Today we visited the ancient ruins of Ayutthaya, the former capital back when the Kingdom of Thailand was known as Siam or the Siamese Kingdom.  It was made a UNESCO World Heritage site in December 1991.  Our tour guide for today was a very warm, cheery and knowledgeable man named TicTac, I promise you I did not make that up, my creativity isn't that good! According to the video TicTac showed us in the museum there are a few things you should do in Ayutthaya.  Here they are, in no particular order:

• Maha Ut Chapel
• Take in the many Buddha images and paintings
• Visit the Reclining Buddha 
• Admire the Royal monuments, ancient palaces and architecture
• Visit any of the various museums, including the Bang Sai Arts and Crafts Museum
• Explore the history of the foreign settlements
• Browse Ayutthaya's markets
• Cruise around Muang Islet
• Take your choice of tour by elephant*, bicycle, tram car, tuk-tuk or rickshaw
• Enjoy a Thai meal at a riverside restaurant

Despite the intense heat, I enjoyed our day in Ayutthaya.  The highlight of my trip was seeing the Buddha head surrounded by Bodhi tree roots.  I had seen photos before coming to Thailand and it was amazing to see in person.  It didn't look exactly like I expected and when reviewing my photos from today I realised it reminded me of a particular Disney movie.  I wished I had noticed before so I could have posed more appropriately 555. I hope you enjoy my photos from today. 

How good is your Disney knowledge?

* I would not endorse the elephant tours.  While I would like to spend all of my time with the lovely ellies, these ones are made to wear harnesses which makes me sad. 

Students visiting a temple at Ayutthaya

My second Reclining Buddha of this trip

Head of a ruined sandstone Buddha image surrounded by tree roots over the years