After years of working 70 hours a week at jobs I detested, I felt like the proverbial "hole in the donut" - solid on the outside, but empty on the inside. Searching for meaning in my life, I abandoned my successful but unsatisfying career and set out on a six-month solo backpacking trip around the world to pursue my true passions of travel, writing, and photography. My blog features stories about the destinations I visit, people I meet, the crazy things...Read more here.... 
Can’t view the above YouTube video of the Erawan Shrine in Bangkok, Thailand? Click here.
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Bangkok, cultural travel, culture, erawan shrine, Hindu, pray, religion, Tgai dancers, Thailand, Travel, world travel | 
Leave a commentThe Erawan Shrine beckoned me. Following its siren song, I hopped on the Sky Train, which whisked me to Chitlom station in a matter of minutes. I stepped to the edge of the elevated walkway and gazed down on the first site I had ever visited in Bangkok. On this, my fifth trip to Thailand, I seem to be meandering down memory lane and with so much change evident in Bangkok I was gratified to see that worshipers still flock to this historic site to petition the gods for fame, fortune, and success.
As Hindu holy places go, the Erawan Shrine is no more spectacular than hosts of others around Asia, but the back story is fascinating. The shrine, which has as its centerpiece a statue of Phra Phrom, the Thai representation of the Hindu creation god Brahma, was built in 1956 during construction of the government-owned Erawan Hotel. The project was plagued by cost overruns, injuries, and the loss of a shipload of Italian marble intended for use in the construction, thought to be the result of laying the foundations on an inauspicious date. An astrologer advised building the shrine to eliminate this bad karma; once it was in place, hotel construction proceeded without further difficulty, earning it the reputation as a place to pray for good fortune. When the original hotel was demolished in 1987 to make way for the Grand Hyatt Erawan, the Hyatt carefully incorporated the shrine into the design of the new facility.
Can’t view the above YouTube video of the Erawan Shrine in Bangkok, Thailand? Click here.
The best view of the Erawan Shrine is from the elevated Sky Train walkway but nothing compares to joining the crush of supplicants at ground level. Weaving through flower vendors clogging the narrow sidewalks, I passed through the iron gates of the shrine and squeezed through to the front of the seething crowd. Worshipers placed burning incense sticks in sand trays and prostrated three times before Brahma. Others placed flowers, food, and a variety of mementos on the altar, hoping to win favor from the gods. One man, obviously in dire need of celestial help, hefted two giant trash bags through the gates and fought his way through the jostling horde to the altar. From the first bag he extracted an opulent pair of golden sequined headdresses, which an attendant prominently placed on either side of Brahma. The four large wooden elephant carvings he pulled from the second bag were given places of honor on the four sides of the shrine, and as a final offering he handed two bottles of water to the attendant to be placed on the altar, just in case Bramha was thirsty.
Posted in SE Asia travel | Bangkok, blogsherpa, cultural travel, culture, erawan shrine, good fortune, Grand Hyatt Erawan, Hindu, religion, shrine, temple, Thailand, Travel, world travel | 3 Comments
I’ve always loved the Humpty Dumpty sidewalks and gaping sewer holes in Bangkok. The rat’s nest of electrical wires atop telephone poles, tuk-tuks belching black smoke, and motorbikes clogging the broad avenues delighted me; not even the acrid odor of rotting trash mingled with fish sauce put me off. And so it was with great excitement that I headed back to one of my favorite cities in the world after a four-year absence.
Changes in my beloved Bangkok were immediately apparent. All the king’s men have put the sidewalks together again and nary an open sewer hole is to be found. Cars now outnumber motorbikes, although ever-present tuk-tuks still scoot through the streets, preying on tourists who don’t yet realize that riding through exhaust-suffused streets in these open-air carriages will leave them breathless and choking. But though the city’s temples are as exotic and gilded as ever, the smiles of its residents seem slightly tarnished.
Pedestrians on the Sky Train (BTS) elevated walkway at Bangkok's Siam Square
Perhaps my impression is skewed because I am staying in Siam Square this time, home to a glittering collection of some of the world’s largest shopping centers. In years past I have chosen hotels in the Embassy district or hostels in Khao San Road, more commonly known as Bangkok’s backpacker district. Each has its own peculiar charm: the Embassy district is loaded with great restaurants and is conveniently located just steps from the Sukhumvit line of the BTS Sky Train, while the city’s two most popular temple complexes, The Grand Palace and Wat Po, are an easy stroll from KSR.
Bangkok's Sky Train bridge and walkways provide access to all the retail centers around Siam Square
But for shopping, Siam Square is the place to be. Getting there is a breeze, since the Sukhumvit and Silom lines of the Sky Train converge at Siam Square, but it was even easier for me, since my hostel was a short two blocks away. After recovering from 36-hours of travel I headed out to get reacquainted with Bangkok. I climbed the stairs to the Sky Train’s elevated walkway for a bird’s eye view of the mega-retail complex. Through a constant stream of pedestrians and posters advertising upcoming concerts by Eric Clapton and The Eagles I spied the mirror-fronted MBK, a seven-story mall famous for its maze of shops and escalators Continue reading
Posted in SE Asia travel | Bangkok, blogsherpa, commercialism, cultural travel, culture, expensive, Shopping, Thailand, Travel, world travel | 18 Comments
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