Ayutthaya, Thailand; Day 3

Today was a bit of a slow moving, discombobulated day for these 5 Adventurers. We were all a little tired from our activity yesterday and from all the Wats and ruins over the last few days.

Ayutthaya has been a tougher stop than Sukhothai. Perhaps because it’s the second ancient capital and we’re less excited. Perhaps because our accommodations feel cramped and in the wrong part of town. Perhaps because around the Ayutthaya Historic Park is a sprawling city doing its city thing. Maybe we got too used to our slow pace of life in Chiang Mai.

Maybe our mojo is off because the tourist infrastructure seems mostly shut down so grabbing a ride or an easy meal is more challenging than we’d like. It seems most tourists are arriving via fancy double decker buses for a day trip from Bangkok so the tourist support is concentrated where those buses go. Whatever the reason, we’re all happy today is our last day here.

But – we figured out how to have a good day anyway. We found De Riva Ayutthaya – a riverfront restaurant for an early lunch. We didn’t sit outside – about 5 minutes after we arrived a rainstorm passed through.

More potential rain scuttled our plans to go 30 minutes south to Bang Pa-in and walk the grounds of the Summer Palace where kings and queens used to spend time each year. So instead we went to a Museum. The groans from the kids when they heard that word were audible all over town, but they changed their mind when we arrived.

It was the Million Toy Museum and although it may not have had quite a million, it had a LOT. It houses the collection of Kirik Yoonpun who was a professor, children’s author and illustrator. He was inspired by a museum in Japan and began collecting toys – from antiques to present day. He also illustrated an impressive mural on the wall. Suaram kept the Adventurers busy with a scavenger hunt for over 30 minutes.

Our other major activity today was at the request of the kids and it was to get back on the river for a dinner cruise. It looked like the weather would be ok, but as we arrived at the dock for departure, heavy rains started again and threatened to dampen our fun.

Luckily it was a short squall and quickly moved south of us. We hopped on the boat to clearing skies, a yummy looking meal and a setting sun.

We passed the same basic route as yesterday, but instead of stopping to visit the Wats and ruins, we enjoyed them from the boat. We also got a rainbow – very cool and a good end to the day.