Final day

On our final day in Thailand, we had booked on a day tour to the old capital of Ayuthaya (about an hour out of Bangkok). Unfortunately, Ellen was not a happy chappy that morning, and had a bad stomach. She made it to the 2nd hotel pick-up point, got off the mini-bus, and caught a cab back to Rutt's. Bless! Sorry you missed the day, Ellen...although I know in the end you had an ok day, with more market shopping!!! So I was a lone traveler for the day. It felt really quite strange after 2 weeks of spending 24/7 with the same person. However, I thought I would be a big brave girl, and just talk to any randoms that looked friendly! Good training for my trip to Malaysia! As it turned out I actually met and talked to some really cool people on this day, and didn't feel lonely or conspicuous at any time.

After an hour on the bus, we arrived in Ayuthaya. Our first stop was the summer palace, which consisted of beautifully kept grounds, perfectly-painted European style grand buildings, and little golf-buggies that you could rent to drive round it all. I really wasn't that bothered about this place. It was all a little too perfect, and if I want to see European-style architecture, I'll go back to Europe! I just couldn't be bothered to look around the Spanish mansion and co, and so chose to sit under a tree, and listen to my ipod until it was time to get back on the bus! The second stop was what I had been looking forward to....the old stuff!!!!! We had time to look around Wat Phra Mahathat, an amazing old temple complex. Yes, to some people, it might just look like a bunch of old ruins, but for me it was really interesting to see the ancient structures, with no gold, no decoration...just the basic shapes. I wandered around the area, and was really quite stunned by the scale of everything, and also intrigued by some of the structures and statues ; the buddha's head in the tree roots ; and the rows and rows of headless and often limb-less buddha statues. Weird!

Back on the bus, and then off to the next site, Wat Na Phramene...not a ruin this time, but a normal, gold, run-of-the-mill Thai temple. It was a really beautiful place, and I enjoyed walking round the grounds. I also got a really cool photo of a monk mid-laugh! It's one of my faves! Just before it was time to leave, a couple of us noticed the sound of chanting monks coming from one of the distant rooms. We walked over to explore, and found a room, full of monks (maybe 30?), and with a few normal Thai people too. The chanting was loud, rhythmic and actually a little eerie...but I liked it. The atmosphere was really quite electric, and everyone seemed mesmorized by the sounds. I took a small movie, and a couple of discreet photos and headed back to the bus. It wasn't until later, when I showed the tour guide the photos, to ask about the chanting, that I learnt that it was actually a funeral!!! Noooooooo! I felt awful and intrusive, whilst also feeling relieved that I hadn't actually gone into the room, but had just lingered outside. I just had never imagined that sooo many monks would go to a funeral, so the thought had not crossed my mind that that's what it was. I just thought it was a regular service of some description! Oops! Oh well!

Our final 'historical' stop, was at the huge reclining Buddha. This reclining buddha is not gold and shiny like the one at Wat Pho, but is just simple, and covered with vibrant orange fabric. I was really quite amazed at how big it was, and the colour of the material looked all the more bright next to the strong blue of the Ayuthaya sky. Not a lot to say about it really...just simply..amazing.


Our journey back to Bangkok was on a boat! Whoohoo! We spent the entire afternoon on the river cruise boat, where we had a delicious lunch, were served afternoon tea, and could simply relax on the deck in the sun. It was a wonderful way to end my holiday. I felt relaxed, content, warm...I had an OJ with a flower in it...there were temples to look at as we cruised by...I chatted to some really interesting people...I snoozed in my chair...I listened to my ipod...mmmmmm...zzzzzzzzzzzzzz! Lovely! I arrived back at Rutt's to find Ellen a lot perkier (she had done a successful spot of last-minute shopping), and so we were ready for the off! Bags were packed, lugged down stairs, a spot of dinner, a final busy car-ride through Bangkok, and we were at the airport. An awful check-in queue, hoards of people, and some omiyage shopping, we were on the plane!