Daytrips from Bangkok

Bangkok surely is an amazing city that has enough to offer for several days of holiday. For those that want to see a little more, however, there are some incredible places not too far away. So why not going on a day trip to see some fascinating cultural heritage or an island in the city? 

One idea for a daytrip from Bangkok is Ayutthaya (stressed on the last "a"), which is probably also the most famous one. Plenty of people want to go and see the old capital of the Kingdom of Siam. It is more than 600 years old and was abandoned in the 18th century after a devastating attack from the Burmese. So instead of rebuilding Ayutthaya the people decided to found a new capital city: Bangkok. 

At Ayutthaya you can see several and not just one, as most believe, temple and its ruins and walk around in them freely or do a tour, which I would recommend. It is a wide area without a lot of protection from the sun, so definitely bring sun cream, enough to drink and maybe a fan. To enter the historic site with lots of impressive ruins as evidence for the architectural masterminds your knees and shoulders have to be covered. 

Inside you will not only find impressive leftovers of an ancient cultural capital with massive stone buildings, plenty of buddha statues and beautiful walkways, but also a very special buddha head, that is captured inside a tree. The gigantic tree has grown around the buddha over the centuries so that he is now mostly hidden by the tree`s roots. An absolutely rare sight!

Koh Kret is a proper hidden gem in Bangkok. Not many European tourists know about this beautiful island about 30 minutes by taxi from the city centre. It is surrounded by arms of the river Chao Phraya, so that you can only get there with a 5 minute boat ride. The island is very quiet and even on the week ends, when there is the peak time for visiting, there are lots of places you`ll be alone at and can meditate or relax. Even though the island is not very big and especially on the western part there are only residential areas, it might be worth renting a bike as this way you can get a little wind in your face and escape the heat of the sun a bit. 

Some things to do on Ko Kret include visiting the many little temples, that you pass by anyway, walking the red walkway right through the islands green inner part, going into the Buddhist garden to see art and plants, all of which is free. You should also stroll through the narrow ways between sheds and houses on the east coast of Ko Kret. Here you will find plenty of little, but amazing restaurants and cafes where you can get your lunch and sit with your feet hanging over the river. Another alternative is visiting the local market and some of the fascinating pottery shops, that the island is famous for.