Thailand’s capital and gateway city is Bangkok which was founded in 1782 by King Rama I [Phra Buddha Yodra chulaloke]. The capital is located at the geographic centre of the country and on the banks of the Chao Phraya River, “River of King”, which rises in the hills of the North and flows through the flat central plains on its way to the sea in the Gulf of Thailand.

 

Actually, Bangkok is made up of two words, namely ; “Bang” and “Kok”, signifying a “village” or “district” on the river and a “wild olive like fruit” respectively. Thus, it means the “village of olives” which was formerly just a smell fishing villa

ge. Unually Thai people call their capital by its short form “Krung Thep” which means “City of Angels”.

 

In fact, the capital’s official full name is “Krungthep, Maha Nakorn,*Amorn Ratanakosindra, Mahindrayudhya, Mahadilokpop Noparatana Rajdhani, Burirom, Udom Rajnivet Mahastan, Amorn Pimarn Avatarn Satit, Sakkatuttiya Vishnukarm prasit” which may be translated into English as follow : “The city of  angel, 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 the nine precious gems, the happy city, abounding in  enormous royal palaces which resemble the  heavenly abode where reigns the reincarnated God, a city given by Indra and built by Vishnukarm”. Due to its over a hundred romanised letters, the capital earns a listing in the Guiness Book of record as the World’s longest place-name.

 

Bangkok is always the heart and soul of the Thai nation as it is a place where the Royal Family reside, the seat of government and administration, and the commercial centre. Above all, it is a place where the principal royal temple [Wat Phre Kaew] and other leading temples are situated. The capital itself has a remarkable wealth of historical and culturalattractions which cannot be easily found in other parts of the world.

 

Formerly, the capital was widely known as the “Venice of the East”, unfortunately the demands for more and wider roads have resulted in the disappearance of  several canals. Its steady growth leads to the expansion into surrounding paddy fields and orchards and, at the same time, forces the buildings to rice higher. But still Bangkok remains as one of the world’s most excitingand interesting cities to visit.

Bangkok has approximately 10 million population and it is considered one of the biggest city in the world. It is now the country's spiritual, cultural, diplomatic, commercial and educational hub.  It covers an area of more than 1,500 square kilometres, and it is home to approximatlely ten million people or more than 10% of the country's population.

Over the last few decades, Thailand's capital city, Bangkok, has changed into a modern, exciting and sophisticated city.  It offers to visitors not only the cosmopolitan amenities they would expect from other big cities, but also a unique treasure trove of cultural attractions.  Thailand, in the heart of Southeast Asia, was never colonised and thus kept its unique culture and heritage intact. Bangkok offers visitors the opportunity to experience fascinating glimpse of Thailand's gentle culture amidst the bustle of a great and dynamic metropolis.  This great city has had astounding success in combining the ancient and modern world.

For tourists, Bangkok has a feast of attractions to offer.  The city is dotted with 400 glittering Buddhist temples of great beauty and fascination, magnificent palaces, classical dance extravaganzas, numerous shopping centres and traditional ways of life, especially along the "Venice of the East" timeless canals and the Chao Phraya River of the "River of Kings" winding through the city.  It is worth taking a trip along its waters before exploring further into different canals to take a glimpse of old Bangkok.