Exactly a year ago, I went to Thailand to attend the wedding of my Thai friend. After that, I had the chance to visit an amazing place called Ayutthaya. Ayutthaya is located 76 km north of Bangkok and covers 2,556 square km.

The ancient city of Ayutthaya, or Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya, served as the capital of Thailand for 417 years. The Burmese army destroyed it in 1767 during the Burmese-Siamese War. The ruins of the old city are now known as the Ayutthaya Historical Park. Some parts of the park were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991. These include Wat Ratchaburana, Wat Mahathat, Wat Phra Sri Sanphet, Wat Phra Ram, and Wiharn Phra Mongkhon Bopit.

We first went to the Elephant Camp, where we rode an elephant around the Ayutthaya Historical Park. It was a 20-minute ride to see many of the Ayutthaya temples. The funny thing is that they used the elephant’s trunk to ask for tips from tourists like me. It was an awesome experience.

We went on an elephant ride. We then visited the most famous part of the Ayutthaya Historical Park. This area is known as the Wat Mahathat or the Monastery of the Great Relic. The temple was built in the 14th century. It was once the residence of the supreme leader of the Buddhist monk. It was destroyed though by the Burmese army during the siege of Ayutthaya. Many of the Buddha images were also vandalized at that time with their heads being lopped off.

The Wat Mahathat is the most popular among the Ayutthaya temples because of the iconic Buddha head. It is engulfed in the Bodhi tree trunk. It was said that the tree just grew around and overgrown the head when the temple was abandoned before.

If only I had more time, I would have visited the other temples around the Ayutthaya Historical Park. But anyway, the elephant ride and the Wat Mahathat were already enough for us on that amazing day.