Ayuttayah

Today we drove from Amphawa north 2.5 hours to Ayuttayah, the most recent of the ancient capitals of Thailand.  It was conquered and pillaged by the Burmese in 1767, the  but the ruins remain and are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Before breakfast in Amphawa, a monk makes his daily route paddling upstream to collect alms from local people.  Our students had an opportunity to give alms to the monk.  The monk takes the food back to the temple and shares with the other monks.

Our students and other hotel guests line up to give alms.

Here is Shanon putting alms (food and flowers) in the monks bowl.

Zach giving alms to the monk.

Adam, Mikayla, Natalie, Shanon, Jordan, Macy, Manoj, Zach, and Dom in front of the ruins at Wat Cha Wattanaram.  This temple was built as a memorial to King Prasat Thong's mother in the Khmer style.  The flooding in 2011 made the temple unstable and access was restricted.  However, we are now able to roam freely throughout the ruins.

The Burmese cut the heads off the Buddha statues throughout the temples during the invasion.  This is the ultimate sign of disrespect in these societies.

Here's the group in front of the central prang of the temple.

Wat Phra Mahathat was one of the most important temples in the ancient capital and is said to enshrine relics of the Buddha himself.  Mikayla, Shanon, Jordan, and Natalie respectfully staying low in front of one of the Buddha heads that had rolled against the base of a fig tree in 1767.  The roots grew around the head and this has become one of the most sacred and respected Buddhist symbols in Thailand.

Some of the students in front of a Buddha image.

We had dinner at a night market in Ayuttayah.  Here Zach and Macy are sampling various grilled organic matter on a stick.

Landon is sampling fried gryllids (crickets).

Dom was in on the entomo-gastronomy.  Many other students felt the peer pressure and tried the insects.

Two species of crickets are in the left and center tray; silkworm pupae are on the right.  Mmmm.

Manoj, Dom, and Adam are waiting for their 30 baht phad Thai to be prepared.

Zach is getting more meat on a stick. We had a great time wandering around the night market sampling all kinds of unusual food items.