After an ugly week in Bangkok, the protests have been dismantled and everyone seems to be waiting to see what happens next. This has been a tough time for Thailand. For a country that thrives on tourism, more tough times will likely be ahead. But this is a resilient region and hopefully the situation will remain calm and the tourists will return soon.

If and when you do find yourself in Bangkok, make sure you get to nearby Ayutthaya, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The three chedis of Wat Phra Sri Sanphet are shown in both of the photos here. Ayutthaya was the second Siamese capital (founded in 1350) and the city was nearly burned to the ground in 1767 when the Burmese invaded — proof that this region has bounced back before. The remaining ruins are scattered on and around an island created by the confluence of three rivers — the Chao Phraya, the Lopburi and the Pa Sak — as seen on this map from Travelfish. I only visted three or four of these sites and could easily spend a week or more here continuing to explore.

I’d seen photos of these ruins prior to visiting but still wasn’t prepared for their scale. The woman in the white skirt (above) gives you some idea of just how big these chedis — the bell-shaped towers — are. In this case, the three chedis were built to house the ashes of kings.

One day here was not nearly enough. While it would be hard to say what my favorite spot in Thailand was, this would certainly rank up there in terms of places I wish I could have spent more time. There is so much to see and I only scratched the surface.