Exploring Ayutthaya - The BEST DAY Trip from Bangkok 🇹🇭 Don’t Miss These Temples!

Located only 80 kilometers from the bustling city of Bangkok, Ayutthaya is the perfect destination for a day trip. Once the capital of the Kingdom of Siam, this historic site transports you back in time with its ancient aura. Whether you're a history buff or a curious traveler looking for a day of adventure, Ayutthaya has something truly extraordinary to offer. The city is home to over 400 temples, with its crown jewel being the Ayutthaya Historical Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Stretching over 300 hectares, it's packed with grand temple complexes, Buddha heads nestled in banyan trees and deeply rooted history. The best part? You don't have to rely on pricey private cars or guided tours. You can easily travel to Ayutthaya independently, either by shared minivan or train. We highly recommend taking the train, which is both budget-friendly and scenic. It's a great way to experience an authentic Thai train journey. The fare is incredibly affordable, just about 20 Baht for a third-class seat with a fan. Plus, it's the fastest way to avoid Bangkok's traffic. Even though the third-class seats lack air conditioning and have hard benches, we found it surprisingly comfortable. Trains leave from Bang Sui Grand Station or Don Muang Station, and you can reach these via the Blue MRT line. They run every 36 minutes from as early as 6 a.m., with travel times ranging from 45 minutes to 2 hours, depending on the train you take. We got up quite early to visit Ayutthaya and took some snacks for breakfast on the train, so we don't lose too much time. Once you arrive in Ayutthaya, you have several options to explore the historical sites. Do keep in mind that the distances between temples are quite significant, so renting a bike or taking a tuk-tuk will make your day much easier. We chose to explore by bike, which, although it requires some planning and navigation, was an enjoyable way to see the sites. You'll find plenty of rental spots near the train station, and bikes cost around 60 Baht for the day. We began our temple tour at the iconic Wat Phra Mahathat, famous for its Buddha head entangled in tree roots. This is one of the most recognizable images of Ayutthaya and Thailand as a whole. If you plan on taking a picture, remember to sit on the ground, as it's a sign of respect to be lower than Buddha. And, as a general rule, avoid turning your back to Buddha when taking photos. Beyond Buddha's head, there's plenty more to explore here, including the main prong. Once about 50 meters high, it was destroyed twice over the years and has only been partially restored. Throughout the whole complex, you can admire beautiful Buddha statues in varying conditions and poses. Wat Phra Mahathat is believed to be one of Ayutthaya's oldest and most significant temples. It served as the royal temple of the Ayutthaya Kingdom. When the kingdom fell in 1767, the city was burned down by the Burmese army, and the inhabitants abandoned the city. Today, only the base and staircases of the ancient palace remain. Just a short walk further, you can find the beautiful Wat Ratchaburana, known for its intricate stucco work on the main prong. These stucco decorations, with sculptures of mythical creatures and lotus flowers, are a sight to behold. Hi guys, from Ayutthaya. We're visiting the old city, the ancient city above Bangkok today. We're now at the Wat Ratchaburana. It's the oldest temple around, and it has an underground crypt. So, we're gonna see if we can check it out. And most of the temple sites are 50 baht entrance, or you can get like a whole temple pass for 220, which you can do the six most popular ones. So, let's go check it out, and if we can go in the crypt. The main entrance is a popular photo spot, giving the prong a beautiful frame for pictures. Among countless Buddha statues, you can also recognize four Sri Lankan style stupas surrounding the main prong. On the east side of the temple, you'll find a crypt that once held relics, now displayed at the Chao Phraya National Museum. This vault also housed valuable treasures like gold jewelry and sacred Buddhist tablets, though much of it was stolen in the previous century. Unlike many temples, Wat Ratchaburana lets visitors ascend its structures, though some areas are currently closed. Our next stop was the sacred Wat Phra Sisampet, once the most important temple in Ayutthaya and located within the royal palace grounds. It was home to a massive 24 meter tall golden Buddha and three large chedis containing the ashes of revered kings. So, we just took a little break at our favorite 7-eleven with, of course, a toastie, just like from the heat a bit. We do suggest to bring a hat because the sun is burning right on it so that you don't get like sunburned. We're now at our third stop of the day at the Wat Phra Sisampet or also known actually as the Grand Palace. As you can see, you have here like three chedis or stupas and each of them holds ashes of a king. So, in total of three kings are buried here and they're quite magnificent. The details of the frames of the doors, I would call it, are beautiful. You can't go in them, obviously, but they're very beautiful. So, we're gonna make a circle around it as you can't go in them. But to see them from different angles, also fully around the square here, let's say, are also brick redstone stupas. So, the surroundings are also really pretty. So, let's check it out in this heat of 39 degrees. Moritz! Hey, Moritz! What did you have for lunch? Of course, again, a croque from the 7-eleven, our crostini and two mocktails, actually, in a bottle of Hawaiian and pina colada. Yeah, Moritz was having a party without me, but on mocktails, though. Unfortunately, after conquering Ayutthaya, the Burmese began the extensive destruction and looting of numerous temples and other buildings, including Wat Phra Sisampet. The buildings were set on fire, which melted the gold away. Two of the sheddies were restored in the 1950s by the Fine Arts Department. This is what it might have looked like in its prime days. As you can see, many of the stupas are already quite crooked, leaning one way or another, which obviously makes it very hard to preserve, I would assume. Of course, we've seen this in Croatia already, but there, usually, you could see the process. They took pictures of how they were actually disassembling them and putting them completely new together with a new foundation, which is a lot of work. I'm not sure if this actually works here in that case, but nonetheless, it looks super cool. Next up, we pass by this awe-inspiring, massive reclining Buddha that stretches 42 meters long and stands 8 meters tall. Its head rests gently on four lotus buds, radiating a serene energy. While some restoration work was done on the Buddha's head in the 1950s, the rest of the remains true to its original form. Though the surrounding structures are mostly in ruins, they still evoke the grandeur of ancient Ayutthaya. Our final temple of the day was the stunning Wat Chai Watanaram, one of Ayutthaya's most iconic and picturesque sites. It's no wonder this temple is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The temple's name literally means the Temple of Long Rain and Glorious Era. Its design was inspired by Cambodia's famous Angkor Wat, featuring a central 35-meter-high Khmer style tower surrounded by four smaller prongs. In the past, visitors could climb its steep stairs, but this is no longer allowed. Once used for royal ceremonies and noble family cremations, this temple is a magnificent reminder of Ayutthaya's rich history. Hi guys, so we're coming towards the end of our day in Ayutthaya. We earlier took a little break to drink some Chanom Yen, which is one of my favorite drinks in Thailand. It's like a Thai iced milk tea. It's amazing. And we found this cute little spot like oasis to chill near the big reclining Buddha. We can really recommend going there for a little break. The owner is super nice. And then we biked for another 15 minutes and now we're here in probably one of the most famous spots in Ayutthaya called Wat Chai Watanaram. And as you can see, it's in Khmer style. So they say it's like a small version of Angkor Wat. You can say it's inspired by it. And you can definitely see the Khmer style coming back in the little towers. And yeah, we're going to check it out. That's beautiful. The lights, the sunset is slowly coming and the golden light from the sun is hitting the building perfectly. So yeah, follow us. This temple site was truly picturesque with many Buddha statues adorning the walls. The damaged statues give this place a very unique style and feel. You might encounter many locals dressed in traditional clothing for photo shoots. There's a shop across the street where you can rent these attires for the day. It was very beautiful to see those and made the place come alive. Before we wrap up, we wanted to talk about two things we encountered in Ayutthaya which are very important to us. Please refrain from riding elephants during your visit to Ayutthaya or anywhere in Asia for that matter. We were saddened to see tourists still participating in elephant rides at the historical park. Locals do not ride elephants and neither should tourists. Unfortunately, many people remain unaware of the cruel treatment these majestic and intelligent creatures endure in the process of being domesticated for riding. If you want an authentic elephant encounter, we urge you to visit an ethical sanctuary where you can support their well-being. Another issue we noticed was the significant amount of trash in certain areas outside tourist sites. As we biked around and went off the beaten tracks, we saw piles of garbage just dumped along the road. This is a major problem in many parts of Thailand and not just the development of increased tourism over the decades. Having talked to some locals who explained it's a major issue here with only a few people caring. Many grew up not being taught about littering, the burning of plastics and the dangerous consequences for health and the environment, especially in the poorer rural parts. We really hope Thailand will be able to make progress and address these environmental concerns in the future. Let it be said that trash is a common problem all throughout Southeast Asia, which we have witnessed in every country so far.