Back from Bangkok
It has been an interesting week with D, LY and FH.
No time to blog just yet, but just to leave you with some Bangkok trivia.
It seems Thais will never call their capital city Bangkok unless talking to a foreigner. Some Thais in the more remote provinces may never have even heard of it being called Bangkok. Instead it is known as Krung Thep (pronounced as grung-tep), which roughly translates to 'City of Angels'.
Bangkok (translating as 'village of wild plums') was the original site for the capital city and located west of the Chao Phraya river (present day Thonburi). In 1782, King Rama I decided to move to a more defensible site across the river to found his new capital, Krung Thep.
Strangely, foreigners never caught up with the name change and the old name of Bangkok stuck. Krung Thep is actually an abbreviated version of its ceremonial full name. Its official English Romanisation is certified as the world's longest place name in the Guinness book of records. It's goes something like:
Quite a mouthful, so it's not hard to see why the full name itself is never actually used. Another version, Krung Thep Mahanakhon, is quite common in official documents, car number plates and such.
Despite its length, many Thais are able to recite the entire name off by heart, like one of the Thai producers I worked with recently. But not many would understand what it means, as most 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 much King Rama I must have loved his new city:
"The city of angels, the great city, the residence of the Emerald Buddha, the impregnable city (of Ayuthaya) 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".
City of angels, maybe, but it's definitely a city I love, despite its perpetual madness.
No time to blog just yet, but just to leave you with some Bangkok trivia.
It seems Thais will never call their capital city Bangkok unless talking to a foreigner. Some Thais in the more remote provinces may never have even heard of it being called Bangkok. Instead it is known as Krung Thep (pronounced as grung-tep), which roughly translates to 'City of Angels'.
Bangkok (translating as 'village of wild plums') was the original site for the capital city and located west of the Chao Phraya river (present day Thonburi). In 1782, King Rama I decided to move to a more defensible site across the river to found his new capital, Krung Thep.
Strangely, foreigners never caught up with the name change and the old name of Bangkok stuck. Krung Thep is actually an abbreviated version of its ceremonial full name. Its official English Romanisation is certified as the world's longest place name in the Guinness book of records. It's goes something like:
Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Ayuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit
Quite a mouthful, so it's not hard to see why the full name itself is never actually used. Another version, Krung Thep Mahanakhon, is quite common in official documents, car number plates and such.
Despite its length, many Thais are able to recite the entire name off by heart, like one of the Thai producers I worked with recently. But not many would understand what it means, as most 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 much King Rama I must have loved his new city:
"The city of angels, the great city, the residence of the Emerald Buddha, the impregnable city (of Ayuthaya) 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".
City of angels, maybe, but it's definitely a city I love, despite its perpetual madness.
Labels: bangkok
says Wandernut on Friday, May 02, 2008
2 wandered by:
*rubs hands together in glee*
Pressie? Yes? Yes?
I came back assuming I could get pork anywhere!!
D
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