Golden Buddha in Ayutthaya

The ancient town of Ayutthaya

The town of Ayutthaya is a great place to visit for a few days if you feel like resting from the nonstop buzz of Bangkok.
Ayutthaya is a small town surrounded by three rivers and it once was the state capital of the Kingdom of Thailand, only a 76 km train ride away from Bangkok.

 

Train from Bangkok to Ayutthaya

 

It’s a picturesque 1.5-hour train ride that only costs 15THB in 3rd class, on an old train filled with Thais of all ages. The train passes through sugarcane fields, small villages, temples, rice paddies, and plains.

Being dry season we got to do the entire trip with windows opened, feeling the breeze in our faces, smelling the dust from the land, and listening to birdsongs. We reached Ayutthaya painted in black freckles from the dust.

 

Comboio





If you need a snack during the trip, there will be enough vendors with food and drinks to sell at every stop. Some inside the train and others from the outside, through the windows.

As soon as we got to Ayutthaya train station, a flock of tuk-tuk drivers started touting to every tourist in sight, including us.

– Sir, Tuk-tuk? Where are you from? Where are you going?

 

From the train station to the city

To get into town, you need to cross the bridge or get a boat (4THB).
Stubbornly, we decided to decline every tuk-tuk offer, taxi, and boat crossing opportunity, and did it all by foot, carrying 4 backpacks under intense heat, at 12:00 PM. Did we mention the dry season? Yeah.

We ended up walking for 40 minutes until we found our hostel: One Baan Love.

 

Ayutthaya Temples entrance fee (2023)

Even though it is free to enter the Historical Park, there’s an entrance fee at almost every temple in Ayutthaya. So the alternatives are: buying a full ticket for 220 Bahts that grants you access to 6 temples:

• Wat Phra Si Sanphet,
• Wat Chai Wattanaram,
• Wat Phanan Choeng,
• Wat Phra Mahathat
• Wat Ratburana

Or you can pay 20 to 50 Bahts at the entrance of each temple.
We decided not to buy the full ticket and chose the ones we wanted to get in.

 

Nuno and Mario at Phra Si Sanphet in Ayutthaya

 

As in any other Buddhist temple, you’ll need to dress appropriately: no daisy dukes, bikini tops, or bare shoulders. Ladies, you should wear something appropriate as well.

 

Reclining Buddha Wat Lokayasutharam in Ayutthaya Thailand

 

All temples open for visits at 8 AM, some of them close at 4:30 PM, others at 6 PM.
Tip: if you want to enjoy some of the temples for yourself, visit them at launch hours (12:00 PM to 2:30 PM). Wear sunscreen.

 

Temple in Ayutthatya

 

The temples are designed in Khmer style and most of them are in really bad shape, mainly because of the Burmese destruction back in the day: Buddha sculptures were beheaded and many stones were stolen.

 

Regardless of all that, the ruins of the ancient town of Ayutthaya are impressive!
You can understand their original size and architectural detail in the mockups at the entrances.

 

A mockup model of a temple in Ayutthaya

 

Some of the sites were under conservation and restoration work to repair the damages caused by the floods in recent years.

 

Phra Si Sanphet in Ayutthaya

 

The temples are solid and tower-like, so even though you can climb the stairs on some, you cannot go inside. Also, some stupas are closed to the public. We were only able to visit the stupa of Wat Phu Khao Thong.

 

In two days we managed to visit:

• Wat Choeng Tha
• Wat Phu Khao Thong
• Wat Na Phra Men
• Wat Lokayasutharam
• Wat Thammikarat
• Wat Phra Si Sanphet
• Wat Chai Wattanaram
• Wat Ratburana

And left a whole lot to see.

 

Ayutthaya Wat Chai Wattanaram

 

Looking back, we should’ve spent more than 2 days in Ayutthaya. The sunsets at Wat Chaiwatthanaram are incredible and we wouldn’t mind the opportunity to see one more.

 

 

Riding a bicycle around town

The majority of the temples are in the central part of town, so to reach the further temples, we rented 2 bicycles for 40THB each.

P.S- You can find even cheaper bikes if you rent them out of the city center.

 

Mario on a bycicle near a temple in Ayutthaya

 

Is fairly easy to rent a bicycle anywhere in Southeast Asia, plus the flat terrains and the great weather makes them the best affordable choice to move around.

Ayutthaya, being way less popular than Bangkok is also less touristy

There is less accommodation to choose from and a bit more expensive than the capital. Restaurants do not abound, especially if you come from the jumble of street food in Bangkok—but prices are quite similar. If you get out of the temple area, you can have a good meal for 35THB.

In our quest to find food, we crashed a local graduation party in an open sports field packed with food stalls and teenagers. We were hungry and new in town. Don’t judge.
While we were waiting in line to get food, some locals approached us and asked to take some photos with them. Maybe the sight of two tall, bearded dudes in the middle of a high school graduation party seemed funny to them.





Speaking of locals

All the interactions we had were kind and genuine without the ulterior motives you can’t help to feel in Bangkok.
Also in several places, we found warnings about stray dogs that like to jump at people. We never had any problems, probably because our legs are too skinny for them to bother.
If you must, use your tourist sword to scare them away — a selfie-stick can be a powerful weapon — use it wisely.

 

Dogs immitate Buddha?

 

Ayutthaya travel expenses (daily average for 1 person)

Breakfast: € 2,06
Meals: € 1,35
Water: € 0,20
Hotel: € 9€ (Private double room)
Bicycle rent: € 0,64
Train: € 0,58 (Two way trip to Bangkok)

 

If you have any questions or some extra info everybody can benefit from, please leave it down in the comments!


Taking the public bus to the White temple

The White Temple (Wat Rong Khun) is located 13km from Chiang Rai center, so you’re going to need some sort of transportation to get there. The distance and busy roads don’t make the bicycle a viable option, and the 300 TBH charged by taxis and songthaews is a bit too much.

That makes the public bus the cheapest alternative and more convenient transport.

 

Catching the Public Bus to the White Temple

We walked to Chiang Rai Bus Terminal 1 (in the city center, near the night bazaar) to find a bus that could take us to our destination. As we arrived at the bus station, we came across a rickety old blue bus with a tarpaulin saying “White Temple” on it.

…Well, that was easy!

 

Public blue bus to Wat Rong Khun

Public bus to White Temple

Banner on the blue bus

 

The big banner and the ticket revisor kept confirming that was the “only bus to the White Temple” which made us a bit suspicious. But after seeing several locals buy the ticket at the station kiosk and getting on the bus, we took a chance and did the same.

 

Bus timetable to the White Temple (2020)

Mornings: 06:15 – 07:10 – 08:10 – 09:10.
From 
10:00 AM to 2:00 PM there’s a bus every 30 minutes.
Afternoons: 14:35 – 15:10 – 15:45 – 16:20 – 17:00

Cost: 20 Baht, one-way trip.
Duration: 20 minutes.

The bus was old and worn out but filled with character, and definitely worth the trip! From the weird proportions and rickety noises to the dashboard decorations made of Buddhist memorabilia, and every happy meal toy under the sun.

 

Old Thai bus interior

 

The revisor lady from before proved to be quite helpful by waving at us at the nearest bus stop to the White Temple: a generic spot just off Highway 1 (Phahonyothin Road), that we wouldn’t be able to identify on our own.

On the opposite side of the road, a few meters ahead were the grounds of the Wat Rong Khun.

 

Robot Sculpture Wat Rong Khun

 

White Temple info

Opening hours: from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM, closes at mid-day for an hour.
Entrance fee: Foreigners pay 100 Baht.  Admission for Thai nationals is free. 

Dress code: shoulders and knees must be covered, and as always, shoes must be taken off before entering the main temple.

You’ll need at a minimum, an hour for the visit.

 

Understanding the Art and History of the White Temple (Wat Rong Khun)

If you’re traveling around Thailand and are tired of visiting temples by now, suck it up and don’t miss this one — it’s one of Chiang Rai’s most visited attractions for a reason!

 

White temple bridge details

 

The lavishly decorated temple is unlike anything we saw around Thailand. Every element was consciously designed by the artist Chalermchai Kositpipat and is full of symbolism.

 


On the bridge leading to the temple, you’ll find depictions of the anger, suffering, and worldly temptations that you’ll have to leave behind to find happiness.

 


The temple is white to represent the purity of the Buddha, and the glistening intricate mirror work embedded on the plaster is there to reflect his wisdom to the world.

 

Wat Rong Khun

 

The interior of the main temple is all gold (and much smaller than it appears to be). On the back walls are paintings of pop culture reference like Hello Kitty, Spider-Man, the Terminator, and George W. Bush. These represent life without faith, they’re the false heroes incapable of saving the world from war and destruction.

On the walls in the front, where the altar is, you’ll see paintings of humans flying freely through the clouds. These represent the people who followed Buddha’s teachings and achieved peace. Sorry for the lack of pictures, but taking photos is not allowed in the main building.





The site grounds

On the outside of the temple is a canopy of prayer plates and by walking under it you’ll reach the meditation hall, the famous golden restroom, the art gallery, and the museum. 

 

Canopy of prayer plates

Prayer plates at Wat Rong Khun

Predator sculpture

 

The museum is dedicated to the works of Chalermchai Kositpipat: many of his works are a satirical commentary on international politics and the destruction of the planet.

The temple site is still under construction and expanding. Only by 2070, the artist complete vision will be finished.

 

White buddha

Esculpture at the Golden bathroom

 

In front of Wat Rong Khun is a small area with cafes, restaurants, and shops.

 

About the Artist Chalermchai Kositpipat

Bus back to Chiang Rai

Head back towards the highway where you got off the bus and find a wooden pergola/ bus stop on the opposite side. Hail to the first bus you see (every half hour-ish). The trip back is a further 20 THB.

 

Bus Stop Wat Rong Khun

 

If you have any questions or new info to share about buses to the White Temple, leave it in the comments below.