Our final stop in Ayutthaya was at the Wat Lokayasutharam or what’s left of it. The Reclining Buddha here is about 120 feet long and 26 feet high, so it is smaller than the one at Wat Pho but still impressive. I thought the coloring was the most interesting part: a fascinating combination of washed-out golds and creams. The temple that would have surrounded the Buddha is gone, and not a lot of information is available about what it might have looked like. However, the temple is near where the Grand Palace would have been and in direct line to the Chao Phraya River, so this temple was probably very important during the Ayutthaya period.

Title quote: “Temple of Earth”