Muang Boran - The Ancient City

After two days of temple runs in Bangkok and Ayutthaya, my wife and I still didn't get sick of all those temples, so we decided to push through with going to Muang Boran on our third day in Bangkok. As its name suggests, we expected "The Ancient City" to be authentic ruins similar to what we saw in Ayutthaya, but it's actually a park where most of Thailand's most famous temples and buildings were recreated.

We took the BTS from downtown Bangkok - hopped in at BTS Ratchadamri towards National Stadium, transferred at Siam station, and went the entire line up to the terminus, BTS Bearing. The train fare for that route was THB55/pax. From there, we took a taxi straight to Muang Boran. We prepared THB200 for this based on what I read from different fora, but though I forgot the exact amount, I'm sure it wasn't more than THB150.

Signs on the taxi's window

Once we arrived there, we bought our tickets immediately at the reception - each ticket cost THB500. Like in Bang Pa-In Summer Palace, there's a golf cart rental and we got one for THB150/hour. From the map provided to us, the park was really huge, so even though we needed to pay extra to use a golf cart, I thought renting it was a no-brainer. We could have rented bicycles, or rode the tram that goes around the entire park, and they would have been free because they're already included in the admission fee, but we wanted to see the place on our own pace. Aside from the bicycles and the tram, I think riding a boat in the floating market section was also included in the ticket.

We covered the entire place in about 3 hours, visiting different temples in Thailand in just one park. Some of those temples were actually life-size replicas, so considering the size of the Buddhas and the prangs in

those temples, I think it would have taken us more than 5 hours if we set on foot or rode bicycles. After returning the golf cart, we asked the receptionist to call a taxi for us. We asked the driver to bring us back to BTS Bearing station so that we could take the train back to downtown Bangkok. The link to the official website of Muang Boran is found at the bottom of this post.

Muang Boran - The Ancient City official website

Ayutthaya

After Bang Pa-In Summer Palace, our tuktuk driver rushed to take us back to Ayutthaya. I used "rushed" because for a tuktuk, I think ours was pretty fast, going toe-to-toe with 4x4 pick-up trucks on the highway.

Anyway, before we agreed to our tuktuk driver to tour us around Ayutthaya and Bang Pa-In for THB300/hour, I already informed him of the Ayutthaya temples that I wanted to visit. I wanted to see the huge prangs, which turned out to be Wat Phra Si Sanphet. The Buddha head overgrown by a tree was interesting, and I learned that it was in Wat Maha That. Finally, my wife wanted to experience riding an elephant, so I made sure that the tuktuk driver would take us to the Elephant Palace. If there was time, I told the driver it was up to him to take us somewhere interesting.

2 hours was used up in Bang Pa-In Palace, so I thought 3 hours in Ayutthaya would be just right. First stop was Wat Maha That. I thought the only interesting part was its famous Buddha head in a tree, but exploring the ruins took most of our time. The decapitated Buddhas were also quite interesting. Anyway, when you're taking a picture with the Buddha in the tree, kneel, squat or sit down, as taking the picture standing up is considered disrespectful.

The famous Buddha in a tree

Decapitated Buddhas

After almost an hour in Wat Maha That, we went to the Ayutthaya Elephant Palace for the elephant ride experience. It cost us THB500/pax, though during and after the experience, the elephant trainer asked for tips. He explicitly asked THB100 as tip to the elephant when we met other elephant riders and took pictures alternately with Wat Phra Ram as background. After our elephant ride, he asked another tip, this time for him and not for the elephant. The ride felt bumpy as every step of the elephant made us sway, but that was fine. What I didn't like was how the trainer hit the elephant's head for some reason - for going out of the way, being slow, or whatever that may be. He had this curved knife with a wooden handle, and we could hear how hard that wooden part hit the elephant's head. Maybe that's really how they train them, and I don't know a single thing about training elephants, but it's just a pity that elephants are hit like that.

After the elephant ride, our driver took us to Wat Lokaya Sutha. It houses a reclining Buddha, similar to that in Wat Pho, but the one here in Ayutthaya was not made of gold. It's almost as big, but located outdoors, unlike its counterpart in Bangkok. At least, this Buddha can be photographed in its entirety without making one side looking quite far.

For size reference of this reclining Buddha

Next stop was Viharn Phra Mongkol Bopit, which was just beside Wat Phra Si Sanphet. Viharn Phra Mongkol Bopit houses a huge bronze Buddha. There's no admission fee and anyone can get in, with no shoes, as it is their custom. After seeing the Buddha, we just walked to the side gate towards Wat Phra Si Sanphet. Admission fee here was THB50/pax. For me, this was another highlight of our Ayutthaya tour. The prangs were so big that you would want to know how it was really like when it was newly built, and what was in there before almost everything was turned into ruins.

Viharn Phra Mongkol Bopit

We're supposed to visit another temple, Wat Phra Ram, just across Viharn Phra Mongkol Bopit and Wat Phra Si Sanphet, but we were running out of time and we wanted to arrive in Bangkok before sunset, so we asked our driver to bring us to the minibus/mini van terminal bound for Victory Monument in Bangkok. That concluded our 5-hour tour of Bang Pa-In Summer Palace and Ayutthaya.

Bang Pa-In Palace

The original itinerary was Bangkok→Ayutthaya→Bang Pa-In→Bangkok, so from BTS Ratchadamri, we took the train to the next station, BTS Sala Daeng, got off and went down to MRT Si Lom station, then took the train to MRT Hua Lamphong. The BTS ride was THB15/pax while the MRT one was THB18/pax. Living in Japan for quite some time now, my wife and I wanted to experience the train system in Bangkok and compare it with that in Japan. So for any place in our itinerary that could be reached by train, we opted to take it. From various fora that I read, taking the provincial trains is also a good way to get immersed to the locals' way of life, and so we took the train from Hua Lamphong to Ayutthaya, the entire ride for just THB20/pax.

Trains at Hua Lamphong station

We arrived at Hua Lamphong at around 8:15AM, just enough time to buy our tickets and get to the 8:20AM train. For some reasons, our train was delayed, and it left the station at around 8:45AM. There were many tourists that took the same train, but we got our seats together with an old, Thai lady. Although she couldn't talk to us, she was very friendly, asking us through gestures if the weather was hot or if it's OK if the window was open, or if it was OK for her to close it a bit.

Once we arrived at Ayutthaya around 10:10AM, I realized that it will be difficult for us to go back to Bangkok via Bang Pa-In Palace, so we asked the tuktuk drivers to include Bang Pa-In in case we'll get their service for a tour around Ayutthaya. They immediately agreed for THB300/hour for the entire "tour", so we rode one of the tuktuks back to the direction of Bang Pa-In Palace, which is between Bangkok and Ayutthaya.

Our tuktuk service around Ayutthaya and Bang Pa-In

Overtaking another tuktuk on our way to Bang Pa-In

The trip to Bang Pa-In from Ayutthaya took about 20 minutes. The admission fee was THB100/pax, and we rented a golf cart to move around the complex. The golf cart rental was THB400 for the first hour, and additional THB100 for each succeeding hour. They required a driver's license, but I think any driver's license will do since I just gave them my Philippine driver's license. It must also be noted that Bang Pa-In Palace implements a strict dress code because it is a royal residence. My wife was wearing an above-the-knee skirt, but she brought tights and was allowed to get in after wearing that. For those who aren't prepared, I think they offer rentals of wraparound skirts, good enough to get someone inside the palace grounds.

Our rented golf cart inside the palace grounds

We roamed around the palace grounds for exactly 1 hour, no extra charge on the golf cart and just enough time to go back to Ayutthaya for a 3-hour tour there. Our tuktuk driver just waited for us outside the main gate, so we met him and took us to the temples of Ayutthaya.