I recently went to Ayutthaya Thailand on a whim. I didn’t know what all was there but I had heard about the old ruins. I figured this would be a great place to get some good photos.

So off I went with my friend Valerie. We found out the van to get out of my town was going to be a two hour wait. So instead of waiting we hopped on the bus to take us to the next town. From there we took another bus to Bangkok.  After arriving in Bangkok we took a taxi. The whole way there our taxi driver annoyingly honked the horn. I had never seen anything like it. It’s one thing to honk your horn, but he just pushed the limits. He would honk even when there was no one around!

It took us 2 and a half hours to get there…imagine hearing a honking horn for two and a half hours and theres nothing you can do about it…

We finally arrived around 8:00 p.m.

That night we went out with several teachers that were meeting up. It was a good time. Even went to a club and compared to my town that was a new form of culture shock. Haha

The next day we got a tuk tuk for 500 baht ( around $15.00) and he took us to all the old ruins around Ayutthaya.

The tour was from 12 to around 4 o’ clock and we saw many types of temples.  At the time I wasn’t sure what I was looking at but knew I had some great photos. There wasn’t much to see at a couple and they just had a feeling of emptiness. I really wondered what happened back in the day. After arriving home and looking up the past I realized that there was a huge massacre and the Burmese attacked and destroyed everything.

When I was walking I still felt the emptiness. It’s amazing how these feelings can still reside decades later.

Here is what I saw.

 

 

 

 

These two pictures show the before and after. What is left standing from the Burmese attack. Monks gathered to find the remains of the shattered bodies. The  remains still have an impact of the massacre that occurred hundreds of years ago. It was really eye opening to see the pride that the people have for the old and the new.

These photos remind me of the role destruction plays in our life. Whether it’s self destruction or destruction from others you can move on and overcome it. It’s amazing how pictures and history can put life into perspective a little more than before.

I don’t know about you, but I can think of many days that I’ve wasted stressing over things that I couldn’t even change. All I know is that I lost many moments of happiness during those times. Our minds become warped and overwhelmed at times but we just have to try and focus on other things, otherwise we will just drown ourselves and those around us in misery.

Your going to get hurt and those moments of hurt will always have a place in your heart, but like these photos show you can create something better and view life with a different point of view.

I am thankful I had the chance to go to visit Ayutthaya and explore all of its beauty. If you ever have a chance to visit it’s well worth the trip.