On July 9, 2002 we went to see the ruins 
of Ayutthaya. There are four periods of 
Thai history and the Ayutthaya period 
lasted for 400 years, 1350-1767. It was 
called the city of temples, as it had 
over 500 of them. Its landmark is the 
three temples where the ashes of three 
kings are buried. It was conquered by the 
Burmese and the city burned for 15 days. 
Many of the bricks of the city were 
transported to the new capitol city of 
Thonburi, which is situated across the 
river from Bangkok. 

These three pagodas, chedis, were built 
to hold the ashes of three kings.

A closeup of one 
of the chedis.

Wat (temple) 
Chaiwatthanaram 
was one of the 
most impressive 
Buddhist 
monasteries.

Another view of Wat Chaiwatthanaram.

Ayutthaya was one of the highlights of my 
trip to Thailand.