Visiting Bangkok’s Erawan Shrine-The Commercial District’s Spiritual Oasis

Last year I visited Thailand and was fortunate enough to spend some time in it’s bustling capital, Bangkok. Currently the second most city visited in the world it is massive, busy, hectic, with possibly the worst traffic conditions in Asia. Despite that it’s absolutely a city you must visit if you want to look in the crystal ball and see perhaps what the rest of Southeast Asia may eventually look like.With limited time on my last trip in 2016 I wanted to at least cover off the main sites, including the Grand Palace and the top tier temples. A trip out to the huge outdoor Chatuchak Market, and a look around the huge shopping district of Siam and of course a couple of visits to the Erawan Shrine were also on the list.As modern as Bangkok is it’s still refreshing to see in the middle of one of this side of the planet’s busiest commercial districts the Erawan Shrine, attracting thousands of worshippers daily.  They bring offerings, burn incense, and sometimes hire the ladies that make up the dance troupe of the shrine that will perform for set fees while worshippers pray. This is what makes  Southeast Asia so uniquely different than visiting a similiarly sized commercial district in a western city.