Many Buddhas

Many Buddhas

Thais typically will wai (i.e., put their hands together in a prayerful gesture of respect towards) images of Lord Buddha, but in cases like this Buddha-lined street, the images weren't necessarily meant for individual reverence the way, say, the large Buddha in a main temple structure typically is.

Thais never treat images of Lord Buddha disrespectfully, usually keeping their head lower than that of the Buddha image when they approach for prayer or to pay respect (major Buddha images in temples are often placed up higher, so this is usually natural to do). Thais never point their feet at it (or at anyone; feet are considered dirty). Children do not climb on these images, and people don't put their hands on them for amusing photos.

If you do this, Thais will think you rude and insensitive to their beliefs and sensibilities, so if you travel to Thailand please be careful. In the above picture we actually weren't sure it was okay to walk up and gawk a little. But our hosts either felt it was OK, or cut us a break because we're foreigners. YMMV. Just be gentle and respectful, and ask a Thai person if you're unsure if what you're doing is alright.