Ayuthaya and the Elephant Ride!

Today was one of those days that was hard to break down to even 7 photos.

Bonnye and Jim worked from home (as they did yesterday) so Greg, Addi and I went about an hour outside of Bangkok to the old capital city of Siam- Ayuthaya. The city was sacked, looted and destroyed by the Burmese in the 17 hundreds, including the beheading of most of the Buddha statues. It's tough to explain this kind of thing to a contemplative three year old who believes grown ups are nice unless they are the Grinch whose heart just needs to grow three sizes.

We rented a tuk-tuk for a few hours and scooted around from ruin to ruin. They are too far apart to walk so I highly recommend it. Not to mention it's a great excuse to ride in a tuk-tuk!

We offered incense and lotus flower at the giant reclining Buddha, and Addi's whispered wish was "I wish, I wish...I love mommy and daddy and Tio and Tia". I love that she never actually wishes for things but rather proclaims her love for something(s).

We saw the most famous Ayuthaya image of the Buddha head resting in the tree roots. It is interesting to notice that in a city filled with headless Buddha statues, one of the few heads to be found is cradled in this way...with the body having never been found.  We also climbed more than 70 steep steps up a temple that was half Burmese style and half Thai to find a little door leading you through a tiny claustrophobic tunnel that hid a glittering shrine deep inside.  I kept waiting for the little door to slam shut, trapping us inside...but it never happened.  I would write the names of all of these sites but there are sooo many letters....apologies to the history lovers.

We wrapped up the day with an elephant ride which was amazing fun. We rocked back and forth as the giant beast lumbered through the streets. We got to feed one cucumbers and let me tell you...that trunk has some strong grippers!

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