We started the day at Uttaradit by checking out the gym at the hotel. We were curious as Uttaradit is a small town. Hotel Araya was clean and decent but having a gym is an extra point especially for people like us on a road trip.
We did a few round of exercises and I noticed pomelo tree outside the gym. I have never seen a pomelo tree before. And this one even has a few pomelos on it.
Another lunch at gas station food court
We got on the road just a bit after 9. Lunch will be on the road at one of a PTT gas stations. By now me and husband are pretty used to Thai gas station. There are a few names like ESSO, Caltex, Shell, PT and PTT.
PTT gas stations seem to always have a 7 Eleven and clean toilets. So even if we don't need gas, rest room breaks will also take place at gas stations. Our friend, R will check ahead and find out which PTT gas station has food court before we decided to stop for lunch.
Compare to our California road trip, this type of lunch break certainly saves time and money. Because we don't have to go to town for a meal and have a chance to get caught in traffic.
Ayutthaya
This town was chosen because it has lots of historic temples. Ayutthaya was capital of Kingdom of Siam before it was razed by Burmese. According to our friend Rie, a lot of Thai historical dramas are filmed in Ayutthaya.
We got there around 4ish and straight away went to our hotel. After that we went to an old temple Wat Yai Chai Mongkhon. This temple was constructed in 1357 by King U-Thong. The entrance fee supposed to be 20 baht (USD 0.56) but there was nobody there to collect the fee. The ticket counter was closed. Very odd.
The chedi of Wat Yai Chai Mongkhon is one of the landmarks of Ayutthaya. The bell-shaped principal chedi stands on an elevated square base with smaller chedis at the corners. (source : https://www.ayutthaya-history.com/Temples_Ruins_YaiChaiMongkhon.html). One could actually climb up to the chedi. But we didn't do it.
There were rows of Buddha statues in the inner wall. The rows of Buddha statues are newly sculpted to replace the old ones which collapsed through the time.
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