The Most Fascinating Temples

Wat Phra Kaeo (Bangkok): With its flamboyant colors and rich details, this shrine is a magnificent setting for Thailand's most revered image, the Emerald Buddha. Inside the main temple building, a profusion of offerings surrounds the pedestal that supports the tiny image.

Wat Arun (Thonburi/Bangkok): The golden Temple of Dawn shimmers in the sunrise across the Chao Phraya River from Bangkok, but the sunset is even better still. As you climb its steep central prang (tower), you get a close view of the porcelain pieces that make its floral design.

Wat Yai Chai Mongkon (Phitsanulok): One of the most holy temples in the country, Wat Yai is home to the Phra Buddha Chinarat image, cast in bronze. One of the few remaining Sukhothai images, this one is the prototype for many replicas. Outside, the temple complex hums with activity and many Thais make the pilgrimage here.

Wat Mahathat (Nakhon Si Thammarat): The city is the center of southern Buddhism in Thailand -- the first Thai capital to convert to Theravada Buddhism, and a major influence on the kingdoms to follow. The main chedi contains a relic of the Buddha brought from Sri Lanka more than a millennium ago.

Wat Ko Keo Suttharam (Phetchaburi): The walls of the main hall were painted in the 1730s, during the Kingdom of Ayutthaya, and while the murals are fading, you can still make out the images of the earliest Westerners to come to the country.

The Erawan Shrine (Bangkok): Not a site notable for it's size or super-structure, the Erawan Shrine is famed for the veracity of its devotees. Located near Chit Lom BTS station in the center of town, few Thai people pass without offering a bow, or wai, in reverence.

• Australia
• China
• Japan
• New Zealand
• Thailand