Ayutthaya Sunset Ride

Ayutthaya Sunset Ride is a 3-4 hour bicycle excursion through Ayutthaya ‘by night’. During Ayutthaya Sunset Ride we explore the former capital of Thailand, and UNESCO World Heritage Site, at night.
After sunset, some of the ruins and temples in the ancient capital are beautifully illuminated by spotlights from the ground contrasting with the pitch-black sky. With the explanations of the guide, you can imagine how beautiful Ayutthaya’s temples and how powerful the Thai kings of Ayutthaya were before its destruction by the Burmese army in 1767.
As soon as we have selected a bicycle we ride to the pier where we board a ferry to cross the Pa Sak River. Once we arrived on the other side we cycle through Chao Phrom market, the most famous local market in Ayutthaya.
We then cycle along Chankasem Palace, nowadays a National Museum, the old prison and Hua Ro market before we arrive at Bang Ian Night Market. We park our bicycles and walk over this busy night market with lots of vendors selling clothes and, of course, food! We have our ‘appetizer’ here and get a glimpse of the local nightlife.
The sun has set now and we cross the road to Wat Mahathat, one of the most famous temple complexes in Ayutthaya Historical Park. Wat Mahathat, a royal monastery, once served as the seat of the Sangaraja, the head of the Buddhist monks.
We continue our spectacular evening bike ride and pass Wat Ratchaburana and Wat Phra Ram. Of course we can stop to make some pictures. The next impressive temple where we make a stop is Wat Phra Si Sanphet which was built in several phases in the 15th and 16th century. It was located inside the compound of the Grand Palace and served as a royal chapel.
After the Burmese conquered Ayutthaya the temple was sacked and mostly destroyed; all that remained were the three chedis which contain the ashes of three Ayutthaya kings.
It’s time for our dinner, so we stop at a local restaurant where the guide will order a Thai meal.
After dinner we get on our bike again