Thursday, August 12, 2010

The historical park of Ayutthaya, Unesco World Heritage Site 8 August 2010

Sunday 9am.
Ding dong. Uncle Vich is right on time in picking us up at 9am.
We drove to Bang Pa-In @Ayutthaya. 1 hour away from Bangkok. And you know, this is Vich's 10th visit to this palace. LOL . Adult 100baht (RM10) Children - free entrance

It was a great idea to drive the buggy, great for little feets in a huge area of  Bang Pa-In royal palace. Now, this palace is used occasionally by King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit as a residence and for holding receptions and banquets. 

I was aware of the dress code in visiting palaces and temples, so I was all ready with long jeans and shirt with sleeve. At this place, (I don't know the name) women are not allowed to wear PANTS! and men can walk in with short pants! aarrgghh I had to put on the free sarong available. En Hui were more interested in looking at my sarong than anything else. They have been pestering me to wear skirt for a long time. On the brighter note, this got Hui to sit at the sarong room and put on her thinking cap, ting!  while the rest moved on to the next area.

Hui found her perfect spot at the buggy, sat by the rim and enjoyed the breeze.
Aisawan Dhipaya-Asana Pavillion which appears to float in the simmering pool that surrounds the complex.

Left- Royal Observatory tower. Exhausted, we were not able to climb up! Right- EnHui hid away from uncle Vich.  

Uncle Vich brought us to lunch at a well-known restaurant which is famous for its 'big shrimp'.


Left- the entrance of the restaurant. Right- Big shrimp ! aroy mak


Our table on the boat. Right- En and her two children(penguins).
Left- The menu. Right - one of the two boats.
Tom yam gung and fried fish.

Left- Big shrimp (900baht per kg). Right- catfish. Chilli dip was superb.
Middle- The soda water and Pepsi (no Coke), are in bottles, not can.
Right- The freshly fried sunflower seeds with ginger and pandan leaves.

The sun was scorching and EnHui's energy will usually be dampened by hot weather. So, we visited Wat Mahathat only, among the all @ the historical park. Adult 50baht. Children - free entrance.
Uncle Vich was not only our driver, but also the kids' entertainer cum care-taker(left), tour guide(middle) and our photographer( left). All in one. Korp Koon, superman!

Left- the two men were discussing if they could go up the steps. Man in blue exclaimed 'No, the sign said so'. Man in grey said 'Is it? Oh no, I went up the steps before!' After hearing that, man in blue went up the steps and had a look too. :D

Upon seeing the sand, En grabbed a stick and drew (Middle). The buddha head which encased by the roots of the tree attracted Hui & her umbreall (Right). When En has done with the sand, she stood up and checked on the head, uttered ' What is it?'.  

Left- Headless buddhas that were destroyed by the Burmese.

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