The Giant Swing and Wat Suthat

8 Bamrung Muang Rd, Phra Nakhorn, 02-222-9632,9am-5pm, B20

Surrounded by perhaps the greatest concentration of Buddhist supply shops in Bangkok, Wat Suthat is one of the most important Buddhist centres in the kingdom and home to some excellent examples of bronze sculpture, a blend of Thai and Chinese-style mural art and a 14-th-century Sukhothai period statue.

The wat used to be the site for annual harvest ceremonies where brave men would swing up to great heights to catch a bag of gold coins in their teeth. However, the practice proved a bit too dangerous and was banned in the 1930s. Today the huge red structure, named the Giant Swing, still stands in front of the temple.