Ayothaya Ayutthaya

Today, I took a day trip to Ayutthaya with some boys from the hostel. Ayutthaya was the old capital of Thailand, before the Burmese took it over, and ransacked it, and the Thais moved the capital to Bangkok. As a result, it's got quite a wealth of ruins from when it was the capital, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It's about 1 1/2 hours from Bangkok, and when we got there, we immediately acquired the services of a tuk tuk driver, who took us to ...

... Ok, better to go with the (200 baht 2 hour) tourist office then! 4 p.m and a Tuk-tuk ride later I got on the boat with two French lads and two German lads. I was last on the boat, and got a prime seat right on the front. Or so I thought...<br>First stop we went to see some elephants leaving the farm to take their daily bath. They have some sizeable 'schloppledongers'. Got that picture of some sh*t that I wanted. <br>Back in the boat we passed two large ferries ...

<br>Hey there!! <br><br>Well things are starting to take place. <br><br>After 12.5 hour car ride through beautiful rain forest, country side and crowded dirty cities I finally made it to Bangkok! Bangkok is a huge city, the area I was in was crowded, crazy, dirty, and lots of people. The hostel that I was dropped off at was pretty full so I took the sky train to a different hostel... So I finally arrived to my female dorm room and talked to 3 girls in ...

... die Tempel mit einem Fahrrad zu fahren. Das war cool ! Eine andere Moeglichkeit waere mit einem Elefant gewesen aber wir hatten schon das Fahrrad gemietet. Die Tempel sind echt schoen und beeindrucken, ihr koennt einfach die Fotos gucken.<br>Am Abend haben wie einen tollen Abend verbracht, dank Christian und seiner Cocktailbar :-).<br>Am Tag darauf sind sie nach Chang Mai gefahren. Ich habe noch ein paar Tempel besucht, die Sonne ...

... scored. It was &#3626;&#3609;&#3640;&#3585; (pronounced sa-nook). That means fun. I love foreign keyboards! Things are starting to look up here. I have one more week of school until exams and then there's a holiday, so maybe I'll go to Bangkok or the beach. This Saturday I'm going to Bangkok with Khaowfang, I'll pick up some souvenirs for everyone back home :) Okay I'll try to give a narrative of a normal day here. It's kind of hard since everyday is so different, with different ...

... awful, and down a row there were a bunch of cages set up with the saddest sight I've seen. There were poodle puppies, maybe 2 or 3 week old kittens, rabbits, a rooster, chicks, birds, and I didn't see all the rest. By that time I thought I might vomit. They were all crammed into these tiny wire cages like they were toys for sale. They put a little bow on one of the kittens that was cute, but also disgusting. It smelled so ...

... bloody heaps of them....but i have to say it was most enjoyable and very educational.....and healthy!!!!..........walked a zillion kilometres..........drank umpteen litres of water ...........and climbed mega number of steps....we were shickered!!!!<br><br>Were supposed to catch the train from Ayutthaya to Bangkok..........but via a friend of a friend...now you are getting the idea!!!!...........we took a private car.........$45 ...

... br><br>I started the day at Thailand's largest Mon-Style Pagoda. This pagoda is constructed of white sandstone and entombs the ashes of Thailand's 21st King. I climbed the steep stone steps to the top of the burial mound and was rewarded with a breathtaking view of the Ayutthaya region. The region in mostly flat, but the green of the grass contrasted nicely with the red clay of the soil.<br><br>After taking a few pictures, I made my way to a local Buddhist ...

... the Thai kingdom and its turbulent history. <br> <br> As the bus neared our historical park, I remembered reading that paying homage to Gautama Buddha in nine temples within a day will bring about prosperity. What's so special about the numeral nine? Buddhists consider it a lucky number because its Thai homophone, kao, literally means "to step and to progress." The wishful thinker in me kept on insisting that somehow good luck would ...