Ayutthaya: Wat Chaiwatthanaram

And so we come to the last of the four sites we visited in Ayutthaya, and I’ve saved the best for last. Wat Chaiwatthanaram is the biggest of the four, at least it seemed to be, and also the busiest.

Tourists at Wat Chaiwatthanaram — Tourists in traditional Thai costume at Wat Chaiwatthanaram

Wat Chaiwatthanaram was built in the 1600s on the banks of the Chao Phraya River by King Prasat Thong in honour of his mother. Built in the style of Angkor Wat, the site is made up of a central prang with several smaller prangs and pagodas surrounding it. It has undergone several rounds of restoration over the years and restoration work continues today.

We came here by accident. Our intention was to visit Wat Phutthaisawan, one of the few temples to escape the Burmese in 1766, but we ended up at the wrong place, which turned out to be lucky. Be warned, there is an official car park beside the temple, but on the opposite side of the road there are hawkers trying to wave you into their yards so you can rent traditional Thai costume. There are about 8 or 9 shops opposite, all renting out Thai costume, so if that’s your thing, then this is the place to rent them.

This site was the busiest of the sites we visited with plenty of tourists in Thai costumes taking photos, so something to be mindful of. That said, it wasn’t so busy we couldn’t enjoy the place. This was also my favourite of the four sites we visited and honestly, it felt like stepping into Star Wars. I half expected x-wing fighters to take off.

There was a very different atmosphere here, almost other-worldly. The place felt grander and more expansive and more significant some-how, and strangely enough, this felt the most peaceful and enjoyable of the four sites we visited. It was a good end to our two days here.

Ayutthaya is a great place to visit. Culturally significant and lots of friendly people. If you’re debating whether to add it to your Thailand itinerary, wonder no more and do it. I think you’ll find it well worth it.

Ayutthaya: Wat Ratchaburana

Wat Ratchaburana sits right next door to Wat Mahathat, so it’s easy to visit both sites on the same day. Wat Ratchaburana is known for the main prang, which is mostly intact (I think it’s the most intact of any of Ayutthaya’s heritage sites). You can climb up the prang to get a fantastic view of the entire site, and it’s worth doing.

The entrance is through the remains of the viharn and the prang is framed nicely as you enter. Ratchaburana was quite busy, so patience is needed when trying to get a photo of the prang through the entrance. (It’s the money shot after all, and everyone was taking them, so we felt obliged to do the same).

Main prang framed by the entrance to Wat Ratchaburana

Wat Ratchaburana was built in the 1400’s on the site where the king’s older brothers were cremated. Apparently they fought for the kingdom, wounding each other so severely they both died, leaving the kingdom to the younger brother. (Surely a story worthy of a movie). Another legend tells of a crow that impaled itself on the finial of the prang, which was taken as a bad omen of Ayutthaya’s fate. Not long after, Ayutthaya fell to the Burmese and Wat Ratchaburana was sacked and burned in a fire that spread over into Wat Mahathat and a few other sites.

The central prang is surrounded by four stupas and the whole site feels more compact compared to others, but there is plenty to explore. The prang is the star attraction though and you can climb up to the top room. Climbing the prang is a precarious experience, especially if you don’t like heights, but it does give a great view of the site, and you can see the details of the preserved render as you climb. At the top you can go inside, but the stairs down into the crypt are blocked off, and the room itself is governed by bats. A lot of bats.

Small piles of stones in front of the main prang at Wat Ratchburana

Details on the render of Wat Ratchaburana's prang

Although everything revolves around the prang, it seemed like there was more to see here than at Wat Mahathat and I enjoyed this more than the two sites we visited before. With both Wat Ratchaburana and Wat Mahathat being next to each other, it’s worth visiting them both, and when you’re finished, there’s a great Ice cream parlour called Scoops Me Up on the soi opposite Wat Mahathat (Bang Lan Road). The ice cream is really good and a nice reward after a day of exploring.

Ayutthaya: Wat Phra Si Sanphet

Ayutthaya was once the capital of the Kingdom of Siam. Established in the 1300’s, it was eventually sacked and burned by the Burmese in the 1700’s, after which time the kingdom moved the capital to Thonburi, which grew to become the Bangkok we know and love today.

Considering Ayutthaya is such a significant place, it remains a relatively small city consisting of many, many ruins. There are no large tower blocks or shopping malls and it really benefits from that. The city has a small town feel and the people are really friendly. Although it’s a major tourist destination, it didn’t feel crowded, maintaining that small city feel.

You’d be forgiven for thinking each temple site was the same as the next, but each one has a different character, so I’ll be covering each place in separate posts.

The first place we visited was Wat Phra Si Sanphet, and we found it by accident. We were actually looking for a market and were directed to Wihan Phra Mongkhon Bophit. There’s a good amount of free parking here, but the Viharn wasn’t up to much, and unless you wanted wooden souvenirs or elephant pants, neither was the market.

It’s a short walk from the Viharn to Si Sanphet, once you find the entrance. The entry price is 10 baht for Thai and 50 baht for farang. You can also get a multi-site ticket for 220 baht (farang price), which gives you access to all the sites, but they didn’t tell us about that until after we visited our fourth site!

Broken Buddha in front of a Stupa, Ayutthaya Thailand

The Main Stupa at Wat Phra Si Sanphet, Ayutthaya, Thailand

Like all the sites, you’ll find tourists wearing traditional Thai costume and taking lots of photos. Not as well organised as Wat Arun, there were no photographers jostling for position here and people were taking their own photos. That said, not many people were ‘dressed up’ at Si Sanphet.

Si Sanphet’s main focus are the Stupas, which are really a small part of what was once a massive temple back in the day. My favourite part though was the broken buddha statue. Made up of thin bricks, it was amazing to see the many curves and shapes they were able to form. A real work of craftsmanship.

Although not as grand as some of the other ruins, Wat Phra Si Sanphet is probably the most significant of them since it was located in the Grand Palace and served as the royal chapel, the palace eventually becoming a monastery and the largest temple in the city. Now it gets overshadowed by the other, ‘more spectacular’ sites.

All in all, it was a nice, quiet – accidental – introduction to the many temples of Ayutthaya.