San Chao Mae Guan Yin

Small is the first thing people notice, and it puts some off. Don't let it. This shrine on Mangkon Road holds a statue of Guan Yin, the Chinese goddess of mercy, said to be over 900 years old, carved from teak and painted gold, standing on the altar inside. The painted walls are the other reason to come. They're the kind of detail you'll miss if you stick your head in for thirty seconds and move on, so give it a bit longer than that.

It sits in the middle of the Chinatown market, which means you step from noise into something much calmer. Saturday mornings have that quiet, prayerful quality. Chinese holidays are the opposite, when thousands come to pray and the place is packed shoulder to shoulder. It's also worth a look after dark, when the lighting changes the whole feel. The shrine belongs to the Thien Fah Foundation, Bangkok's oldest charity group, and the surrounding buildings are part of the same institution.