alt

Ayutthaya, Thailand

As my first travel post on Steemit I thought I'd share my recent experience in the city Ayutthaya, Thailand. This was just one of the few cities I visited on my trip to Thailand and decided to start with this city for its sheer wow-factor in terms of the amazing historical ruins as you can see in my fave pic above.

So how did I end up in this rare city?

I had been touring the Northern city of Chiang Mai and the next stop was Bangkok which was a train ride away.

On taking a closer look at the train routes I saw that the train makes a stop at a city about 90min away from Bangkok called Ayutthaya which was known for its beautiful historical architecture and ruins. Always looking for new experiences, I decided I have to see this city. My first impression was that it still had its olden day charm and seemed to have been tucked away as one of Thailand's precious little secrets.

A pic of me at Ayutthaya train station.

A short history

The city of Ayutthaya is a UNESCO world heritage site. It was founded in 1350 and was part of the then Siamese kingdom where it became a wealth of diplomacy, commerce and architecture from the 14th to the 18th century. Most of the above photos showcase the artistic architecture of the 16th century.

The Burmese took over in the 17th century, burned the city down and forced the city to be abandoned by its inhabitants. The ruins are thus the remnants of war, civilisation and old age. The city was eventually rebuilt and declared an archaeological site.

The wats (temples) and tall prangs (reliquary towers) were built as part of the Buddhist monasteries and now serves as a proud example of true national Thai art.