DAY SEVEN: AYUTTHAYA PROVINCE

We headed out around 8:30 to head to Ayutthaya province. Ghan and Ahn had to go back to their normal jobs, so a new friend of Sue's came with us today. His name is Jay, but Dr. Motsenbocker immediately dubbed him with the name of Agent Jay (courtesy of Men in Black), so that's what we call him.

The city of Ayutthaya, considered the city of gorgeousness, is the first world heritage site I’ve ever visited. It became very obvious why it is listed as such upon our first stop.

Wat Yai Chaimongkhon, our first stopped, is a very stereotypical image of Thailand filled with ruins and temples. Constructed in the reign of King U-Thong, the temple features a large reclining Buddha in saffron robes in its own ruined viharn, and, most spectacularly, a huge chedi swathed in golden cloth set in a courtyard which is lined by life-sized Buddha images all wearing saffron robes. We climbed the huge chedi into a room where we placed gold flakes on small golden Buddhas, a practice that is very holy to Buddhists.

Afterwards we were given the option to participate in a merit ceremony which I agreed to do. We purchased a lotus bud, a candle, a gold flake, and three sticks of incense for about 10 cents. Then we joined the masses in a temple. The ceremony is completely independent and only lasts about five minutes. First we lit our small candle and placed it in a large candle holder. Then we used our candle to light our incense. After that, we knelt before the Buddhas with our hands in the wei position with our incense, lotus bud, and gold flake. I assume at this point there is a special pray Buddhists do, but I observed those around me and said my own special mantra instead. After that, there is a special pile to put the flowers in, and a place to stick the incense. Then again you go to the Buddha and stick the gold flake on. It was so cool to be able to take part in such a sacred ceremony. Having the opportunity to learn about Buddhism in such a hands on way was too good of an opportunity to pass up.

After we visited more there, we went to Wat Mahathat, still in the city of Ayutthaya. “This was a very large temple that was ransacked by the Burmese and now is in ruins. Several leaning prangs of Ayutthaya are still feebly defying gravity though and the rows of headless Buddhas are atmospheric. This is also where you can spot the famous tree that has grown around the Buddha head.” [an excerpt from a handout we received]. The photos I took here are absolutely gorgeous, and I can’t wait to share them.

After this, we went as visited the Elephant Centre. I was extremely conflicted about this experience. Of course I was very excited to see real Asian elephants, but the idea of animal tourism makes me sick. Elephants are such intelligent WILD animals, and I just wish they could all stay wild. Seeing an elephant herd roaming about in a savannah seems SO much cooler to me than paying to ride one with a chain around its neck. I did not want to ruin the other girls excitement though, so I kept my mouth shut. We arrived and the elephants did seem very well taken care of. But they had chains around their necks and they were working for who knows how long. They even had babies put to work. They’d pose for a picture with us and then were fed vegetables as payment. They were all standing on concrete all day. The caretakers were armed with loud whistles and a sickle shaped weapon. The elephants had benches strapped to their back where people paid money to sit on. Then the elephants walked around the city with all the cars and concrete for about 15 minutes.

It all felt very, very wrong to me. Katie and I bought vegetables to feed them while the other girls rode. It hurts me to think how much money the humans make off of the elephants enslavement, and it terrifies me to think about how much damage the elephants could do if they ever decided they were tired of the treatment.

After the elephant riding, we ate lunch on the Chao Phyra River. Then we visited the Chao Sam Phraya Museum. It was so cool! Mostly it contained ancient artifact. All were beautifully ornate and impossibly detailed. The artistry was unbelievable. The coolest part about the museum was this sealed room that contained a mini temple of sorts. Inside the temple, surrounded by seven layers of holy artifacts, contained a tiny fraction of what is thought to be the first Buddha’s bone. It was so beautiful! We all immediately bombarded Sue with questions about Buddhism that she struggled to answer in English. It’s something I definitely want to look into more. It has a fascinating history.

Afterwards we went to Ayothaya Floating Market to do some shopping. Dr. Motsenbocker was expecting something more like a produce market, but it was definitely a tourist trap. We fell right in and got “pedicures” where you put your feet in a tank full of sucker fish and they suck all over your feet for 15 minutes! We were freaking out to say the least. It was so much fun though. By the end of it, I actually kind of liked it.

After the market, we went back to Bangkok and ate dinner at this fascinating Japanese restaurant. You have a pot of boiling water in front of you and a rotating tray of food items to drop into it. So we made our own soup for dinner. It was so cool!

We were exhausted by the end of the day, as per usual, so we headed back to the hotel and passed out.