Ayutthaya

For our second weekend in Thailand we headed to Ayutthaya, the ancient capital of Thailand. First we stopped off at a museum to learn about the history and culture of ancient Ayutthaya. Then we went to the Elephant Palace and Royal Kraal to ride some elephants! We got to go on the ‘elephant taxis’, which were quick elephant rides around a big lake and some of Ayutthaya’s ruins. Leeann and I sat on a little seat on the elephants back while a man sat on the back of his head and controlled the elephant with his feet. It felt like riding on a boat, because with every step the elephant took I would rock back and forth. Afterwards some people became upset because they thought that riding the elephants and making them do tricks was inhumane. Although it was a little weird to see elephants living in a city and sitting on concrete slabs, I had to think about the circumstances at the elephant kraal in terms of the current elephant situation in Thailand. It is really sad to think that the elephant’s natural habitat is being destroyed, and elephants are being hunted in the wild. However, I am glad that the elephants can live through the conservation efforts of the Thai people. Elephant conservation efforts will be a good cause to look into in the future, when I actually have internet access!

Next we went to look at the ruins of Ayutthaya. It was absolutely amazing! There were wats upon temples upon palaces of decayed brick structures and concrete Buddhas without heads or limbs. It was crazy to see such a place and imagine what it had been like at its prime. Unfortunately, many of the sites had been damaged by the great floods that swept through Thailand last year. However, they were being repaired. Seeing Ayutthaya and learning about all of the history and culture that was involved with this great city was incredible!