Erawan Shrine

Located at the heart of downtown. Skytrain station: Chitlom

The Erawan Shrine is a popular tourist attraction smack right in the middle of one of Bangkok's busiest intersections. It houses a thai representation of the Hindu God Brahma and features resident Thai dance troupes hired by worshippers in return for having their prayers answered.

I've been lucky enough to see the original Brahma statue during my first visit to Bangkok, the one at the shrine right now is a replacement since it was vandalized back in 2006. Still, the Shrine attracts many worshippers and tourists. Albeit the smoky atmosphere (incense galore!), this one is a must-see for every visitor since it is very accessible. You can visit it while you take a break from all the shopping in the nearby malls. The Shrine is a perfect place to observe people worshipping and a little bit of thai dancing. And it's all for free.

There are also other Hindu shrines in the immediate vicinity. Although not as popular as the Erawan, you can still always find worshippers in these small shrines. All are a few minutes walk from each other, and since you are already there, might as well visit a few of them:

1. Indra Shrine infront of Amarin shopping center
2. Narayana astride Garuda in front of Intercontinental Hotel
3. Lakshmi Shrine on the fourth floor of Gaysorn
4. Trimurti Shrine in front of Isetan at Central World Plaza
5. Ganesha in front of Isetan at Central World Plaza

Location: Grand Hyatt Erawan hotel (Ratchaprasong and Ratchadamri Road intersection)

To Get There: By BTS. Go down at Chitlom Station.

Shopping: The area has many shopping malls nearby (Gaysorn, CentralWorld, Big C and Amarin Plaza, all conveniently connected by an elevated skywalk to the various BTS stations.)