The next item on our list of things to accomplish while we are in Bangkok is a day trip out to Ayutthaya to see the ruins of the previous capital from the 13th and 14th centuries.  We have done this day trip before, so to change things up a little we will be taking part of the trip on a boat along the Chao Phraya river.

Our trip starts at 6:30am with a pick-up from our hotel, and they will take us to a central collection point where we will transfer to a air-conditioned bus for the outward part of the trip.  We are still adjusting to the time difference a bit so the good news is that we are awake at about 4:30am without the aid of an alarm, of course the bad news is that we are likely in for a looong day.

The bus makes it’s way through the city and we can see the inbound rush-hour traffic.  The tour guide informs us that the rush hour goes from about 6am to 9am and if you are unable to make your commute either before or after the rush, it can add as much as 2 hours to your trip!

Our first stop is at the summer palace at Bang Pa-In.  Built and expanded by previous monarchs of Thailand the summer palace is now only occasionally used for special occasions and ceremonies, but it is open daily for tourists. The grounds are immaculately maintained and the buildings are inspired by various other cultures – Chinese, Italian Renaissance, Colonial, etc.

Having been here before we know most of the narrative and so we separate ourselves from the tour group to wander about on our own, and take in the peacefulness of the area while avoiding the large tour groups – with good timing we are able feel like we mostly have the place to ourselves.

From there it is off to the city of Ayutthaya to see some of the ruins from centuries past.  The area has dozens of sites and temples that co-exist within the city that has grown around them and there is a stark contrast between the new and the old, often right across the street from each other.  We only have time to see three of the sites, and as luck would have it there is only one spot that overlaps with out last trip here, so it is nice to be able to take in the tour without it feeling like just going back for a repeat.

Our first stop is at Wat Mahathat, a collection of temple runis that dates back to around 1374.  In 1767 the capital was sacked by the Burmese and upon gaining victory they defaced the local Buddha statues by removing their heads – sort of a 13th century ‘in your face!’  One of the Buddha heads was left by a tree and in the centuries that followed the roots of the tree have grown around the head and it is now one of the distinct features of this site (and why it is a stop on almost every tour of the area).

Next up is Wat Na Phra Mane.  During the final conflict with the Burmese the city of Ayutthaya was one of the last hold-out and was finally taken by siege.  The city was surrounded by Burmese forces and finally after about 18 months of being shut off from supplies and under attack the city was taken.  The temple at Wat Na Phra Mane is a very solidly constructed building and it was from here that the Burmese forces headquartered their siege of the city.  In addition to it’s military significance, the large temple building houses an elaborate Buddha statue and shrine, and the monastery on the grounds houses a Buddha figure carved from stone that is estimated to be over 1000 years old.

Our final temple stop is at Wat Lokayasutharam to see a reclining Buddha statue. The statue is quite large and impressive – similar in size to the one at Wat Pho in Bangkok we saw the day before, but this one is outside on a plain along with some other temple ruins.  Of particular interest to me is to see the statue directly and compare it to the photos I had seen of the same statue during the massive floods of central Thailand in 2011.  There was about 2 meters (about 6-7 feet) of water in this area and it was over a month before all the flood water receded.

After the last stop it is back on the bus where we are driven back towards Bangkok to a pier on the Chao Phraya river for the final leg of our journey.  For the rest of our trip we load onto a large boat for a late buffet lunch and a 2 hour trip down the river back to the heart of Bangkok where we started the day.

The trip along the river is a nice change, and after a big lunch we secure some chairs out on the back deck and watch the sites along the banks of the river.

Overall it has been a long day, but a good bit of sightseeing and we are all once again fairly beat.  It is still too early to turn in though so after a bit of freshening up we head out for a massage (’cause we can) and then a bit of wandering around for some street snacks (banana pancake, woot!) before calling it a night.

Bangkok – known to the Thais as Krung Theep or the City of Angels, and home to over 12 million people.

People should not come to Bangkok expecting to unwind, and we are no exception.  Mrs. Columbus and I have been here before and typically just skip the city all together, but our travel buddy Erica is a first-timer so it gives us an excuse to come back and see a few things that we did not have time to see beofre, but on their own would probably not have brought us back.

Our flight over was very uneventful and everything was on time and according to plan!  We arrived in Bangkok at about 11am local time and Erica was waiting for us at the airport (she arrived the night before on a different flight) right where we expected, and after getting some local SIM cards for our phones we hopped a taxi into the city.  My experience with taxis at the Bangkok airport has been mostly a miss, usually getting over charged a flat rate, but this time we finally got things figured out on how to get the driver to use the meter!

Normally we have stayed in one of the more mid-range tourist areas but this year Mrs. Columbus got a little more adventurous and we are staying just off of Khaosan Road.  More commonly known as Bangkok’s ‘backpacker ghetto’ the 3 or 4 square blocks around Khaosan is where all the young gap-year travelers and backpackers converge for the cheap guesthouses, street food, and bars.  Soi Rambuttri is a couple of blocks over from Khaosan so it is not quite as busy, but there is still lots of nightlife and backpackers around, although even with my rouge-like ability to blend in there is very little chance of anyone confusing me for a backpacker 🙂  Our hotel is a pleasant surprise as I was a little worried what we might get for $20/night in Bangkok (our last trip here we spent double that for a Holiday Inn and Mrs. Columbus was very unhappy) but the place is clean, well located, and so far looking very promising.

Given that we don’t plan to be in Bankgok for long we have set out a fairly busy agenda, so on arrival to our hotel we get our packs stowed away and hit the street.  We have decided to see if we can find a couple of the more famous temples in downtown Bangkok and head off towards the Grand Palace in search of Wat Pho and Wat Arun.

Rather than take a taxi or fall for any of the tuk-tuk scams we decide the walk will be nice and allow us to explore some things along the way.  By the time we get near the Grand Palace it is about mid-afternoon and the palace closes at 3:30, so we decide to maybe save that for another day.  Wat Pho and Wat Arun are right nearby though and have longer hours so we will be able to get both of those in before dinner time!

Our first stop is at Wat Pho.  Known as the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, the grounds house a variety of temples, Buddha statues and shrines but the highlight is the reclining Buddha.  Images of the Buddha in reclining position are not overly common and that coupled with the sheer size of this one contributes to it’s landmark status.  At over 50 feet high and about 160 feet long it is one of the largest Buddha statues I have seen, and a bit awe-inspiring to stand beside it.

Like most of the temples in Thailand, inside the Wat it is considered offensive for people to wear short pants and for the ladies additionally offensive to have their shoulders and upper arms exposed so for my traveling companions the requisite cover garb is kindly provided by the temple staff 🙂

We were told that Kim made Erica promise to not adopt or smuggle any stray children home from the trip, but it seems that she stops for every stray cat we see, and being clever animals that they are I am sure they see the weakness and head straight to her!  I am pretty sure that declaring pets at customs would prove to be an issue.

Next it is off to Wat Arun, also known as the Temple of the Dawn.  This temple dates from the early 1600s and is across the Chao Phraya river from the Grand Palace and Wat Pho.  Thankfully there is a pier just down the street and a ferry that crosses the river and back for a paltry 3 baht (about $0.10) and runs about every 5 minutes.

Wat Arun is built more in the Khmer style (tall spires) instead of the traditional Thai style (buildings with tall peaked roofs and ornate carvings) and stands out as quite unique.  It’s position right along side the river adds to the scenery and the views are impressive.  There are a couple of flights of very steep stairs going up the outside and the climb up is a little intimidating, but the views from the temple are spectacular.

With every climb up however there is a climb down however, and from the top the very steep flights of stairs look like a good chance for a foreigner to test out their hospital insurance!

After wandering around the temple grounds and a stop inside to get a blessing from a monk we return to the ferry to get back across the river.  We had planned on going to Chinatown to look around and get some dinner but I had not really done much research on where to go there and in hindsight it turns out that a little bit of internet time up front would have been a good idea.  It seems that the landscape in Chinatown changes depending on what time of day it is, with the shops and retail vendors being the main focus in the daytime and then in the evening when the shops close the street vendors and food carts all roll out.  As luck would have it we arrive at about the same time as the transition is occurring, and so it appears to us as we have missed it all.

It was getting late in the day anyway and by now we had walked about 5 miles in the hot tropical sun, so rather than wandering about hoping to stumble on something we decided to walk back down by the river and take the river boat back to the area where we were staying. The river boat is a great bargain – it is basically bus service that runs along the river and you hop on and pay your fee, 15 baht (about $0.50), and then hop off at whatever stop you like.  You need to stay sharp and be ready though because the whole stop takes about 30 seconds or so and if you are not ready to get on or off when it’s time, then they just move on without you.  We watched at one stop as a couple of foreigners lazily wandered their way to the back of the boat and by the time they had gotten there the captain had already pushed on, and there is no backing up!.

The trip along the river is interesting and the views are quite impressive.  We even lucked out as we happened to go by Wat Arun as the sun was setting for a postcard moment!

By the end of the day we are totally wiped out, and by the time we stopped for a foot massage after dinner not a single one of us managed to stay awake while during our end of the day reward.