Cover Story: Central Shopping District
Erawan Shrine
At this point in our walking tour, let’s pause briefly to focus on activities at Bangkok’s famous Erawan Shrine at the Rajdamri intersection. The shrine houses Phra Phrom, the Thai version of Brahma, the Hindu god of creation. The golden Brahma image depicts the deity’s four faces, and the shrine is a popular destination for tourists. So many Chinese visitors want to visit the shrine that many taxi drivers know what to do when a Chinese passenger says “Four Faces” in English or “Si Mian Fo” (Four Face Buddha) in Mandarin. Of the 38 million international tourists who visited Thailand in 2018, 10.5 million (27.6%) were Chinese, according to the Ministry of Tourism and Sports. Visitors can hire dancers and musicians to accompany them when they offer prayers to Phra Phrom. Prices are written in Chinese, and the more dancers hired, the higher the price. For example, two dancers cost 260 baht, and eight dancers cost 710 baht. Marigolds and incense are also on sale, and the hawkers bark out prices in Mandarin. Even the Thai girl selling birds to be released for good luck can quote her price in Mandarin, “One bird for 500 baht,” she said. The Erawan Shrine was the site of a terrorist bomb attack in 2015 that killed 20 people and injured 125. But the tragedy has not dampened the desire of visitors to pay their respects to Phra Phrom at the shrine. April 2019
T h a n i Ta l k
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