Ayutthaya

Ayutthaya is the old capital of Thailand (though Thailand was still Siam at the time). The capital of Siam, Ayutthaya, was destroyed by the Burmese in the late 1700's forcing the government to relocate (to present day Bangkok).

The temples and ruins form a whole little village that you can walk in/through. Reminding myself of how little technology was available in the 1300's, when this Kingdom was built, made the grandeur of Ayutthaya all the more incredible.

There were thousands of Buddha sculptures in Ayutthaya. Some were still fully intact and in pretty good condition.

Most, however, were decapitated. When the Burmese invaded Ayutthaya in the late 1700's they made a point to cut the heads off the majority of these sculptures.

This head was grown over by the roots of a fig tree. Somehow the tree knew not to cover the face.

I didn't consider myself to be much of a history nut, but Ayutthaya was absolutely breathtaking.