Hi All,
We met our tour group after breakfast. Three couples, one single man and eight single women. Lots of travel experience including one who had been on 26 OAT trips.
Today we visited the old Thai capital at Ayyuthaya. Founded in 1351, it served as the capital until destroyed by the Burmese in 1767. The palaces are gone save for an occasional wall. Most of what survived are the shrines and mausoleums.
First stop was Wat Mahathat. The round top structures are Prangs, the pointed ones are Stupas.
This Buddha head engulfed in the fig tree is an iconic Thai image.
Most of the Buddha statues are badly broken but this one survived.
Another stupa.
As we bussed to another section of Ayyuthaya, our tour leader Leky briefed us on the next stop, the royal palace complex at Wat Pharasisanphet.
More elaborate and extensive, the prangs and stupas were really impressive.
This stupa held the remains of the king.
After lunch we visited the local Muslim community that specializes in making cotton candy. Not the wispy American kind, this stuff is repeatedly stretched from carmelized sugar. In the bags for sale it looks like pasta.
An interesting, busy day. More to come.
Love,
Sandy & Carl
Sandy & Carl
Living & Traveling in our Motorhome
Volunteering across America
617-435-8502
No comments:
Post a Comment