Ayutthaya

I got spoiled by my experience in Sukhothai I think.  There was something special about being able to go explore the ruins and not have hundreds of other visitors around, signs pointing you to the big attraction, and numbers for an audio tour plastered onto everything.  Sukhothai was fun because we had a map and occasionally would stumble upon a sign talking about a specific structure or statue but they were unobtrusive.  Ayutthaya was still beautiful though, and it's amazing to think about what these places must have looked like back before they were destroyed.

One of many locked gates

I rented a bike with my new English friend and we took a quick ride around to try to see the temples but they were all closed! Unlike in Sukhothai, the ruins here aren't off in a historical park outside of town, they are all surrounded by stone walls though.  None of them were just a temple structure and a chedi or two, they all had several structures and many statues, and from what I can tell, they almost all charge admission.  We found several which had all the gates closed and locked but finally found one that was open.  It had three huge white chedi's as well as a bunch of other buildings.  One section was still in the process of being restored

Quiet park with bike path and ruins

Ferry boat at the dock

We split up after that as I had to move my bags to another guesthouse and he had to get to Bangkok.  But I went back out in the afternoon and rode around the island.  I found a large park with a few temple ruins and many bike paths, and saw one of the many ferry docks.  Ayutthaya is surrounded by islands and there are ferries all over that will take you between them for just a few baht.  

So this is why they always put handles on my
 'to-go' drinks!  A convenient way to hold a
drink on a bicycle or motorbike.

Tourists can hire elephants for tours

I had heard about a Buddha head in a tree so I headed over to Wat Mahathat.  The head had somehow gotten between the roots long ago an the roots of the tree grew around it.  

This courtyard is surrounded by Buddhas

On my way to dinner I stumbled onto this abandoned and partly torn down house turned art gallery!