Thai Trip - Ayutthaya

I went 'templing' in Ayutthaya.

"To Temple" is a new verb, created by Cecilia and I on our first trip to Bali... it's meaning is obvious, I think.

Ayutthaya was described to me as the 'mini Angkor Wat', and since I wasn't going to get there this trip, I decided I would like to see a little more of the history and culture of Buddhism in Thailand, so I went on a very accessible day trip from Bangkok.  After a two-hour train ride, I arrived and chartered a tuk-tuk for 31/2 hours to take me around to some of the sights.  Apparently the city and its temples can be very enjoyable by bike, or boat, but with my time constraints, I opted for this speedier, louder, more brash, method of transport!

(Even the tuk-tuk driver's daughter-in-law got into trying to read the GPS to look for the caches!)

I was unsuccessful in my attempt to find any geocaches in Ayutthaya (I think they have all gone missing), but, as is the true point for me, the search brought me to some beautiful spots around the various temples and ruins of the ancient city!

(Don't even ASK about the chickens... I did, and couldn't get a straight answer out of anyone!  (Except the correction that they were roosters, thank you very much)... but honestly, they popped up everywhere around Ayutthaya... and not just alone or in pairs - there were ARMIES of roosters!?  Perhaps the beloved king was born in the year of the Rooster?  Perhaps the rooster is the true 'ultimate reincarnation form'?  The mystery remains unsolved, so if anyone can enlighten me... ???


And as you can see, the intensive 'templing' (and puzzling over roosters) had me totally exhausted for the train trip back to Bangkok...