Ayuthaya

I think this guy says, "waaaatttccchhhoiut!"

Today I saw Thailand's largest Buddha. And am happy to report that this is a no cockroach guest house. I slept very well again with some benadryl assistance midway through the night just to make sure I continue to transition to the time change.

I spent most of the morning wandering the market, buying only 1 kilo of grapes, not having much of an appetite yet as is common with jet lag but very foreign to me. Here are a few treasures I found at the market for you viewing pleasure.

Having woken up pretty early, after a couple of hours at the

market I still had plenty of day left. I rented a bike for 40 baht (about $1.60) and headed toward some of the more famous ruins, at least I'd hoped. Boo-yah! Found 'em.

I couldn't see them headed up to them due tot he vast market surrounding the main entrance and park surrounding the perimeter. As i finally made my way through the gate I actually had to catch my breath. They just appeared so suddenly and were like nothing I'd ever seen before.

I have to admit I have almost zero knowledge of Asian/Thai ruins or history. And even though I've been planning this trip in my head for a while, it was a pretty last minute trip (buying my plane ticket just 3 days before leaving), I didn't do any research; therefore I had no idea what to expect. This is what I saw:

There are 3 of the giant white ones holding Emperors 8, 9, and 10, I believe, of the Ayuthaya period (this city of which I am now in). Ayuthaya was the Bangkok before Bangkok. It used to be the center of the country's power until it was conquered and alter rebuild in current day Bangkok. Man, I hope I'm getting all this right. It is an island city, centered where three main rivers meet. The rivers don't seem too big at this point. We did take a small boat from the train station last night to the island but it wasn't much of at trip, maybe 30 yards across at most. While I was out on my bicycle adventure I saw several wooden bridges cars, bikes, and pedestrians could cross easily. Some no more than 8 feet across.

I headed back to my guest ho use to change rooms. I had been sleeping in a double room, meant for two people so I switched to save 50 baht ($1, a seemingly small amount but it all adds up and if I save that four days in a row that's a night in a cheap room). I also switched to show I couldn't be succored into paying extra. An important thing to express right up front or you'll pay double or more what the real cost is. (I don't think I'm super good at it but gotta start somewhere.)

Both days I've managed to stay under budget, spending 409 baht the first day ($16.36) and 302 baht ($12.08) today.Granted I haven't really done much yet but it's good to know how minimally it can be done if necessary. I do have some excursions I really want to do that will add up quickly.

After changing rooms, a man named Toi, who runs a jazz restaurant just a few buildings down wanted to play some U.S. trivia games with me. Sure, he was probably just drumming up business but like everything else in life the people involved can really make or break and experience. We played his games, which I did okay at (ugh), which we played for about 30 minutes and then I headed in for a nap.

My favorite picture so far.