Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Oh Blogger......
Please forgive the giant spaces in the last post, blog spot seems to still be acting weird and wonderful I cannot seem to fix!
Beautiful Bangkok - Inside
More cosmopolitan than any city in the world other than Shanghai in my thoughts.
via
' Visitors to Bangkok can see the world's biggest gold Buddha, the largest crocodile farm and the biggest teakwood building. They can eat at the world's largest restaurant, cross the longest single-span suspension bridge and stay at the world's tallest hotel, the 89 storey Baiyoke II Tower.' ( I wonder if the hotel fact is still true?)
Plus take some of the most reasonable taxi trips in the world, meet some of the most accomodating people in the
world, and see some of the most vibrant and innovative design from clothing to architecture!
via
' Visitors to Bangkok can see the world's biggest gold Buddha, the largest crocodile farm and the biggest teakwood building. They can eat at the world's largest restaurant, cross the longest single-span suspension bridge and stay at the world's tallest hotel, the 89 storey Baiyoke II Tower.' ( I wonder if the hotel fact is still true?)
Plus take some of the most reasonable taxi trips in the world, meet some of the most accomodating people in the
world, and see some of the most vibrant and innovative design from clothing to architecture!
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
City of Angels
A name so completely romantic....via
'Unless talking to foreigners who don't know any different, Thais will never call their capital city Bangkok - indeed, some Thais in the more remote provinces may never have even heard of it being called that. Instead in Thai it is known as Krung Thep (กรุงเทพ), which roughly translates to 'City of Angels'.
(this statement may be a little extreme or dated)
Bangkok (translating as 'village of wild plums') was the original site for the capital city and was located west of the Chao Phraya river (in modern day Thonburi). In 1782, King Rama I decided to move to a more defensible site and moved across the river to found his new capital, Krung Thep. For whatever reason, foreigners have never since caught up with the name change and the old name of Bangkok has stuck. In recent years, Krung Thep/Bangkok has expanded at such a fast rate that it now sprawls over a huge mass of land on both the sides of the Chao Phraya and has engulfed the once independent Thonburi.
Krung Thep is actually an abbreviated version of the ceremonial full name, which is shown below.
กรุงเทพมหานคร อมรรัตนโกสินทร์ มหินทรายุธยามหาดิลก ภพนพรัตน์ ราชธานีบุรีรมย์ อุดมราชนิเวศน์ มหาสถาน อมรพิมาน อวตารสถิต สักกะทัตติยะ วิษณุกรรมประสิทธิ์'
Got that?
So given the length of it, it's not hard to see why it's shortened in every day use. The full name itself is never
'Unless talking to foreigners who don't know any different, Thais will never call their capital city Bangkok - indeed, some Thais in the more remote provinces may never have even heard of it being called that. Instead in Thai it is known as Krung Thep (กรุงเทพ), which roughly translates to 'City of Angels'.
(this statement may be a little extreme or dated)
Bangkok (translating as 'village of wild plums') was the original site for the capital city and was located west of the Chao Phraya river (in modern day Thonburi). In 1782, King Rama I decided to move to a more defensible site and moved across the river to found his new capital, Krung Thep. For whatever reason, foreigners have never since caught up with the name change and the old name of Bangkok has stuck. In recent years, Krung Thep/Bangkok has expanded at such a fast rate that it now sprawls over a huge mass of land on both the sides of the Chao Phraya and has engulfed the once independent Thonburi.
Krung Thep is actually an abbreviated version of the ceremonial full name, which is shown below.
กรุงเทพมหานคร อมรรัตนโกสินทร์ มหินทรายุธยามหาดิลก ภพนพรัตน์ ราชธานีบุรีรมย์ อุดมราชนิเวศน์ มหาสถาน อมรพิมาน อวตารสถิต สักกะทัตติยะ วิษณุกรรมประสิทธิ์'
Got that?
In the official English romanisation, this is certified as the longest place name in the world in the Guinness book of records. It's pronounced something like:
Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Ayuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit
So given the length of it, it's not hard to see why it's shortened in every day use. The full name itself is never actually used, though it can be seen on a few signs around Bangkok as part of a tourist campaign. Another version, Krung Thep Mahanakhon, is quite common in official documents, car number plates and the like. Despite the length of it, an impressive number of Thai people are still able to recite the entire name off by heart. They wouldn't necessarily understand what it means though, as many of the words are archaic and no longer used in modern Thai. The full name actually translates to a string of superlatives, which give some idea of how fond King Rama I must have been of his new city:
The city of angels, the great city, the residence of the Emerald Buddha, the impregnable city (of Ayutthaya) of God Indra, the grand capital of the world endowed with nine precious gems, the happy city, abounding in an enormous Royal Palace that resembles the heaven'
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Beautiful Bangkok
Bangkok the city with the longest name in the world. via
"Bangkok has been Thailand's capital city since 1782. The proper name for Bangkok is Krungthep Maha Nakorn, Amarn Rattanakosindra, Mahindrayudhya, Mahadilokpop Noparatana Rajdhani Mahasathan, Amorn Piman Avatarn Satit, Sakkatultiya Vishnukarn Prasit. The 167 letters make Bangkoks real name the longest city name in the world.
The full name translates as "the City of Angels, the Great City, the Residence of the Emerald Buddha, the Impregnable city (of Ayutthaya) of God Indra, the Grand Capital of the world endowed with Nine Precious Gems, the Happy City, abounding in an enormous Royal Palace that resembles the heavenly abode where reigns the reincarnated god, a city given by Indra and built by Vishnukarn."
There are pictures at every corner...for the life of me I wonder why I don't go there more often...
a visual treat!
"Bangkok has been Thailand's capital city since 1782. The proper name for Bangkok is Krungthep Maha Nakorn, Amarn Rattanakosindra, Mahindrayudhya, Mahadilokpop Noparatana Rajdhani Mahasathan, Amorn Piman Avatarn Satit, Sakkatultiya Vishnukarn Prasit. The 167 letters make Bangkoks real name the longest city name in the world.
The full name translates as "the City of Angels, the Great City, the Residence of the Emerald Buddha, the Impregnable city (of Ayutthaya) of God Indra, the Grand Capital of the world endowed with Nine Precious Gems, the Happy City, abounding in an enormous Royal Palace that resembles the heavenly abode where reigns the reincarnated god, a city given by Indra and built by Vishnukarn."
There are pictures at every corner...for the life of me I wonder why I don't go there more often...
a visual treat!
Monday, May 16, 2011
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