After the new years eve party and going on a drinking binge for a few days in Bangkok, me and my wife headed up north the ancient capital city of Thailand, Ayutthaya.
A UNESCO heritage site, Ayutthaya is a kingdom that existed around 1351 to 1700s which was one of the wealthiest cities across asia until it was sacked by the Burmese-siam war. We recommend that you don’t book any day trip on any travel agency but instead try to spend a couple of days in Ayutthaya because of its relaxing atmosphere. If you happen to go there by yourselves, the best way to go to Ayutthaya is by catching the minibus at victory monument early morning since it would take 2-3 hours to get there. Minibus station is located at the Victory monument and prices range from 150-200 baht per person. The van should be located at the back of the bazaar so you have to ask around where the ticket counters are.
We arrived in Ayutthaya about noontime and took our lunch at a nearby noodle shop that really has great selection of dimsum, soups and more. Prices are shockingly cheap compared to our usual meals in Phuket and in Bangkok. The noodle just cost us 25 Baht for a really big bowl and we hardly finished 1 serving!
Thai people are genuinely warm and friendly, while we were eating at the cafeteria we were asking an old man who was also sitting at our table where our hotel was since sometimes minibuses stops at different areas in Ayutthaya and the map I had made no sense at all. He was willing to help us by taking us to our hotel with his personal car. We were honestly hesitant at first since we were cautious of scams or we may get tagged with hefty price tags for taking us to our hotel but we were wrong. Khun Suwat didn’t know any information about our hotel since it’s relatively new but after about 30 minutes, we were able to find our hotel just above the river near a temple.
We were really thankful for the old man for taking us but we were not able to meet up again since he had a meeting at night, we would have taken him to dinner to know more about him and about Ayutthaya. We stayed at a really good cozy hotel called Q Zone Boutique Hotel, a really clean new budget accommodation good for families and couples minutes away from the main area of Ayutthaya. Our standard room had Breakfast included was also really good as well as the staff were really helpful and friendly to provide us local information where local people eat.
After we have settled in the hotel, we have prepared what temples to visit in Ayutthaya by asking for a map at the lobby and renting a bicycle. You can rent their bicycle for about 100 Baht the whole day and Ayutthaya is fairly a small city so you can really roam around it. There is nothing better to do than bike around the ancient city because traffic is non-existent, trees are all around to give shade and the air was fresh too!
We were able to visit more than 30 temples in Ayutthaya for our first day tour and it was really tiring but fulfilling. After having a bath and a couple of minutes to relax, we headed to a famous Thai bbq place that our hotel recommended just 3 minutes away. Everything at the Thai Bbq place was not a disappointment, we ordered a couple of food and had the barbeque and soup and we just paid for it about 600 baht. A bonus point also is that this restaurant was just beside the river of Ayutthaya and you can hear the sound of nature to really make you relax and have a great conversation.
On the next day, we decided to check more temples in the wee hours of the morning to catch the sunrise. Unfortunately, we were too tired from our first day tour that we didn’t wake up early. We went to the outskirts of Ayutthaya to catch the sunrise and other temples and took us about 2-3 hours to complete our temple tours.
After breakfast and a quick nap and bath, we checked out of our lovely hotel and went back home. Ayutthaya indeed was a really majestic place. This ancient city really would take you back and make you feel its glory days and era. A well recommended city for those who don’t have time to visit Bagan or Siem Reap. You can also check out what Cool Travel Blog recommends the best Ayutthaya attractions.
