Ayutthaya City Culture ride
ThailandBiking · Samut Prakan
“Ayutthaya City Culture” is a 3 hour bicycle excursion that takes you around Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya (Sacred City of Ayutthaya), the Siamese royal capital from 1350 to 1767.
Ayutthaya offered a variety of geographical and economic advantages by the gathering of three rivers, the Chao Phraya, the Pasak, and the Lopburi. From a small fortified island-city, the city grew into a powerful kingdom.
In its heyday, Thai culture and commerce flourished, and lots of foreign merchants resided in the capital, including Dutch, Portuguese, French, English and Japanese. Around 1700, with a population reaching 1.000.000, Ayutthaya was one of the world’s largest cities at that time.
During our Ayutthaya bicycle tour you will get a good impression of the once mighty capital of Siam.
Our first stop is at Pom Phet or “Diamond Fortress”, one of the sixteen fortresses along the city walls of Ayutthaya. Although partially destroyed, the fort still conveys what must have been ancient travelers first impressions of the Kingdom of Siam.
We continue our Ayutthaya bicycle adventure and cycle through local neighborhoods and pass so-called “Roti Road”. Dozens of vendors offer bags of the colorful “Roti Sai Mai”, one of the most famous Thai desserts in Ayutthaya – threads of twirled palm sugar wrapped in a round unleavened bread.
We cycle through the quiet Somdet Phra Srinakarinda Park to Wat Lokaya Sutharam, a Buddhist temple known for its 42-meter-long reclining Buddha statue, which is one of the largest in Thailand. The statue is made out of brick and stucco and is covered in gold leaf.
The tour brings us then to the world-renowned Ayutthaya Historical Park, an UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1991. Here we see the ruins of the old temples. We stop at Wat Phra Sri Sanphet which was the most important temple of Ayutthaya and situated within the Royal Palace grounds.
The next stop is at Wat Mahathat, best known for its photogenic Buddha’s head entwined within the roots of a tree. It is one of the most recognizable images from Thailand and can be found on many post cards and travel books.
After we’ve visited the ruins of Wat Mahathat, it’s time to ride back to Pasak river where we take the ferry and within a few minutes we will be back at our office where the tour ends.
During the trip we make regular stops for sightseeing and to provide you with drinking water/soft drink and a Thai snack.
Anyone able to ride a bicycle can join this tour as it is designed to be enjoyable, educational and fun and is not too demanding on the legs!
