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ThailandDescription and is it worth a visit
Erawan Shrine is one of the most important and holy places of pilgrimage and worship in Bangkok, despite its small size. Erawan is the name of a huge white elephant deity with 33 heads, one of the main symbols of fertility and rain.
But for the people of Bangkok, this particular statue is especially sacred because of its history. The statue was installed in 1956 during the construction of the Erawan Hotel in order to avert the failures during its construction that occurred at the initial stage. They say that while she was away, accidents were constantly happening at the construction site, the work was not going on in any way. After the installation of the statue, all the troubles were over, and the hotel was successfully completed. But in 2006, a local resident, supposedly crazy, smashed the statue with a hammer, after which he was beaten to death by a rabid crowd. On the same day, in an incredibly short time, a new one was made of gold, bronze and pieces of the old statue and installed in place just at the moment when the sun was directly above the statue.
The Erawan Shrine in Bangkok is not a temple. It consists of a statue of the 4th Brahma, a Hindu deity, mounted on a pedestal. A huge number of people come here every day and night, and traditional dance performances are almost always held here. Tourists can freely come here, sit on the benches and watch the rituals, and if desired, you can light incense yourself, present offerings in the form of flowers, or bathe in sacred water. Also, for a fee in the form of donations, you can participate in a ritual with dancing and music, and for this it doesn't even matter what faith you adhere to or don't adhere to any, they won't even ask you about it here. To do this, you need to contact the minister under the canopy, which is installed next to the shrine, and you will be offered a ritual with a dance of two or more girls, the price will depend on it. After payment, you will be told what needs to be done, everything takes a few minutes.
In general, this place is very atmospheric, interesting and significant, and definitely worth a visit, especially if you are staying in the area Pratunam or Sukhumvit.
🕐 Working hours
Around the clock.
💵Entrance fee / ticket price
Free of charge. A dance ceremony with the participation of two female dancers costs (donations) from 260 baht (7.8 USD, see details about the currency of Thailand here), four girls - 360 baht, six - 610, and eight girls - 810.
🚶 How to get there
Located next to the BTS Chidlom Station subway station next to the Grand Hyatt Erawan Hotel (Erawan shrine on the map). From most districts of Bangkok it is most convenient to get here by metro, and from tourist area Khaosan Road you can get there by city buses no. 15, 79, 511 for 8-15 baht depending on the type of bus. Alternatively, you can walk from Khao San Street to the Panfa Leelard Pier boat dock and take a regular boat along the canal to Pratunam Pier Pier and walk 10 minutes to the shrine. Details about Bangkok city transport and how to use it are told here.
Friends, we remind you that it is much more interesting to get acquainted with the sights of Bangkok with the help of excursions, and therefore we advise you to look at options with online booking and reviews on these excursion aggregators: