Ayutthaya

It's nearing the five month mark of me being in Thailand, which means that I've lived in Ayutthaya for nearly 4 months. I've been busy updating the blog about cool trips to other parts of Thailand that I have taken, but I have neglected to write about my own awesome city and the cool things I have seen.

Wat Mahatat
Because Ayutthaya was the capital of Siam for about 300 years, there are many temple ruins. Each large temple was once the royal temple and each new king built his own temple. Wat Mahatat is one of these.
Since Wat Mahatat is just across the street from my guesthouse, I was in no rush to go in. I went in just a month or two ago. It is much bigger than it appears from the outside, and I wish that I could have seen what it looked like in its heyday. The main attraction of the temple is a Buddha head (when the Burmese invaded Ayutthaya, they burned all the temples and beheaded the Buddhas) that is cradled by the roots of a bodhi tree. This is amazing for two reasons: 1. the Buddha's head is perfectly upright; 2. the bodhi is the tree under which Buddha found enlightenment. Pretty cool.
The temple also has some remaining Khmer prangs which are sinking in a lopsided manner into the damp and warped earth. It's a pretty magical place.

Wat Ratachaburana
This wat is also across the street from my guesthouse. It is one of my favorites because it has a perfectly in-tact Kmer prang. you can climb up it and get some pretty cool views of the city. It's also pretty spectacular to just be hanging out on the base of prang that used to be a royal temple. I don' t think many people living in Ayutthaya before it was defeated by the Burmese could say they did that for a mere 50 baht ($1.30)!

It's also famous because it has a crypt down a steep set of stairs that was discovered in the past 60 years. Unfortunately, the crypt held many relics and artifacts that were stolen upon the discovery of the crypt. My friends and I braved the steep and narrow stairs and squeezed 4 of us into the stifling hot room with original paintings. It was cool. But it was really REALLY hot.

inside the crypt (it was too cramped
for me to attempt a picture of all 4
of us in there)

Reclining Buddha

I was VERY uncomfortable touching this giant foot

 There's a giant reclining white stone Buddha a 40 minute walk from my guesthouse. It once was in a temple. The temple is gone, but the Buddha is still in-tact. It is quite large.










Golden Buddha

BIG Buddha

A 30 minute walk from my guesthouse there are not only elephants, but a temple that houses one of the largest golden Buddhas in all of Thailand.













The Temple I walk Through Everyday
This was also a royal temple, though it is not Khmer style. I don't know the name of it or when it was built, but it is awesome because all the monks know my name and say hi to me. There are some gnarly dogs that can bark and be scary (they chased my friend out of the temple while she was walking through), but besides that I love it. Some of the monks have gotten a little too friendly with me (re: Top 5 Ridiculous Moments, That Time a Monk Asked Me Ff I Was Single) and have begun hitting on me. I call them the World's Worst Monks. However, I do enjoying hearing, "Ah! LaulA! Hello!" from across the temple.










Elephants 
I will never get over the elephant rides that take place 30 minutes from my guesthouse. I still stop and take pictures when I see them going off-island on their walk home. I sometimes just go to where they give the rides to pet them. I think they are just so cute.









Festivals
Ayutthaya goes all-out for every festival and is not afraid to close off main streets and bring out the various rides and moon bounces it has in its arsenal for any and every celebration. So far I have had the joy of witnessing Loy Krathong, The King's Birthday, and Chinese New Year, which is going on right now.

This is another cool temple. It's off-island. i have no idea
what it's called.

Even though there are so many cool things in Ayutthaya, the reasons I love it the most are something that a tourist could barely scratch the surface of. I love the laid-back vibe and the overall calm of the island. I do appreciate that it is a tourist attraction so that I am not the only white person around, but I am recognized as "Teecha" or "ajarn" when I walk around in my teacher clothes (I've gotten a couple of shout-outs while walking to and from work, and even offered a ride home).
I don't see my students too often, but I like bumping into them outside of school. I notice that they are a LOT nicer, more well-behaved, and interested in class after they've seen me outside of work. I think they like that I am living like them and not just some weird alien speaking in jibberish to them for 50 minutes each week.

some random ruin/Buddha

I love my job. I love that the monks know me. I just love my Thai life and am so fortunate to not only be in such a cool city, but also have been placed with so many great friends and such a welcoming school. But Ayutthaya is really awesome.