{"id":2313,"date":"2019-05-14T17:45:36","date_gmt":"2019-05-15T00:45:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sandysglobaleyes.blog\/?p=2278"},"modified":"2019-05-14T17:45:36","modified_gmt":"2019-05-15T00:45:36","slug":"thailand-ayutthaya-wats-elephants-floating-markets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sandysglobaleyes.blog\/?p=2313","title":{"rendered":"Thailand\u2014AYUTTHAYA Wats, Elephants, Floating Markets!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

April 16th 2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is so much to see and experience in Thailand. Today was another day filled with adventure\u2014tasting new Thai food, checking out a \u201cfloating\u201d market, observing elephants used in the tourist trade, and exploring the area north of Bangkok where my son has been working for the past 5 1\/2 years! We drove the 80+ km north from Bangkok to Ayutthaya in about an hour and 10 minutes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
En route to Ayutthaya\u2014past the university <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Although Benz and Alexander have both worked in Ayutthaya, this was our first visit to the former, historic capital city of Thailand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
PhakWan restaurant <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

First we stopped for lunch at a favorite location for many Thai locals called PhakHwan restaurant. Alexander and Benz were excited to order various Thai dishes for us to try\u2014 and were careful not to exceed our spice tolerance \ud83d\ude09\ud83e\udd75. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
PhakHwan restaurant for lunch! <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Next we headed toward the Wat Phra Si Sanphet to explore the historic area of Thailand\u2019s original capital city. As we approached this area I witnessed my first tourist trade elephants lumbering along the sidewalks and roads complete with painted flowers and decorations, blankets, drivers, bench chairs, umbrellas and tourists. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Ayutthaya tourist elephant rides <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I was quite shocked to see that this still occurred, yet curious to view the elephants. They were walking right near vehicles and often in really noisy locations. The elephants wore designs created with gold and colorful paint. The \u201cchairs\u201d and umbrellas were strapped around them with ropes and harnesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
This elephant came walking toward us! <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When we were walking along the sidewalk an elephant carrying 3 people, plus all the decorative gear, started walking towards me. Initially I was fascinated by the beautiful animal. But as it got close I felt wary, as I could feel it\u2019s agitation! It actually stopped to eat some grass and rock for awhile\u2014much to its drivers dismay. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Dedication to the beauty of the elephants <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I found myself feeling emotionally concerned and uncomfortable. I know there is growing objection to the tourist elephant ride trade. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Elephants everywhere around this area <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I would predict this means of transportation will decrease (possibly end) within the next decade or so…. We walked past the parade of elephants and explored the historic city of Ayutthaya then Wat Phra Si Sanphet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As usual it was hot and humid! Hats, sunscreen, rash shirts and hand fans were in order! The ruins were fascinating. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Peaceful historic area<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The dogs dug holes in the grass and dirt to keep cool. Gardeners swept the historic pavers with their traditional grass brooms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Enjoying the tranquility <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Birds sang and tourists explored. The contrast between the ruins of the ancient Wat and the new structure was interesting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Wat Phra Si Sanphet <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We took a peek inside the new Wat too. The Yellow flags, decorations, and Portraits are to acknowledge and show respect to the King of Thailand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Wat Phra Si Sanphet <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Next we headed off to a floating market in Ayutthaya only to discover more tourist elephants adjacent to the market. This time we saw where they were held. One Elephant Which was dressed up ready for the \u201cperformance \u201c shared her stall with her baby. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Floating Market at Ayutthaya <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Although the baby didn\u2019t have to carry anybody, it was regularly touched and patted by tourists. I understand that this industry supports many Thai people, but I prefer to see these majestic, intelligent mammals living in freedom. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Onward to the markets. This was my first floating market experience! Benz, as a Thai citizen, entered free… we each were charged 60-70 Baht. It included a canal ride and some entertainment (which we just missed!). The canal ride in the long tail boat was enjoyable and provided a good sense of the market layout. At one spot people were feeding massive catfish. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Ayutthaya Fliating markets \u2014boat ride <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Although the boats were not lined up like Canadian fishing boats several a breast, they were parked along the dock and each boat was filled with their unique wares.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Examples of products at the market<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We explored trying rice wine, eating sugar cane and coconut products, viewing the famous snake head fish and getting another perspective of this amazing culture from Benz and local merchants. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Homeward bound… A visit to Western Digital where Alexander is a design engineer. The place is enormous with more than 30,000 employees and a massive parking lots for all its buses. En route I loved observing the street lights and road side stalls which are always interesting to view. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Who has time to sleep in the car? We heading to Chiang Mai next! <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

April 16th 2019 There is so much to see and experience in Thailand. Today was another day filled with adventure\u2014tasting new Thai food, checking out a \u201cfloating\u201d market, observing elephants used in the tourist trade, and exploring the area north of Bangkok where my son has been working for the past 5 1\/2 years! We […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[109,272,275],"class_list":["post-2313","post","type-post","status-publish","format-gallery","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-asia","tag-thailand","tag-travel","post_format-post-format-gallery"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandysglobaleyes.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2313","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandysglobaleyes.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandysglobaleyes.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandysglobaleyes.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandysglobaleyes.blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2313"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sandysglobaleyes.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2313\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandysglobaleyes.blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2313"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandysglobaleyes.blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2313"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandysglobaleyes.blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2313"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}