Ayutthaya or Bust!!

Sunday, April 29 was the day we checked out at the Vacation Club and headed for Ayutthaya. When we arrived at the Hua Lampong train station in Bangkok, we went to the ticket counters to reserve our seats. The train station is absolutely tourist friendly with plenty of helpful staff that can speak and understand English very well, something that we have found lacking in most Thai people. So…we bought our tickets and headed to platform 10. The train finally arrived about 10 minutes late and then when we boarded we realized that we were not going to have a seat. So…we got right back off with our backpacks and went back to the ticket counter to see if we could catch the next, nicer train. It was no problem. We grabbed a snack at Dunkin Donuts and boarded our nice air conditioned train. We were even served a meal in route. It was actually quite relaxing.

Just a little over an hour later we arrived in Ayutthaya. We snagged a taxi and made our way towards our new residence, Baifern Homestay. We were excited to see it in person, because when Thelma and I reserved it several months, we thought it looked nice. Our hopes were met with smiling faces and a very nice place to stay. Our room is small, but the AC is cold and the room looks recently renovated. The whole building is really cute and very nice despite the flood in the fall of 2011 that filled the whole first floor. Anyways, they served us some amazing fresh mango and were very helpful with everything. While on a little self led tour of the place, Thelma and I found a sign advertising river sightseeing cruises. In just a few moments, the staff had us set up with a longtail boat tour on the rivers. Awesome!!

We had no idea what to expect when we were picked up for the tour, but that is what makes traveling fun right?? We were greeted by a delightful Thai woman who was no doubt friendly and welcoming. We took a tuk-tuk to the river and waited for the other tourists to arrive. We boarded the longtail with 2 French women and an Australian man accompanied by a Thai woman. Our first stop was the Tall Buddha. We were absolutely flabbergasted by the sight of the over 40 foot tall golden Buddha from the 1300s. It was spectacular. We will never forget it. We stopped at two other temples that had their own highlights. The second was a wondrous fusion of old and new with a huge collection of golden Buddhas. The last was an ancient temple that was purely magnificent. While in between temples on the water, we passed a Chinese Karaoke Boat. Yes…drunken Chinese people singing songs. It was hilarious. We concluded the trip with a quick look at the local Night Market and then went home. The whole almost 3 hour event was just 220 Baht per person. Even though it was over 100 degrees and French ladies squealed and freaked out every time the boat rocked, it was a great deal and we both had an excellent time.

When we arrived back at the hotel, we picked up a couple drinks and went to the room to cool off. Earlier in the day, the staff asked Thelma if we were going to be around for dinner. They were going to cook Thai food. We decided that we would join in even though we had no idea what they were cooking. It turns out they cook delicious food to order from a menu that is very decently priced. Awesome!

Train Station Platform 10

Inside the Hua Lom Pong Station.

Thelma and Louise on the train!

The train car.

Our bathroom at Baifern

Our room at Baifern.

The entrance to our room.

The balcony hall. Thelma
was fighting with the door lock.
Although, there is not really
anyone staying here.

One of the main rooms.

The gardens.

Our room from the ground.

The gardens.

Baifern!!!

Our longtail tour boat.

Giant Buddha in Wat Panan Choeng.

Still amazing.

Ummm...jaw just dropped.

Just the face. This is 40 feet above us.

Just another golden buddha
outside the temple.

This is what the buddhists do.
They put little flakes of gold onto the statues
 in prayer until the entire statue is  covered.
 Its so cool to see the beauty in the making.

.

Wooden Boat carving outside the temple.

Cool Buddha with serpents coming from behind.,

Just a cool tree on the river bank.

Wat Phutthai Sawsn.

Cool fusion of new and old at
 Wat Phuttai Sawsn.

Very large collection of golden Buddhas
at the temple.

The main temple is quite tall.

Thelma and the golden Buddhas.

Louise and the golden Buddhas.

Buddhas inside of the prayer temple.

Prayer temple.

Outside. The cool fusion of the
new and old designs.

Wat Chaiwatthanaram.

Very large a quite complete
for being an old temple.

Thelma and temple.

Louise and the temple.

The Buddhas at the temple.

Sunset at the temple. Gorgeous.

Chedo Sri Suriyothai.
An old palace in the gardens.

Bangkok, Bangkok, Bangkok

On Tuesday, we made the epic trip to the Hua Lom Pong train station to purchase our tickets to Chiang Mai. It was our first trip on the subway and we were very surprised by how nice it was. After the train station, we planned to go to the Bangkok Arts and Cultural Center (BACC). But on the way we found this really cool Neo store. It was a Japanese version of Dollar Tree. Everything was 60, 70, or 80 Baht. I was the best random find ever and we bought some unique Japanese items. After Neo, we got back on the track and headed for the BACC. It turned out to be a great place with an awesome HIV/AIDS exhibit that was created to dispel negative thoughts of those who have the disease. It was very interesting. We also found this really cool rocking chair that was build like a parallelogram. It looked rather disturbing...one of those you don't want to look but you can't look away kind of deals. It was really cool. After the BACC, we headed over to the Siam Shopping Center. It was just another glorified shopping mall.

Wednesday was another attempt at our mission from Monday...Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall and a newly added Medical Museum. Again, we took the express boat but this time we made sure to look out for Wat Arun and any other river sites. Our first stop was the Medical Museum at Siriraj Hospital. Once we got there...we were quite impressed. There were 6 museums in one - Prehistoric, Anatomy, Forensic Pathology, Parisitology, Pathological, and Thai Medical History. Many would have found it gruesome, but the sites ranging from preserved conjoined twins (Siamese Twins - Thailand was formerly Siam) to murder/rape bodies that naturally mummified to aborted fetuses in the placenta. Being medically minded, we found it very intriguing. No worries to our readers...no pictures were allowed. After the museum we headed off for Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall. Its a beautiful palace that is now filled with a collection of gifts given to the King and Queen of Thailand. We were not allowed to take pictures, but believe me when I say there are no words that could possibly explain the beautiful masses of gold, precious stones, intricate wood carving, and most astonishing of all...beetle wings. The wings were use to create magnificently iridescent additions to almost all of the incredible pieces of craft work. Truly amazing.  Another highlight of the Throne Hall was that Thelma had to wear a skirt. Although she was wearing pants, it is mandated that women where a skirt in the Hall. So...she had to buy one and wear it over her pants. It was just another hilarious memorable moment.

Thursday and Friday we decided would be a rest and relaxation days. So we spent some quality time at the pool getting some sun and enjoying our vacation.

Saturday was Chatuchak Market day!!! Chatuchak market is the largest weekend market. It is composed of over 15,000 booths/stalls selling everything from knock off iconic fashion items to exotic animals. We made sure to go early before the heat and the crowds became unbearable. We found ourselves in an overwhelming large consumers paradise!!! Coming from the world of Wal Mart and Target...this place blows even our minds!! The shear variety of options available was unbelievable. We made some amazing finds and can't wait to show/share them friends and family.

Tonight, we are packing for our trip to Ayutthaya, Lop Buri, and Chiang Mai. Our time in Bangkok may be over, but our journey is just getting started!

The subway station in Bangkok.
Surprising nice!!

On the subway.

Waste basket sculpture.
Outside Bankgkok Arts and Cultural Center.
(BACC)

Cool rocker at BACC.

Beautiful art at BACC.

Another pretty one.

Thelma's fav.

We couldn't stop looking at this chair.

Its just too cool.

Awesome quote at the AIDS exhibit.
The exhibit was one of the best we had ever seen.
The whole project was designed to dispel
negative thoughts against those with HIV/AIDS.

Cool boat on the river.
 Reminds us of Fifth Element.

Longtail boat. The prop is at the end
of the long drive shaft. Very cool.

Wat Kanlaya temple on the
 Chao Phraya river.

Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn) from the river.
 Several centuries old, this temple was moved
 from one side of the river to the other in the mid 1700s. 

The amazing Wat Arun.

Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall.

Its beautiful.

Women have to wear skirts!!

Thelma.

Louise.

Us.

Us again in front of Rama 8 bridge.

Thelma looking proud.

Louise the tourist.