Pang Pa Inn Palace, Ayutthaya

Ayutthaya province is one of the destinations that most visitors put it on the travel list. Due to Ayutthaya province located not to far from Bangkok which means you could also travel as a day tour if you have not much time plan while visit Thailand. However we would like to suggest this place to be on your travel list as it is one of the historical places in Ayutthaya instead of Ayutthaya historical site with the old ruins of the temples and the ancient city.

Pang Pa Inn Palace located on the Chao Phraya River bank which separate a bit from the main Chao Phraya River, it first built in Ayutthaya Period and was abandoned after got the 2nd lost from the Burmese War. Until King Rama 4th of Thailand had reconstructed the palace again and used as the reception palace for all Kings and Queens from abroad such as The Queen from the Netherland, The Queen from Denmark, Elizabeth the Queen of England as well as the Royal Family from Japan. There are 7 important spots to visit in Pang Pa Inn Palace. The famous one would be the memorial statue  of Queen Sunant aKumareerat, the queen of King Rama 5thof Thailand who passed away from the shipwreck with her 2 children which you could see the memorial statue in the palace area. This palace became the memorial of love for King Rama 5th to his wife and his children since then.

Now a day, the palace opens for the visitors as well as Thai and foreigners to visit in Ayutthaya to learn about the history, enjoy with the beautiful architect as well as taking photos. It opens daily from 8am -4pm. Visiting to this place we have to dress properly as it is as the palace, please.

If you have limit of time, you could choose a day visit to Ayutthaya province and Pang Pa Inn Palace. However  you have more time and love travelling on road to see things on the way, we would suggested 6-7 days trip starts from Bangkok to Chiang Mai or from Chiang Mai to Bangkok to cover all the interesting places which include Ayutthaya and Pang Pa Inn Palace as well.

Umong Temple, Chiang Mai.

Chiang Mai is well known as one of the city with many temples because every 10 to 20 meters when you walk in Chiang Mai city itself, you could find the temples line up along the roads. As for Thailand people mainly are Buddhist people. However many people when visit in Chiang Mai, they always target on the main city temples which are famous and well known in town. Our blog today is going to tell you about one of the unseen temple which located not to far from the old town. The temple called “ Umong Temple” ( Umong means the tunnel) located on the west side of the old town on the foot hill of Doi Suthep mountain. With the lovely atmosphere as it located in the forest area that  you could walk around. The temple was built in 1297 by King Mengrai. In the temple ground, you could find the Replica of Ashok Pillar as in India for the Buddhist to show the establishment of the Buddhism by the Lanna dynasty’s king, Phraya Mengrai. The main building you could visit and walk around are the bell shape pagoda with the lotus shape decorated on the top of the tunnel. This is very beautiful and peaceful area. This temple is also the place where the people could spend their time for meditation as well as. Beneath the pagoda, there is the tunnel with the Buddha images. Also walking in the deepest part of the tunnel, you could see the ancient mural painting on the ceiling of the tunnel. If you have a chance, visiting in the morning, you could also see the monks leave the temple for the alm offering and would return back to the temple before 8am for their breakfast and to continue their praying and meditation or leaning about the Buddhism for the monks’ routine. If you love the calmness and the peacefulness, we would recommend this temple for your visit.