say what you will about the burmese, but when they sacked ayutthaya, the 400+ year old capital of thailand in the late 1700's, they knew what they were doing. i'd consider the burmese the sack masters of southeast asia. never mind that the burmese and thais are both buddhists -- statues were smashed, everyone of them, gold was shipped back to burma, and anything that could be burned down was turned to ash. it's kind of sad walking around the once glorious thai capital, so much destruction thanks to their neighbors. i here to this day thai people are still a little sensitive about the matter. i'll try not to raise the subject when i go to myanmar.

today, my one and only full day in ayutthaya, i visited (via bicycle) all the wats that had a khmer-style prang. i love the prang!

wat chai wattanarum

wat phuttai sawan

elephant wrangler

wat phra ram

chedis through window
(wat phra si sanphet)

wat phra si sanphet

broken chedi spire
(wat phra si sanphet)

wat ratchaburana

prang/chedi hybrid
(wat mahathat)

buddha's head swallowed by banyan tree
(wat mahathat)

it was hot though, and my guesthouse doesn't have air conditioning, just a ceiling fan. i don't think the place i'm going next has AC either, pak chong, the closest town to khao yai national park. i like how the tour package tries to sweeten the deal by providing free leech socks. after a few days in the jungle (as much as i love nature, if i am swarmed by blood-sucking bugs, i will raze the whole forest, i don't care if there are wild tigers and elephants still living there), i will go to bangkok. as a matter of fact, bangkok is already within striking distance, just an hour's drive away, but i'm buying my time. i figured after a few nights in bangkok i'll be dying to leave thailand.

guesthouse gecko