My trip to Bangkok, Thailand with my cousin, Isa, was back in July 2015 yet it doesn't feel like it was that long ago. The kind people, delicious food, astounding palaces (whether it be grand or relics) have left a permanent mark. 

Key things to bring to Bangkok in the summer time: sarong or skirt (a clothing article you can cover your knees with), sunscreen, cap, fan (it gets HOT), and a water bottle.

We signed up for a day tour to Ayutthaya (about a 2 hour drive from Bangkok) with the hotel concierge, but I know there are buses and trains you for cheaper that bring you there. 

Take note, you have to cover your shoulders and knees when you enter, so bring a sarong and cardigan! We had a tour guide explain the history of each palace to us but you can rent an audio guide by the entrance. It's a huge palace, you could take around 1.5 hours just walking around. We kept finding shelter from the sweltering hot sun in the palaces, bonus that it was nice inside too!

The royal and sacred temples are found in the east of the grand palace. It was built in 1374 by Phra Borom Rajathirat I. The monastary was destroyed and burnt down in the war between Ayuttya and Burma in 1767 A.D. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage site.

There is still no exact history of how the Buddha head became entwined in the roots of the tree. Among many theories, one theory suggests that the tree grew around the head of the Buddha when the temple was left abandoned. Similarly, another theory also states that a thief moved the Buddha head away from the main temple in Ayutthaya to hide it. But after moving the stone Buddha head away from the ruined main temple, it is believed that the thief could not move the head beyond the walls surrounding the temple. Instead of that, the stone Buddha head was left by the wall where it got nestled in the tree roots which have grown and entwined around it. 

(Credit: Buddha-heads.com)

Our tour ended with a river cruise along Chao Phraya River back to Bangkok. It wasn't a scenic cruise, but I'd rather do that than take a bus back to the city.

ลาก่อน (la-korn)

P.S. I made a video about my trips from summer 2015 -- 😊