The stretch of Th Bamrung Meuang (one of Bangkok’s oldest streets and originally an elephant path leading to the Grand Palace) from Th Mahachai to Th Tanao is lined with shops selling all manner of Buddhist religious paraphernalia. You probably don’t need a Buddha statue or an eerily lifelike model of a famous monk, but looking is fun and who knows when you might need to do a great deal of merit making. Behind the storefronts, back-room workshops produce gigantic bronze Buddha images for wát all over Thailand.