Vibrant Elephant Statue Art

One afternoon I took a walk from the Old City — where I was staying with a friend — heading west over the Nakhon Phing Bridge and made a right onto Charoen Rat Road. If you like art, this is exactly where you want to be, as craft shops, wood carving galleries and hand-crafted paper goods litter the neighborhood. While you can easily spend hours perusing the numerous venues, many of which also have coffee shops and tranquil gardens attached, one particular spot that captured my head wasElephant Parade House. The shop, which boasts being home to “the world’s largest art exhibition of decorated elephant statues,” features hundreds of beautifully-painted elephant statues done in myriad patterns filling the shelves of two rooms. You can purchase one (when you do you’ll get a certificate telling you more about where and how it was made) or even paint your own elephant. Twenty percent of their revenue goes to nonprofits dedicated to helping elephant welfare and conservation projects.