Your base for this sight is the Unesco World Heritage City of Ayutthaya. For travel information on Ayutthaya, read the AsiaExplorers Ayutthaya Travel Guide. For day trips to Ayutthaya, use Bangkok as your base. Read the Bangkok Travel Guide for more information.
Wat Mahathat is one of the most important temples in Ayutthaya. And yet I was challenged to find something worth photographing about it. To me, this is a jumbled pile of rocks and bricks. No doubt, it was badly ruined. The Burmese torched it when they destroyed the city of Ayutthaya back in 1767. Nevertheless, its main chedi was still standing, way up till the time of King Chulalongkorn. Then on 25 May 1904, at 5:00 am, the main chedi fell to the ground and was left lying there in ruins since.
The ruined prangs at Wat Mahathat, as seen on a hot December afternoon.
Wat Mahathat was built by King Borom Ratchathirat I in 1374, to serve as the sacred centre of the capital city. That's because the crypt within is supposed to enshrine the Buddha's relics (hence the name Mahathat, which means Great Relic). The crypt was unearthed in 1956, along with a recovery of a horde of gold dedication items. These are now on display at the Chao Sam Phraya National Museum.
Wat Mahathat is open from 08:30 am to 04:30 pm.
February 2008 Update: I recently get to know a Greek person who has built a very interesting website on Thailand. His name is Nikos Cheimonidis, and his website is called www.thailandbethere.com.
Tours of Thailand
If you are looking for tours in Thailand, contact my tour company, Pristina Tours in Phuket at +66 76 204031. We also have an office in Penang, Malaysia which you can also contact, at +604-2268121. Our staff will be able to assist you for any tours in Phuket, Phi Phi, Krabi, and other places in Thailand. You can also email us at the following email address:
A row of headless Buddhas, either the handiwork of the Burmese troops when they ransacked the city, or latter-day looters.
A collection of ruined chedis at Wat Mahathat.
This Buddha's head in front of Wat Mahathat has appeared in numerous publications on Ayutthaya. It is part of a statue that was damaged when the Burmese destroyed and burned Ayutthaya in 1767.
Ayutthaya Travel Guide
Useful information on the ruins and tourist attractions in Ayutthaya
Hotel Room Price Checker
Before booking a hotel room, make sure you are getting the lowest price for it. Different hotel booking websites offers the same room at different prices. If you stick with one site all the time, you could be paying more for the same room. Now why pay more?
The form below is a Research Engine. It doesn't take bookings. Instead it lets you find the hotel booking website that offers the room you want at the lowest price. You can see and compare what different sites are offering, and then click to choose the one with the best price. Do this, and you're guaranteed to save a whole lot of money on your room reservations!
If you're flying somewhere, use our Flight Checker to compare the rates from different airlines. To use it, enter where you will be flying from, where you will be flying to, your departure date and return date. Select the number of passengers, and then click search.
Our engine will return you a list of possible flights that you can take. You can compare the fare of different airlines for your trip. Click on your selected airline, and we transfer you to the airline website.
AsiaExplorers is researched and written by Timothy Tye. Reasonable care is taken to check and verify the accuracy of the content. AsiaExplorers disclaims responsibility for any inconvenience, mishap, injury or death resulting from following the tips and advice provided directly or indirectly by this website. All pages may be printed out for your own personal, non-commercial use. You may use the information on this website on your blog or website so long as you place a dofollow link back to the page in AsiaExplorers where it appears. Photographs not credited to a third party belong to Timothy Tye and may not be reused in any form unless you are first given permission. Write in to inquire if interested. Third party photographs are governed by their respective licenses. To contact Tim, write to the following email address:
