#You would be amazed by how many dolls I find headless

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Today I bought a bag of random weird toys from My local thrift store into ojoy it has 3 dismembered dollheads!!!!

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It’s Time for 2017′s LILITH & FATHERHOOD Updates!

Every year, BPAL and Trading Post founders Elizabeth and Ted Barrial look back over the past year in their daughter Lilith's life, isolating moments and sense memories worthy of enshrining in scent. This year, the result amounts to thirty-five unique, limited edition blends. Behold: ++ FATHERHOOD 2017 ++ LILITH 2017 Happy ninth birthday, Lilith! These will be available at tonight's Lunacy event at the Lab, and for a limited time beyond.

++ LILITH 2017

Lilith, my angel, I love you with all my heart. I love the hiccup’ing snorts of your bellylaugh, I love the strange stormy grey of your eyes. I love your fart jokes and your songs, I love our late night talks. I love everything about you, from your taste in shoes to your moral fiber. I love your kindness and your strength of character, I love your sense of humor and your sense of justice.

I love you, I love being your mom.

Happy birthday, Lilith. ADMETE

On the last day of school, some of the families get together at the beach to celebrate the onset of summer break. It was cold, grey, and overcast, but that was hardly daunting for this little Oceanid. Lilith and her friends splashed and played in water I couldn’t put a toe into. She boogie boarded for the first time that day and fell in love. The beach bunny I have now is a far cry from the Tiny Virgo who wouldn’t go near the sand because she didn’t want her Doritos to get dirty.

Driftwood and sea salt submerged in a marine layer, a touch of sweet carnation, bright neroli, and a sandy strip of kelp.

APOCALYPTIC HORSEPRINCESS

Lilith has always enjoyed the company of monsters. She grew up at Dark Delicacies, and two of her favorite toys when she was a baby were a Freddy Krueger rubber mask and a matching Freddy doll (with razor hands that were blunted by Grandma Sue so Lil didn’t poke an eye out). She has fears just like any other kid, but her monster friends help protect her from “real life” dangers. When she gets scared late at night, we talk about her ghost friends that roam the house, the vampires that live in our basement, the werewolves that hang out in the yard, the zombies that keep spare brains in our garage freezer, and all the other monsters (imaginary monster friends?) that love her and keep her safe from “real world” dangers. When we vend at horror-centric conventions, the monsters are always so nice to Lilith. At Midsummer Scream, she gets tons of high-fives from shambling ghouls and radioactive plant horrors, and she gets hugs from demented clowns and slobbering werebeasts.

Ever since Lilith was in kindergarten, we’ve helped with her school’s Halloween party, so she’s grown up loving setting up and working in haunted houses and horror mazes.

This photo is from this year’s Midsummer Scream. Lilith was inspecting a headless horseman scene, getting ideas for this year’s Halloween maze.

Crushed mint and neon lime, sour candy powder, and wild plum.

BABY’S FIRST CON PANEL

On July 20th, Lilith went to her first SDCC panel. As a carny kid and the tiniest Lab Rat, she’s been to tons of cons and events, and we’ve been taking her to San Diego Comic Con since birth. While she’s always had a good time, this was the first year that she was independently invested in her enjoyment there. She tore up the vending area, played video game demos, went looking for Arthas’ ice cream shop, and sat through several panels of her choosing. It was an experience that was truly /hers/ for the first time, and that was a really amazing piece of magic that I was privileged to witness.

The scent of the soft pretzel we hid in our backpack, plus a bit of leftover chocolate chip cookie.

BRUNCH WITCHES

Dressed in her witchy best for brunch with the fam!

Pumpkin pancakes and berries in cream.

CEMETERY CREEP

This summer, Brian got married at the Mountain View Mausoleum. As a side benefit, the Barrials got to spend hours skulking around its beautiful, cavernous halls in the weeks leading up to the event. Lilith loves the vast quietness of the mausoleum almost as much as she enjoys playing tag in the cemetery, and wandered the halls doing impromptu math equations to figure out how old people were when they passed.

I love this little cemetery creep with all my cobwebby heart.

Marble-white musk, orris root, and vanilla blossom.

CLOSET RAID

Funny how much better Lilith looks in my clothes than I do! This is the scent of generations of children raiding their parents’ closets: my grandmother and mother’s Chanel No. 5, my father and grandfather’s Lilac Vegetal, my Snake Oil, and Lilith’s lavender blossoms.

DANCING AMONG THE TOMBS

Autumn at Lilith’s favorite cemetery, Lafayette No. 1.

Osmanthus and jasmine, Spanish moss and dandelion, Snake Oil and Dorian.

DAYBREAK

Just a photo of Lilith and Pickle that I took one morning. I love this little human so, so much.

Last night’s lavender drops and a whiff of Pickle’s vanilla coconut pupper shampoo.

DO ALL THE GOOD YOU CAN

Lilith has been involved with our humanitarian and philanthropic work for several years, helping with fundraising events like our food, toy, and feminine napkin drives; she has taken the initiative a few times now, setting up her own fundraisers for the UNHCR and Pasadena Humane Society. This year, we decided that she’s old enough to do the footwork, and she volunteered with us twice in serving those currently experiencing homelessness. This photo is from Christmas Day 2017: Lilith spent several hours helping us distribute food, toiletries, and sleeping bags in Hollywood.

Madagascar vanilla and sweet patchouli with Yule pine, white fig, and almond blossom.

DO YOU LIKE CLOWNS?

Lilith has been watching Drag Race with me since she was teething, and she has worked with us at every Drag Con. She loves filming promo videos with Tom for the Nobodies events. She loves watching drag makeup tutorials, UNHhhh, and Alaska’s videos, and one of her goals in life is to pull off a reveal like Violet Chachki’s tartan runway look on the first day of school. So when she heard that Bob the Drag Queen was looking for a little girl for a comedy video, she was all over it. She loves Bob, she loves drag, and she loooooooooves being a big funny ham on stage. I’m the worst stage mom in all of Los Angeles history, and she has no headshots and no reel—so I sent over a funny photo of Lilith jetlagged and one of her Nobodies vids, and somehow she got the gig. It was one of the best days of her life. Bob and the crew were incredibly nice and friendly, and Lilith had the time of her life. To say thank you, she drew this picture for Bob of the two of them together on a bus bench.

Raspberry ice cream and a smear of black cherry lip gloss.

EGO SUM LUX MUNDI

Doing her work at the grotto, the International Shrine of St Jude at Our Lady of Guadelupe Chapel in New Orleans.

Frankincense and myrrh with golden amber, green apple pulp, and white pear.

GAS MASKS AND SNAILS AND PUPPY DOG TAILS

My offspring loves crossbows, gas masks, and kittens. She loves unicorns and rainbows and rhinestones and glitter, insects and Spongebob and fart jokes and whoopee cushions. She has a Nerf arsenal that would make her great-great-great-great-great (so many greats) Grandpa Attila proud, and a sea of big-eyed, rainbow-poofy plushies you could (probably literally) drown in. She loves fashion dolls as much as she loves anatomical models, Legos as much as she loves jewelry, and Hamlet as much as she loves My Little Pony. I love the diversity of her interests, and that—over the years—she is finding peace with loving what she loves, regardless of what anyone else might think.

Cotton candy and jellybeans with sugar cookie crumbles and vanilla frosting.

THE GODDESS OF MISCHIEF

Lilith has a ton of empathy for the God of Mischief. I think many kids identify with Loki because they know what it’s like to be passed over, to be ignored in favor of a shinier relative or friend, and what it feels like to not be as strong or powerful as some of your peers. He may be evil(ish), but he has a sense of humor and a grasp of irony that kids relate to, and that’s worth its weight in Alfheimian gold nuggets.

Thor is great and all, but Loki has /gone through some shit/, and Lilith respects that.

But what are the main reasons why Lilith digs Loki? “He looks like me, and he’s really funny.”

Girl!Loki costume by Chrissy Lynn!

White lavender and sweet amber, green oudh, and inky musk.

HECK ON WHEELS

Sometimes I make a perfume just because I love this kid. Red velvet confetti cupcakes and bubblegum.

HUNTRESS

This was the day that we discovered that Lilith was likely a sharpshooter crossbowman in another life. She was startlingly accurate, even with the handicap of using a clumsy carnival weapon.

Funnel cakes, baked apples, and strawberry cream.

LITTLE PHOTOJOURNALIST

Lilith Barrial, budding photojournalist, at the Cathedral-Basilica of St. Louis, King of France, New Orleans, LA. She’s been snapping photos since she was a toddler; we have whole photo albums of blurry photos of shoes and pavers from those days. She loves taking her powder pink instax on trips, and loves to document playdates with her friends.

Cathedral incense and rock candy.

PAYING HER RESPECTS

Lilith’s annual visit to St. Louis Cemetery No. 1.

Star jasmine and tobacco leaf.

PEW! PEW!

There is nothing that sparks joy for me quite like sharing something I love with Lilith. She’s been playing console games with me on and off since she was five, though she took a break from Diablo for a while after Brian bailed on her to chase after a treasure goblin.

Blue raspberry slushy, a bowl of strawberries, and microwavable popcorn.

POKE!

On December 30th, Lilith went with a gaggle of her Grownups, her plush alligator, Crocky (there’s a story there), and one of her besties, Camilla, to get their ears pierced by the wonderful people at Studio City Tattoo. When the needle went through, she didn’t scream and she didn’t cry… she growled “FFFFFFFFFffFFfffFfffFffffffffffaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh” in an attempt to repress the impulse to yell FUCK in the middle of the tattoo shop. Tom and I got new piercings in solidarity, but Crocky, Teddy, and Brian all declined.

Coconut and red currant, red musk, and a pop of surgical steel. POTAMIDES

Thanks to the much-needed winter rains this year, my little river nymph was finally able to see the creeks in Eaton Canyon as something other than dry, fawn-beige, tumbleweed-strewn strips of sandwash. In the past, she’s always been ambivalent about hiking, but something about the rushing streams and sparkling waters enchanted her, and she fell in love.

Honeysuckle and honey, water lilies and white sage.

THE SPECTRAL FLOWER GIRL

The ghosts swarm.

They speak as one

person. Each

loves you. Each

has left something

undone...

With love to Rae Armantrout for the poem. Black lilies, red roses, and baby’s breath.

Lilith has been taking kiddo Shakespeare classes for the past four years, and absolutely loves them. Last year, they did a mini-series focusing on Julius Caesar, King Lear, and the Tempest. The kids analyze the plays, and perform scenes from them; then, at the end of the cycle, they put together a play of their own based on the themes in the works of Shakespeare that they have studied. Their play this time around was entitled Evil Bunny.

STORYBOARD: JULIUS CAESAR

Lilith performed as Marc Antony, and showed off her orator skills. Hearing Lilith speak at Caesar’s funeral gave me the chills. She came to bury Caesar, not to praise him.

Macerated myrrh, rose petals, and iris with frankincense and a splash of blood.

STORYBOARD: THE TEMPEST

Lilith played Ariel and Miranda, and said she liked playing Miranda more. She said it’s easy to relate, because her mom is a lot like Prospero.

I’m still trying to figure out whether that’s a compliment or an insult.

Ivy and lime rind, marigold and moss.

NYC SNOWBALL FIGHT

Last winter, we took Lilith to New York for the first time. We were en route to the march in Washington, DC, with our friends, and made a few pit stops on the way. This photo was taken a split second before I got snowballed in the face at the East 72nd Street Playground. The handsome devil in the background is one of Lilith’s best friends in the world, Kyle.

Snowballs and vanilla ice cream.

VALUABLE, POWERFUL, DESERVING

In a hotel in Baltimore, Lilith helped me color in my sign for the Women’s March in DC. She had made her own two signs — brimming with Girl Power and featuring a unicorn, of course — but finished in time to help me get mine all dolled up.

There are many criticisms of the march that are valid, but I will tell you this: being able to show my daughter thousands upon thousands of people that were demanding a government built on justice, compassion, and acceptance was something incredibly powerful. The experience she had meeting other children who were there in the hopes of a kinder, brighter future was invaluable. It was a pivotal moment, this ability to demonstrate for her /how to show up/ and how to /work/ for a better country and a better future for marginalized and under-represented groups. It was incredible being there in Washington with her, and I will never forget it. I hope this experience helped to reveal her own inner strength to her, and the strength she can find in her allies.

Golden amber, vanilla oudh, and orange blossom.

VAMPIRE PRINCESS

Last Halloween, Lilith wanted to be Maleficent, so we hooked her up with a Maleficent costume. The horns were imbalanced, though, and she was frustrated, so she decided to wear the rest of the costume—sans horns—and be a vampire. She looked amazing (in my motherly opinion), but when the time came to trick or treat, her voluminous skirts and flowing cape made it difficult for her to keep up with the other kids. We tried knotting it, hiking it up, everything…and in the end, she vowed never to wear another costume that she can’t run and jump in.

Blood musk and lavender with bourbon vanilla, plum oudh, black patchouli, and Romanian wildflowers.

WINTER AT THE CAPITOL

It was a cold, cold day, and a thick fog obfuscated everything. It was tremendously symbolic in myriad ways.

It’s funny. Lilith was two months old when Obama was elected, and I remember how I felt that night as the election returns were coming in. When his presidency was announced, it was like a fist surrounding my heart unclenched, and I could breathe again. With Lilith in my arms, I inexplicably wept with relief, suddenly believing with all my heart that she was safe, and that her future—all of our futures—were on a trajectory of kindness and justice buoyed by hope. The country is flawed and imperfect, but we were on our way to making things right.

Then November of 2016 happened, and in January, a thick fog descended on the National Mall and the fist clamped around my heart again.

++ FATHERHOOD 2017

Expressing my love for Lilith in words will always be hard for me because my skill set does not include this word-and-spelling thing. At least I know that I am on the right track when I have to stop because I am crying. Here goes nothing… Happy ninth birthday, Lilith. You are the best part of me and Elizabeth, you are my partner in crime, you are my best little friend, you are my love and joy and I treasure every single second that we spend together. I do my best not to, but sometimes, I cry when I think about how much I love you. I would do anything to shield you from the sadness of the world and it hurts to see shed any tears.. Every so often, I have this huge fear of you outgrowing me and not needing me. It is usually during those times when you run off with your friends and I find myself standing there alone. I am afraid that you might have moved on from your dad but, thankfully you still return and ask me to join in and play with you. I will forever cherish these moments. I love the time we share while we are walking and you reach out to hold my hand. As I have always said, as long as you want, I will continue to hoist you up on my shoulders. You might be getting a little heavy to carry but I promise I will carry you down the aisle for your wedding if you ask me to. I know that you might not realize it now but I hope that when you are a woman, you will look back at your ninth year and remember it with happiness and joy because I sure will. All my love, Daddy THE PILLORY Captain Lilith is a harsh taskmaster and her first mate has been put him up for public humiliation. His crime must have been not making her buttered pasta fast enough. Can he escape? Will people come by and throw tomatoes at him? Caramelized rum ice cream with a splatter of berries. SPINNING ON GRAVES Late at night, as you walk through a dark and creepy cemetery, all is quiet except for the giggling of two kids: one is eight and one is fifty-eight. They are standing in the middle of the tombstones; the bigger kid is spinning the little kid around by her arms. They spin and spin and then fall down laughing. What could be more fun than falling down on people’s graves? Dorian and lavender mist, crushed grass, cypress leaf, and a drop of clove. 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 Lilith “All-Night Party Bean” Barrial begged us to allow her to stay up past midnight and ring in the New Year at the Los Angeles Zoo with her oldest friend Novi. How could we refuse? We all danced, we sang, we drank apple cider, and we partied all night long. They would have stayed until the dawn if the zoo had not kicked us out. You know what they say, you don’t have to go home but the monkeys want you to leave. Vanilla cake with sprinkles and red velvet cupcakes, with a touch of climbing wisteria and sparkling apple cider. A CUTE KID Near the end of last semester, we arrived to pick her up from school and she was hanging out in her classroom drawing pictures on the white board. Of course I joined in and wrote “funny looking kid” with an arrow pointing at her. She changed it and wrote “a cute kid”, and gave me her big giant smile as if to say I WIN! Pale lavender and Tahitian vanilla with a smudge of chalk dust and a pop of strawberry bubblegum. WEDNESDAY'S CHILD IS FULL OF WOE Our friend, Lee Moyer, asked if Lilith could be a model for an illustration of Wednesday Addams that he was working on, They wanted a photo of her in a lab and of course I jumped at the chance to take a photo of my baby. I grabbed my camera and we set up a little table. We had so much fun decorating the table. Lilith was running around grabbing things and saying, “Can we use this? Can we use that?” Luckily for her, there's no shortage of creepy things scattered around her house. A little kid’s interpretation of a gothy goth perfume: sugared clove and vanilla patchouli with cacao, dried Avignon rose petals, and a bit of black cherry. MY LITTLE THEMYSCIRAN PRINCESS As I was carrying Lilith around the San Diego comic con, people would stop us and ask to take a photo of her cosplaying Wonder Woman. As I set her down, a change would come over her: she would light up, engage the person, and charm the hell out of them while the photo was being taken. She would be so charismatic and charming, and then would then come back to me, this shining, happy little kid, and ask to be picked up all over again. I was so proud of her, and I love my lil Themysciran princess. Rich, sweet, valiant amber, coconut milk, honeyed saffron, LIKE FATHER, LIKE DAUGHTER Raisin' 'em right! The t-shirt that Lilith is wearing is Alaska Thunderf*ck's Lil' Poundcake. Lilith, I am your real dad and I always will be! Pomegranate cotton candy. ZIP LINE My Danger Baby loves to do crazy things and for some reason, I am always chosen to accompany her on these adventures. (Editor's note: it's because her mother possesses an actual survival instinct.) At the Renaissance Faire, we rode the zip line.... and let’s just say that it rode up a bit on my naughty bits. As we stepped off the ledge, I screamed MY BALLS, and Lilith thought it was soooooo funny. Brown leather and bourbon vanilla with honeyed oudh and cinnamon buns. MORNING IN THE CITY OF ANGELS Walking and holding hands with my Lilith as we joke and giggle is one the greatest joys of my life. She is growing up fast, and these moments will happen less and less, but I will forever treasure them. I hope that when she is an adult, she will look back on these memories and feel 1/100 of the happiness that she brings to her father. Sunflowers and California poppies, vanilla-tinged oak bark, and a spill of sugary breakfast cereal.

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My Five Acres. Travel. Adventure. Yoga. My Five Acres. Travel. Adventure. Yoga. - Travel. Adventure. Yoga.

If you’re planning a trip to Thailand, don’t miss the ancient capital city of Ayutthaya and the spectacular Ayutthaya . It’s easy to do an Ayutthaya day trip from Bangkok or spend a few nights to get the full experience. Read on to find out how to do it and what to see when you get there.

What’s in our guide to the Ayutthaya Temples?

1. 3. 5. 7. 9.

Ayutthaya is one of the world’s most impressive ancient temple complexes.

The ruins of the old city and the Ayutthaya are preserved in the Ayutthaya Historical Park which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Wandering around the site and admiring the countless stupas (conical towers called chedi in Thai), statues of Buddha, and gigantic monasteries, gives you an idea of the city’s past glory days — and offers endless opportunities for amazing photos of your visit.

Though we’ve been to many incredible — like Angkor Wat in Cambodia, Prambanan Temple in Indonesia, Karnak in Egypt, and Stonehenge — both Jane and I loved the proliferation of Buddha statues we found here.

Fun fact: Ayutthaya was named after the Indian holy city of Ayodhya, which was the birthplace and seat of Rama, an important Hindu god (an avatar of Lord Vishnu). Since 1782, Thai kings have all been known as King Rama. The current king is Rama X.

Read on for our guide to…

Visiting The Ayutthaya Temples

Also don’t miss these posts:

2 Days in Bangkok? Here’s your perfect itinerary → Is a self-guided cycle tour in Thailand right for you? → Here’s your complete Thailand itinerary for 2 weeks →

We recommend that the first thing you do in Ayutthaya is to head to the Tourist Office and pick up a free map of the site. They also have an exhibit detailing the history of the city if that’s your sort of thing.

Here are the we recommend you find on that tourist map!

This Buddha head is the most famous spot in Ayutthaya.

The Chedi at Wat Phra Si Sanphet

This is the biggest temple in Ayutthaya. The first palace built at Ayutthaya — the Grand Palace of Ayutthaya — was located where the ruins of Wat Phra Si Sanphet sit today. It is now best known for the three chedi which house the remains of King Borommatrailokanat, King Borommarachathirat III, and King Ramathibodi II.

Wat Phra Ram

The monastery at Wat Phra Ram was constructed on the cremation site of the first Ayutthayan monarch, King Ramathibodi I (r. 1351-1369), hence its name. It has a majestic prang (or tall tower) that would have once been covered in ornate carvings.

Wat Ratchaburana

Don’t miss the grand hall at Wat Ratchaburana. This temple was built by King Boromratchathirat II after both his brothers died on this site, killing each other during a fight to see who would claim the throne. From the great hall you have a spectacular view of the prang that was the centrepiece of the temple compound.

The prang has undergone restoration and you can see Garuda (the Hindu Eagle God) swooping down from it. Four chedi surround the main prang. The prang’s crypt is accessible by steep stairs and is home to once glorious, now faded, frescoes.

Be prepared to do a lot of looking up at soaring prang and chedi!

Wat Chaiwattaranaram

This impressive temple has a 35m–high central prang (Prang Prathan) which symbolises the centre of the world. It is surrounded by four smaller prang representing the four continents. It is (often) possible to climb the steep stairs to the top of the prang for a stunning view across the city and seemingly endless Ayutthaya .

Wat Chaiwatthanaram sits on the west bank of the Chao Phraya river, not on the island that makes up the UNESCO site of ancient Ayutthaya. Nonetheless it is one of Ayutthaya’s most stunning and best known .

Wat Phutthai Sawan

If you’ve been researching your trip to Ayutthaya, you’ve likely come across pictures of a large reclining Buddha. One of those Buddhas lives here at Wat Putthai Sawan, a temple on the banks of the Chao Phraya river that is still in use.

(Make sure you follow

Just another impressive ruin at the Ayutthaya Temples.

Wat Thammikarat

This is an active monastery just outside the official Ayutthaya Historical Park. Wat Thammikarat has been restored several times, however many of the architectural structures remain as ruins, including a large bell-shaped chedi with an octagonal base.

Wat Maheyong

We’re including this temple because it is included on the 6-temple entrance ticket (see the

It’s a sad fact that once the Buddha statues all had heads, until they were stolen by pillagers and private collectors.

The ancient statues of Buddha were too big and heavy for pillagers to carry away, so they lopped off the heads and sold them to private collectors and museums around the world. Here at Ayutthaya you will see almost endless rows of headless Buddha statues.

will sort you out with a bicycle for either a small fee or no extra charge. Definitely take advantage of this as it can be quite hot during the day, and making your breeze to cool off as you move between the Ayutthaya will ensue you can see a few extra during your visit.

If you like bikes, check out the Grasshopper Adventures bicycle Ayutthaya day tour from Bangkok.

long pants

all day.

Don’t point at people or at Buddha. Pointing is considered rude in Thailand. Instead, you can gesture with your whole hand with your fingers together.

These young monks all hid their bare feet when our guide brought us into this temple in Thoen, Thailand.

Hide your soles. You must remove your shoes before entering a working temple but be sure that you don’t show the soles of your feet in the temple (or anywhere). This is considered very rude in Thai culture.

Respect the Buddha statues. Of course, you should never climb on or sit next to a Buddha statue, nor should your rowdy gang of kids. Technically, you should never turn your back on the Buddha (kind of like the queen) but you may have trouble following this one in Ayutthaya, where there are thousands of Buddha statues.

Chao Phrom Market

An outdoor and mostly covered market, Chao Phrom is on the edge of the island that makes up ancient Ayutthaya. If you haven’t been to a Thai market, definitely go and pick up some snacks, see how locals shop, and take some pictures (always ask if you’re taking pictures of people).

Million Toys Museum

The name kind of says it all! Krirk Yoonpan’s Million Toys Museum has, if not a million, a shed load (or museum load) of toys. One man’s passion for toys is your chance to feel like a kid again. Wander around and check out the tin robots, antique dolls, and life-size Japanese superheroes.

The Million Toys Museum is closed on Mondays and open 9am–4pm every other day, except public holidays and official holidays. It is located on the edge of ancient Ayutthaya city. Tickets cost 50 Baht for adults and 20 Baht for children.

Take a bike ride to the outskirts of Ayutthaya for a great cultural experience.

Bang Lan Night Market

Street food vendors line the street at this Ayutthaya night market. You can sit with the locals and enjoy delicious, freshly prepared, and super inexpensive food. We highly recommend this if you’re staying in Ayutthaya for the night. Don’t get there too late though as it tends to shut down around 9pm.

The Floating Market

Khlong Sra Bua Floating Market is really touristy and you can probably skip it. If you’re spending time in South East Asia you’ll have other opportunities to visit much more authentic floating markets. But lots of people seem to enjoy it, so if it sounds interesting to you, check it out.

The Crush (phajaan in Thai)? This is the horrific torture elephants must go through to become docile enough to be used in tourist settings.

When we visited Ayutthaya last, we saw tourists sitting on platforms propped on the back of elephants. This is the ABSOLUTE worst way you can ride an elephant as it causes their spines to be permanently damaged. If you MUST ride an elephant (and there is no situation in which this would be the case) it is only acceptable to sit on the elephant’s neck. Now you know, so no excuses.

Please don’t ride elephants. These are wild animals whose spines were not designed to carry baskets and bunches of humans.

Do not visit the Elephantstay (also known as the Royal Elephant Kraal and Village). It’s just animal cruelty disguised as traditional entertainment.

on the official Thai Railway website. There is a drop-down menu at the top where you can change the language to English.

Head to Bangkok Hua Lamphong Railway Station, the main railway station in Bangkok, and from there you can catch one of the regular trains to Ayutthaya. The journey time ranges from 80 minutes to 120 minutes or more depending on the train you take (this being Southeast Asia you need to get used to things taking longer than you’re told they will).

Get to Hua Lamphong Railway Station a little early. It is big and confusing, so you might need a little extra time to get your ticket and find your train.

You have a few options for trains and there are at least two trains each hour heading from Bangkok to Ayutthaya. You can choose between Special Express, Express, and Rapid trains throughout the day, plus the regular trains (which take a little longer but cost a lot less).

Ticket cost: Second-class seats with A/C cost 245-345 Baht (~7 USD), while third class is just 15-20 Baht (~0.70 USD). In third class, the windows generally open and you can enjoy the breeze on the relatively short journey to Ayutthaya.

No reservation is necessary if you are planning to take the regular train. You can just turn up at the train station, buy a ticket and hop on.

A reservation is necessary on the express trains, but these only sold on the day of at the station or online at Thai Railway Tickets a maximum of one day ahead.

The Ayutthaya railway station is not on the island of ancient Ayutthaya. It is just across the river and a short ferry ride away. Walk across the main road from the station and down the small street to the river. Ferry boats run every few minutes and cost 5 Baht.

Pro tip: If you’re headed north to Chiang Mai (definitely worth a visit if you have time) you can stop off in Ayutthaya on the way, as trains from Bangkok to Chiang Mai stop at Ayutthaya.

Ayutthaya even has a left luggage office on the platform signed “Cloak Room” where you can store your luggage for 10 Baht while you explore the .

Luang Chumni Village

Rating 8.7, $28 double room, breakfast included

It wasn’t just the breakfast we loved at Luang Chumni Village! Though that was great too.

This is where we stayed when we visited Ayutthaya — and we loved it. Family run, authentic wooden Thai houses, and right in the middle of the ancient city, we are sure you’ll love it here! They have hammocks, sun loungers, and even a spot where you can practice yoga! Bicycle rental fee is only 50 Baht (~$1.60 USD) per bike per day.

Baan Luang Harn

Rating 9.2, $35 bungalow, breakfast included

This is another super cute family-owned guest house. The cabins here are so adorable and include a private veranda. The property sits on a lake where you can sit and watch the wildlife as you recover from your day exploring the . The staff are friendly and helpful and the breakfast is reportedly amazing. They will also arrange bicycles for you for a small daily rental fee.

Baan Thai House

Rating 9.2, $66 garden view villa, breakfast included

Baan Thai House offers a relaxing hideaway just outside the ancient city. Their Thai-style villas feature balconies with garden or lake views and there is a spa on the property where you ca arrange a massage to work out your sore muscles after wandering around the . An outdoor pool is available to take a relaxing swim in.

While it is located outside the ancient city, it is just 100 m from the floating market, and they provide free use of bicycles so you can easily ride the short distance to the . If you’re tired at the end of your day and can’t muster the energy to head out for dinner in the evening, they have a restaurant serving a range of local and Western dishes.

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Not all the statues in Ayutthaya are of Buddha.

Ayutthaya Day Tour with Sunset Boat Ride

For those who want something a little more laid back, this day tour from Bangkok will let you see the ancient ruins from the comfort of a boat. You’ll also get to visit Ayutthaya floating market, Bang Pa-In Summer Palace, and more.

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We hope our guide to Ayutthaya is useful when planning your day trip from Bangkok. Or maybe we’ve convinced you to stay a few days to really get the most of this ancient city! Either way, here’s to an amazing time at Ayutthaya.

♥  Happy mindful adventures, Jane & Stephen

We’re not going to lie, it takes a LOT of work to create guides like this. But it’s easy to help us out! If you book or buy something using one of our personal links in this post, we’ll earn a small fee at no extra cost to you. Of course, we would never recommend anything we didn’t 100% believe in! Huge thanks in advance! –S&J

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