One of my teachers, Kat, who works in the K2 Red class in my school invited me to go to Khao Kho the Saturday after my birthday. She showed me pictures of the area and it looks gorgeous. The catch was it is about 4-5 hours away and we would have to leave at 6 am. Now seeing how I have not really gotten drunk very often and the hard fact that I was turning 32 it seemed only right to get properly drunk and have probably too much fun that night. Because of this I told her I would not be able to go because I was being realistic. Also, the best time to see that area is in the morning to watch the sunrise because it over looks a valley, and we would most likely miss that.
So she then suggested going to Ayutthaya, a popular city, only an hour away. Kat loves temples she suggested this city because it has many famous ones. We had Monday off that weekend so she suggested that day, and that her father would drive us. Because my friend Allison is interested in temples too I asked if she could come along. Kat said of course and we were all set!
The first temple we saw was Wat Phra Si Sanphet. This temple was huge! It has three large chedis through the middle of the ruins. For those unfamiliar they look like little pyramids with spires on top. This temple and palace was destroyed by the Burmese in the 1700s, but the temple is still incredible to see! There is a small model that you can see outside of the ruins. It displays the gargantuan size of the whole palace, that you can no longer see today.
One of the best things about this temple for a backpacker or traveler, is that it is free entrance. There are signs asking you not to move bricks, or climb on certain areas. Out of respect please follow them. There were quite a few tourists that were too busy getting the right selfie angle to be aware or respect these rules.
After that we saw Wat Yai Chai Mongkhon. This temple was not free, but it definitely will not break the bank. For anyone that is not Thai it is a mere 20 Baht. Here we saw buddhas, most covered with gold cloth sashes. From here we were told to climb up the stairs of the temple, walk around the outside and then see what the inside has. Kat and her father did not join us, but waited more than patiently for us to return.
The view from the outer surrounding balcony was beautiful. There were gardens, smaller temples and chedis to be seen. Next we climbed up the last set of narrow and completely uneven stairs and went inside. It was a small area inside with a well in the very middle. This was surrounded by alcoves full of buddhas. Allison and I, in true cliche fashion, made wishes and tossed coins into the well along with everyone else.
From there we slowly and carefully descended the possible stairs of death. To my relief no such death or accident happened, and we found our hosts. We wandered around this area for a little bit and ended up finding a more recent temple and an area completely full of chickens. I kid you not, there were chickens/roosters everywhere! They were bedazzled, painted brightly, taller than me, and as you may have guessed, statues. It was incredible and definitely reminded me of the Oviedo chickens! Back in home in the small downtown area of Oviedo, Florida, there are wild chickens that run about the town and intersection. Ironically they live next to Popeye's (which serves chicken), and they are not only a sign of Oviedo, but it is against the law to hurt them. One could almost call them sacred, or if nothing else, iconic. I have added some pictures from there as well.
Before leaving this area we found out there is a reclining buddha so we had to check it out. Apparently my town, Singburi, has a giant reclining Buddha as well, but I have yet to see it. This one was pretty interesting and large. It was just a buddha laying down, relaxing for the afternoon.
Next stop was the Ayutthaya Floating Market. We got there and soon found out that we would have to pay 200 baht for a boat ride, and there might only be a show happening, so we didn't go. We didn't need to spend that extra money for it and we were also pretty hungry at this point. After feeding some goats, we stopped at a store and Allison bought a pair of pants that she fell in love with as we walked past on the way to the market.
We ended up heading out after the market and were going to Lotus/Tesco because Kat needed a new outfit, and then to get something to eat. After my birthday lunch Kat saw how much I liked papaya salad, known in Thai as "som tum." But I can only eat it if it is "mai pet," which means "not spicy." Now Allison is a vegetarian it makes things a little more difficult to find things for her to eat at times, but you can usually get papaya salad without meat. So our amazing hosts were on a mission to find: som tum mang sa wirat mai pet. After searching the entire mall we finally found a place that served just that.
The food was amazing, but as usual there was some sneaky meat, or fish, in some of the dishes. We did manage to keep some veggies meat free and had two straight vegetarian dishes so Allison could eat! It is always fun eating lunch with my teachers, or anyone else who speaks Thai. They are always so helpful and I think enjoy watching us/me try to speak Thai. So whenever I order or eat something new I try to learn what it is and how to pronounce. I think my teachers have grown accustomed and expect my butchering of words. If nothing else I can always bring a smile or chuckle to those trying to educate me.
It was a very nice day and it was definitely wonderful getting to know my teacher and her father. It is funny because for some reason I didn't think I would be spending as much time with my teachers outside of school. There is no reason to think that, but I love how much I am hanging out with them outside of school. They are such sweet and caring people and really make this a more realistic cultural experience. After the late lunch they dropped us off and we headed back to the apartment.
While Allison and I attempted to pay for lunch it wouldn't be heard of so she had a great idea to put together a fruit basket. Kat's father mentioned to her how much he loves fruit. We went through the market and bought some fresh fruit and then went to the basket stall. This one small stall has all kinds of baskets. When we saw the one of a chicken it just felt right! With all of the chickens that we saw today and how funny we all found it there wasn't a better one.
Hmm, maybe all future amazing days should include temples, culture, new Thai words, food (always food!), friendship and inside joke chicken baskets!