Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya in Thailand

In late June 2025, I visited five countries in Southeast Asia: Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore. During the first three days, I toured Vietnam and Cambodia, and on the evening of the third day, I flew from Cambodia to Thailand. It didn’t really take long to travel from Siem Reap to Bangkok because Cambodia is next to Thailand. The flight from Siem Reap to Bangkok took about one and a half hours, so I arrived quickly. I arrived in Bangkok at night and called a taxi using Grab, which is familiar to the Southeast Asian Countries, and took it from the airport to Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya District. I think it took about an hour and a half. The taxi driver was an older woman who wasn’t very skilled at driving, and she occasionally drifted out of the lane on the highway, which caused cars behind her to honk at her, so I was extremely scared of her driving. Moreover, since I arrived late, no one was at the lodging, so I had to call the lodging manager and wait for several tens of minutes until she arrived. Anyway, there were some troubles, but they always became good memories.

Main tourist spots in Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya, where I visited

Phara Nakhon Si Ayutthaya is located in central Thailand, north of Bangkok. It is well known for the Ayutthaya ruins, so I decided to visit there.

Below is the Google Maps of the places I visited in Thailand(Bangkok spots are also included).

Google Maps

1. Wat Mahathat & Wat Rajaburana

I stayed at the hotel in front of these temples, so I visited them as soon as I got up. Due to time constraints, I was only able to go inside Wat Rajaburana, but I could see Wat Mahathat from outside its site. These temples are apparently each built by the Kings between the 14th and 15th centuries. These temples are adjacent to a huge park, and you can relax surrounded by nature.

There were some guides around this park who guided various tourist spots in Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya by Tuk-tuk. I was guided by an elderly man, and it was probably about 3,500 yen in Japanese yen. The guide took me to the rest of the tourist spots introduced below in this blog. Also, the elderly guide was nice and kind.

Wat Mahathat

Wat Rajaburana

2. Wat Phananchung

I think this temple probably moved me the most in Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya. There is an enormous Buddha statue inside the temple and this Buddha statue is covered with gold leaf and extremely magnificent. The Buddha statue stands approximately 19 maters tall, and it was really impressive.

Wat Yai Chai Mongkhon

This temple was built in 1357 for meditation practice, and the large tower was erected in 1592 to commemorate victory in the war against the Burmese army. There is the sleeping Buddha statue, which is interesting.

Wat Lokaya Sutharam

This Buddha statue represents the Buddha who passed away at the age of 80. It is a gigantic Buddha statue measuring 20 meters in length.

Wat Chai Wattanaram

Some theories suggest it was built to commemorate victory in the war with Cambodia, as it resembles Cambodia’s Angkor Wat. I had just been to Cambodia’s Angkor Wat the day before, so I felt that it was very similar to Angkor Wat. It was a really amazing temple.

Wat Phu Khao Thong & King Naresuan Monument

The temple was built by Bayinnaung of Burma when he occupied Ayutthaya in 1568. And there is the King Naresuan Monument near Wat Phu Khao Thong. I don’t know anything about him, but I’m sure he was a famous king.

I’m glad I visited there, and if you go to Thailand, I recommend you visit Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya before going sightseeing in Bangkok.