Bangkok

Toponymy

Its whole name is: Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Ayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit , which means: “City of the angels, big city, residence of the emerald Buddha, impregnable city of the god Indra, large capital of the world engraved of nine invaluable stones, happy, generous city in the enormous Palais Royal similar with the celestial residence, reigns of the réincarné god, city dedicated to Indra and built by Vishnukarn. ”
The current name of Krung Thep or Krung Thep Mahanakhon is reflected in a popular song (กรุงเทพมหานคร/Krung Thep Mahanakhon by อัสนี-วสันต์โชติกุล/Asanee-Wasan Chotikul).
The Livre Guinness of the records notes it like the longest place name in the world.

History

Bangkok (today the district of Thonburi) was a village located on Right Bank of the river Chao Phraya. Following the destruction of Ayutthaya, capital of the kingdom, by the Burmeses in 1767, the general Chanhda, become king, was folded up downstream on this site and decided to found the new capital there. Become lunatic, he was assassinated and replaced by the Chakri general who, under the name of Rama I {{er}}, became still today the first king of the news Dynastie Chakri reigning. In 1782, it decided, for reasons of defense, to transfer the capital on left bank and began strengthened constructions, today the Large palace. It is this date which is appointed like foundation of the city.

Geography and demography

Official population of Bangkok east of 6 355 144 inhabitants. This number however is regarded as being very underestimated since it takes into account only the inhabitants of the city officially recorded in this one and not their real number (good number of inhabitants of Thailand remain recorded in their town of birth). The most serious estimates, although speculative, estimate that the population living within the limits of the Province of Bangkok east of 12 million inhabitants.

The surface of this province is of 1568,7 km ², of which the essence is regarded as component the town of Bangkok, which does of them one of the more big cities of the world. It is located only at 2 meters above the sea level, which causes floods in period of monsoon. Moreover, constuite on a formerly marshy zone, the city would be inserted of 5, even of 10 cm per annum.

Bangkok is crossed by the river Chao Phraya which determines two great zones, the Right Bank (old Thonburi) which remained more traditional, traversed many klong , system canal connected to the river and which had been worth in Bangkok the nickname of Venice of Asia , and the left bank, more developed, where are almost all the tourist attractions, the center of the businesses, the network of subway and the large modern towers.

The urban development on Right Bank rather anarchistic and was carried out without town-planning. The great ways were created by concreting old the klong . The small islands thus created were equipped with minor roads called oneself . Those have the characteristic to be very often finished in dead end, which prevents the creation of transverse routes enormously and contributes to the obstruction of the main axes.

The city has since 1999, an elevated railway, called Bangkok Skytrain . This one is composed of two lines in viaduct. The subway became reality with the opening of a first semi-underground line in August 2004. The Métro of Bangkok was a particularly constraining company considering the basement of the city.

Administration

The city is directed by a governor, important character, elected for four years. The election of August 2004 was gained by Apirak Kosayothin, a young candidate of the Democratic party, opposing to the former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Remarkable monuments

The city has primarily temples, but none is former at the end of the 18th century.

oldest is the Wat Pho (or Wat Phra Chetuphon) and its large Bouddha lying.
the enclosure of the Palais Royal contains the Wat Phra If Ratana Sasadaram (Wat Phra Kaeo) and its Bouddha of Emerald, national symbol.
the Wat Benchama Bophit is out of marble of Carrare.
the Wat Saket or temple of the gold mountain is built on an artificial hill of 75 m in height, its chedi gilded would contain part of true ashes of the Bouddha.
the Wat Traimit car its glory of gold the Buddha of 5,5 tons, the most important gold statue in the world.
the Wat Arun or temple of the paddle , at the edge of the river, with the form of a Prang of Khmer style, high of 85 meters.
the Sanctuaire of Erawan has a very interesting anecdotic history.
the Vimanmek, old royal palace become museum, considered as the largest building in Teak gilded in the world.

Teaching

Bangkok is the seat many universities, of which most known are the Université Thammasat and the Université Chulalongkorn.

There exists also the HAS Bangkok, i.e. the founded Asian Institute off Technology in 1959, it is based in the north of Bangkok.

Shopping malls

Siam Paragon
Emporium
MBK Center
Panthip Plaza
Crossroads (French chain)
Bangkapi The Badly
World Trade Center (in restoration)
Geysorn
Century Plaza
Platinium

Economy

Tourism is very important and that of the surgery comes to be added to it, in particular for the Hôpital Bumrungrad. Bangkok wants to become one of the fortified towns of Asia, mainly with the advent of new the International airport of Suvarnabhumi open in September 2006 would have made of Bangkok the center of the Southeast Asia if it had not been very badly built, with in particular of the problems of drainage.

An important Chinese community (300 000 people) holds the reins of the economy of the city and even of the country. Many companies inhabitants of Thailand are directed by these Chinese. Thus the Chinese New year is de facto a bank holiday in good number of companies in Thailand.

Photograph gallery

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