In 2499 B.E., Fine Arts Department excavated the evocative ruins at Wat Mahathat and found a cache containing many antiques, precious stones, and especially the Relics of Buddha which was well preserved in the silver and bronze stupas.

Situated atop a rectangular masonry platform, a thirty-five meter high central prang (tower-like spire) is surrounded by four small prangs, which are in turn flanked by eight merus, structures used as crematorium for some royal figures that sit outside the platform perimeter. Originally, paintings decorated the interior walls of the merus, and relief scenes depicting the life of the Buddha covered the exteriors. Buddha image statues also populated the merus, covered in gold. Unfortunately, fragments are all that remain of these decorative elements.

Founded in 1350 by King Ramathibodi I, Ayutthaya grew from a small town with mud walls on an artificial island on the Chao Phraya River into one of the largest, most cosmopolitan cities in Southeast Asia. With only one interruption, when it fell to the Burmese in the mis-16th century, it was the center of Thai power for more than 400 years, its rule extending over the entire Central Plains as well as many areas of the far east and south. The 33 rulers of Ayutthaya adopted the Khmer concept of divine kingship, complete with Brahminic rituals, and built spectacular palaces as well as great Buddhist monuments; most of major remains visitor see today were constructed in the city’s first 150 years. The peak of opulence came in the 17th century, when ships from all over the world sailed up the Chao Phraya to trade and Ayutthaya had a population of more than million. During the reign of King Narai, two French embassies came from the court of Louis XIV and a Thai embassy was sent to Paris. Ayutthaya power began to decline after the death of Narai, and a series of wars ensued with Burma. In 1767, after a 15-month siege, the city fell to an invading army that burned almost every building. Led by the future King Taksin, the Thais finally expelled the Burmese, but Ayutthaya was so thoroughly destroyed that the capital was moved further downriver to Thonburi, then Bangkok. The Ayutthaya Historical Study Center offers an overview of ancient Ayutthaya through models, dioramas and multimedia descriptions of life, culture and buildings. A branch of the Center stands in the former Japanese quarter.

AYATTHAYA contact sheets

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Siam is unquestionably the center of shopping in Bangkok, home to some of the most popular and important shopping centers in Bangkok, like MBK Center, Siam Discovery Center, Siam Center, and Siam Paragon.

This abandoned 49-story skyscraper that bears a touch of Greek-Roman architecture is situated on Charoen Krung Road next to the Chao Phraya River. The building stands tall as part of the view of Bangkok city as if it was a symbol of one of the worst financial crisis Thailand had ever gone through, the 1997 Tom Yum Kung Crisis.