old ruins. Even though Thailand's borders have opened again and tourism is slowly returning, it's still possible to find very good deals on hotels and accomodations.
 |
| bungalows in Ayutthaya, Thailand |
We went to the Ayutthaya Night Market that first night, and had such amazing food, that it deserves to have its own post (coming soon!).
It was nice to get away for a few days.
 |
| the Ayutthaya Night Market |
No comments:
Post a Comment