Erawan Shrine

Surrounded by hundreds of yellow blooms and a haze of incense, the stunning Erawan Shrine in Bangkok is a testament to the central role that Buddhism occupies in modern Thai society—one that comes with an interesting back-story. Built in 1956 by the erstwhile Erawan Hotel, the shrine was built to allay the bad karma of the hotel’s foundations being laid on the wrong date. A magnificent image of the Hindu God, Brahma—known to Thais as Than Tao Mahaprom—was especially cast and gilded. The hotel opened successfully and has acquired worldwide fame in the three decades of its existence. While the hotel is no longer in existence (it was acquired by the Hyatt chain of hotels in 1987 and rebuilt) the shrine continues to be a major tourist attraction. In a ceremony that is repeated several times a day, a troupe of Thai classical dancers—magnificently clad in traditional outfits—offer thanks to the gods. If you’re lucky, you might even catch the lively Chinese lion dance.