Sukothai and Ayutthaya
Sukhothai and Ayutthaya are both popular tourist destinations. Sukhothai, which was the Thai capital during the 13th Century C.E., is located near the ruins of the ancient city. We mainly visited Sukhothai because of the Sri Satchanalai Historical Park and the Sukhothai Historical Park. The Si Satchanalai Historical Park was the residence of the crown prince in the 13th century. The Si Satchanalai and the associated historical parks were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991, and since I like everything historical these parks came high on my to-see list.
Sri Satchanalai Historical Park
We had the most fun biking through the park and eating ice cream on the way. If you don’t mind a bit of exercise, hiring a bicycle is a great way to explore the ruins. Renting a bike is really easy. Just before the entrance, there’s a really big bicycle rent place where you can rent normal bikes or even tandems for 30 THB. You take the bike up to the ticket counter, buy a ticket for 100 THB + 10 THB for the bike, and just bike through the park. The ruins all have bicycle racks so you can park the bike, look around and go further.
The park is spacious, dotted with ruins, ponds and so many Buddha statues you can not count them. It is very photogenic, but visitors shouldn’t forget that this is a holy site. No matter what state of disrepair some of the statues and temples are in, you should be respectful. So just like every other temple we visited I wore clothes that weren’t revealing.
Where to stay?
During our two days stay in Sukhothai, we stayed in the Thai Thai Sukhothai Guesthouse about 700 meters from the Sukhothai Historical Park. It is a bungalow-style guest house with the best service ever! The guest house has a pool and you can rent bicycles to go to the park.
Ayutthaya Historical Park
In 1350, Ayutthaya became the second capital of Siam after Sukhothai. Because of the ideal location between China, India and the Malay Archipelago, Ayutthaya was the trading capital of Asia and even the world. Ayutthaya Historical Park covers the ruins of the old city of Ayutthaya.
Just like Sukhothai, Ayutthaya’s ruins were officially recognized in 1991 as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. However, not every part of the Historic City of Ayutthaya is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. The sites beyond Ayutthaya Island, for example, Wat Yai Chai Mongkon, Wat Phanan Choeng, Wat Chaiwatthanaram, and Wat Phu Khao Thong are not part of the sites. The sites and ruins in Ayutthaya are a lot more spread over the city, so here we opted to walk through one ruin, drive the car to the next place, walk around again and go further.
Wat Chaiwatthanaram was first on our list because it is one of the best-known temples. We also visited Wat Phra Si Sanphet, the largest temple in Ayutthaya. We also walked through the ruins of Wat Phra Mahathat. This is where you can spot the famous tree that has grown around a Buddha’s head. When taking pictures of you and the Buddha head, make sure you kneel to show respect, as it is considered holy by Thais. We also went to Wat Ratchaburana, Phet Fortress, Wat Phu Khao Thong and Wat Yai Chaimongkon. Our visit to Wat Yai Chaimongkon was kind of funny because we were one of the sights of many Asian people. I think that during our visit we have been stopped more than 20 times by people with the question if they could take a picture with us.
Floating Market
While you are in Ayutthaya I wouldn’t recommend the Floating Market, we were curious but disappointed. The Floating Market is surrounded by shops and it is full of tourists. After walking through the stalls you will see the entrance of the Floating Market. The downside of the Floating Market is that you need to pay a “high” fee as a non-Thai to enter so we decided to skip this sight. They also have elephant rides at the surrounding grounds of the Floating Market and when I saw this, our visit to the Floating Market was over. Even if you are not an animal lover, note this: Elephants outside of Elephant sanctuaries are treated poorly in Thailand. Please do not contribute to the continuing suffering of Elephants by booking a ride. Instead, choose to spend some more money on a day with an elephant where you learn to take care of them.
