We all seemed to have slept quite well and no one got up too early in the morning. Hopefully keeping everyone awake till a normal bedtime last night helped us acclimatize to the change in time zones.

We headed down to breakfast and were suitably impressed by the expansive buffet.

I couldn’t go past a Masala Dosa followed by dumplings, while the kids tried a variety of fruits, juices, pancakes and noodles. To top it off the coffee was well made and strong as well.

Our itinerary for today was to visit the Ancient City which is an hour away. The Ancient City is the world’s largest private outdoor museum. Spanning over 200 acres, the park is uniquely built in the physical shape of Thailand. It features more than 116 scaled reconstructions and life-sized replicas of Thailand’s most famous historical temples, royal palaces, and ruins.

We started at the “Buddhavas of the Substanceless Universe” which had some really grand golden temples with intricate carvings. It included a shrine for Sakka, the lord of the gods and the supreme ruler of all gods in the Tavatisma heaven. We had to rely on Google translate to understand most of the signs as hardly any were in English.

The highlight for the kids were the ringing of the bells (called Wat). Many Thai temples feature long rows of heavy, hanging iron bells and it is common practice for devotees to walk down the line and ring each bell as they pass. It is believed to bring good luck, health, fame and fortune. Moreover, the loud, reverberating ring is seen as a way to disperse negative energy and clear the mind of distractions. Tom needed a little help to reach the smaller bells though.

We then meandered through the replica of the Sanphet Prasat Palace which was being remodelled and renovated. Just alongside it was the “Footprint of the Lord Buddha” which was guarded by serpents on all sides. It was a hike to get to the top in the sweltering heat, however the breeze at the top made it worthwhile.

We then found a “royal” dining suite at the Ramayana garden where we stopped to have our packed lunch. It was quite idyllic sitting by the water and watching the peacocks meander around.

By now we felt like we were roasting in the afternoon heat and retired back to the air conditioned comfort of the car the drove along the park to get to the “Pavilion of the Enlightened”. While we had a detailed map, it was stylized and wasn’t to scale. This coupled with the fact that the driver spoke hardly any English made navigating to relevant areas a bit challenging. The pavilion is meant to symbolize the Mahayana Buddhist legend of 500 monks who all attained Nirvana. It featured intricate spires, detailed woodcarvings and a maze-like walkway leading to the main temple. Unfortunately it was also under renovation so we couldn’t get to the buildings center.

Our final stop was at the Ghost Museum which had the inscription “Fear can be managed through the teachings of the Buddha” as we entered. While Thomas was gung-ho on the ground level, he sidled up next to Emily as we ventured further in.

We were totally exhausted and spent so decided to just drive around the rest of the museum and then head back to the hotel, which was an hour away.