2nd Day in Bangkok

Next destination was Ayuttahaya via the Hua Lampong railway station. It is a very popular tourist destination. Trains are almost leaving hourly. I took the earliest train at 6:40AM. At around 8:30AM, I was very hungry and the train was still moving. At 8:40, we reached Ayuttahaya station.

I was expecting Tuk tuk drivers to approach me to offer their services in touring me around but almost none approached me. Even the farangs were not approached. My plan was to ride a bike and have a do-it-yourself tour. I crossed the street and saw some bikes! Charan! Bikes are being rented for 40Baht (withour gear) or 50Baht (with gear). I even honestly didn’t know what gear means which I think is the speed controller for the bike. Map was provided. You just have to follow the trails.

Man! Riding a moving bike was very awkward at first! It’s been years since I rode a “moving” bike. I am so used with the stationary bikes in the gym. After few minutes, I got used to it. I stopped over in 7-11 to grab something to eat and bought a bottle of water.

Another that puzzled me was the road orientation – driver on the right side of the vehicle and left side of the road. Total opposite in the Philippines. Yaiks!

1^st stop was Wat Yai Chai Mongkol with entrance fee of 20Baht. Here, you can see tons of Buddha covered with scarfs.

2^nd stop was Ancient Royal Palace with entrance fee of 20Baht. Nothing much you can see here but Buddha, Buddha, Buddha covered with gold.

3^rd stop was Wat Mahathat with entrance fee of 50Baht. You can see tons of headless and burned Buddhas and the popular Buddha’s head wrapped by the tree’s roots. There were interesting stories behind why the Buddhas head was wrapped by Bodhi (Banyan) tree.

There were plenty of temples and sites to visit but I opted to end the trip. My main reason of ending the tour was me getting dark-tanned. Remember that I was biking under the glaring sun. Sweat all over my body!

I went back to the store where I rented the bike, ate Pad Thai (Ayutthaya style), and waited for the delayed train back to BKK.

I arrived at Hua Lampong Railway station at around 3:30PM, went back to my guesthouse to take a shower and went to a “very cool place” to relax until 8PM. After that, I visited Silom night market and bought some shirts and pair of pants.

If I were with my friends, we would probably head to Silom Soi to party. As for that time, I was alone and so opted to sleep and rest.