Buddha, Buddha, Buddha, Buddha… Rock it everywhere! =)

Ayutthaya 

    I am approximately two months behind on this blog at this point, but not to fear, I have not given up. Turns out teaching is quite time consuming, but it has still been a lot of fun. During the New Years vacation Jill and I ventured to Ayutthaya, the original Thai capitol. The temples of Ayutthaya date back to the 14th century. Ayutthaya was seized in 1767 by Burma and the ruins of the destroyed and burnt temples that remain are truly beautiful. Ayyuthaya was one of my favorite places in Thailand so far. We were only in Ayutthaya for two days, but I plan to go back a time or two before I head home. Hope you like it as much as we did. 

Ayutthaya by night:

    The first day we got to Ayutthaya around 7pm and after checking in to the hotel we decided to go see the temples that are lit up at night. The temples were really cool at night, but even more amazing in the light of day. Pictures are the only way to explain the beauty of this city, so lets get to it. =)

Pretty talented graffiti artist

Ayutthaya by day:

     The next day we spent the entire day walking around Ayutthaya in awe. There are temples and ruins all around you in this city and Jill and I loved exploring them all. As you can imagine we took a billion photos, but I will share with you all the favorites. =)

Temple 1: Wat Yai Chai Mongkhol

This temple was probably my most favorite, but they are all incredible so it is tough to choose one. 

The large resting Buddha

The gold you see is placed on the Buddha by people who come to worship. The temples here sell specks of gold and worshipers pay merit by placing the gold on the Buddha.

Tradition says that if you can get a coin to stick to the Buddha's feet you will have good luck!

I tried it.....

and mine stuck, after many attempts, but  hey it's there! =)

It really was so beautiful!

Next the main part of the temple, which I am in front of here.

Jill and I in front of the temple

Little closer up 

The outer edges of the entire temple is lined with Buddhas and it was magical to see

Chilling with one of the Buddhas

I really loved this temple!

The back of the temple has this awesome shrine that depicts monks praying to Buddha

We were even able to climb a billion stairs to go inside the main chedi (dome). 

Inside it looks like this

The people are attempting to make a coin all the way down and into the tiny square. I didn't make this one!

Temple 2: Wat Phanan Choeng

Home of the biggest indoor Buddha I have ever se

This Buddha was huge and completely Gold. As you can see here we were elbow to elbow packed in here, but I managed to snap a couple more pictures.  

 I wish you could understand how big it was with a picture.

 Really enjoyed this Buddha.

Temple 3: Wat Mahathat

This was temple had the most unique Buddha by far and the coolest ruins.

I like to say Ma-hat-hat =)

We like cool, calm, and collected in this photo, but we were terrified of the bats we could smell were clearly inside here.

We are far less terrified here.

Like the 1st temple this temple is also lined with Buddhas, but due to the attacks very little of the Buddhas remain. 

Some still have heads. YAY!


But most of the Buddhas here look like this one.

Now get ready for the coolest part about this temple. Look closely and you will see what was found years after the attack growing in one of the trees. 

Yup, a Buddha head tangled in the roots of the tree.  

So very incredible!

 It even blends in

Temple 4: Wat Lokayasutharam

This is another resting Bddha, but it is even bigger and dates back to the 17th century. 

 This Buddha was amazing in size and placed right in the middle of an empty field.

I am not even half as tall as Buddha's feet!


Last and kind of least, but still pretty:
Temple 5: Wat Chai wat thana ram
We went to this temple to watch the sunset, because the guide books all said it was the place to be. The sunset was pretty and the ruins are cool too, but it wasn't as awesome as the others for me.

All in all I loved Ayutthaya and I hope you can all see it one day! =)