Amulet Market

Adjacent to Wat Mahathat, between Maharat Road and the river, is Bangkok's biggest amulet market, where a fantastic array of religious amulets, charms, talismans, and traditional medicine is sold.

Each Sunday, hundreds of the faithful squat on the ground studying tiny images of the Buddha with magnifying glasses, hoping to find one that will bring good fortune or ward off evil.

Each amulet brings a specific kind of luck — to get the girl, to pass your exams, to keep bugs out of your rice stock, or to ward off your mother-in-law.

The newer amulet market is part of Wat Ratchanada, off the intersection of Mahachai Road and Ratchadamnoen Klang Road, across from the Golden Mount at Wat Saket.