Bangkok History Administration Economy Transportation

Bangkok, (in Thai กรุงเทพฯ, กรุงเทพมหานคร, or Krung Thep, Krung Thep Mahanakhon), population 8,538,610 ( 1990), is the capital and largest city of Thailand. The city is located on the east bank of the Chao Phraya River, near the Gulf of Thailand. Bangkok is one of the fastest-growing and most economically dynamic and socially progressive cities in South-East Asia. It is emerging as a regional centre to rival Singapore and Hong Kong, but suffers from major infrastructure and social problems as a result of its rapid growth. It is also one of the world's most popular tourist destinations.

1 History

Bangkok began as a small trading center and port community, called Bang Makok ("place of olive plums"), serving Ayutthaya, which was the capital of Siam until it fell to Burma in 1767. A capital was established at Thonburi (now part of Bangkok) on the west side of the river, before in 1782 King Rama I built a palace on the east bank and made Bangkok his capital, renaming it Krung Thep, meaning "city of angels". In the west the old name of the city continued to be used. The Grand Palace complex contains the Wat Phra KaewThe Wat Phra Kaew ( English: Temple of the Emerald Buddha is the most important buddhist temple of Thailand. It is located in the historic center of Bangkok, within the grounds of the Grand Palace. The construction of the temple started when King Buddha Y, which houses the image of the Emerald BuddhaThe Emerald Buddha is the palladium of the Kingdom of Thailand, a figurine of the sitting Buddha, made of gold and green jade (rather than emerald) and about 45 cm tall. It is kept in the Chapel of the Emerald Buddha ( Wat Phra Kaew) on the grounds of the. The village of Bangkok ceased to exist, but its name continues to be used by foreigners.

Local schoolchildren are taught the full name, although few can explain its meaning because many of the words are archaic. Most Thais who do recall the full name do so as it was used in a popular songDepending on context, pop music is either an abbreviation of popular music or, more recently, a term for a sub- genre of it. The subgenre of pop is perhaps the most widely crowd-pleasing form of all popular music. The defining musical characteristics of t (กรุงเทพมหานคร/Krung Thep Mahanakhon by อัสนี-วสันต์ โชติกุล/ Asanee-Wasan Chotikul ) and will often recount it by recalling the song at the same time.

2 Administration

Bangkok
กรุงเทพฯ
Statistics
Capital:	n/a
Area:	1,568.7 km² Ranked 68th
Inhabitants:	6,355,144 (2000) Ranked 1st
Pop. density:	4,051 inh./km² Ranked 1st
ISO 3166-2:	TH-10
Map

Administratively, Bangkok is one of the 76 provincesThailand is divided into 76 provinces ( Thai: , changwat singular and plural), which are grouped into 5 groups of provinces sometimes the East and Central are grouped together. The name of the province is the same as that of the capital city, which is som (changwat) of Thailand. The urban sprawl of Greater Bangkok extends beyond the borders of Bangkok province, spilling into the neighbouring provinces of NonthaburiNonthaburi ( Thai ) is one of the central provinces changwat of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are (from north clockwise) Ayutthaya, Pathum Thani, Bangkok and Nakhon Pathom. Geography Nonthaburi is located directly north of Bangkok on the Chao Phraya riv, Samut PrakanSamut Prakan ( Thai ) is one of the central provinces changwat of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are in the west and north Bangkok and Chachoengsao to the east. The new Suvarnabhumi Airport is currently under construction in the Bang Phli district of Sam and Pathum Thani. The province as it is today was created in 1972, when the previous Bangkok province - changwat Phra Nakhon - was merged with the Thonburi province.

The seal shows the god Indra riding in the clouds on Erawan, a mythological elephant-shaped creature (sometimes portrayed with three heads). In his hand Indra holds a lightning bolt, which is his weapon to drive away drought. The seal is based upon a painting done by Somdej Chaofa Kromphraya Narisra-nuwattiwong. The tree symbol of Bangkok is Ficus benjamina.

Bangkok is subdivided into 50 districts (khet, also sometimes called amphoe as in the other provinces)

3 Economy

Bangkok is the economic center of Thailand. The Chao Phraya River allows Bangkok to function as a port. The Stock Exchange of Thailand is located in Bangkok. Tourism is a major source of revenue. The city contains many buddhist temples (known in Thai as Wats), among the best known being Wat Pho and Wat Arun . Khaosan Road, near the Grand Palace complex, is a popular destination for young backpackers. Bangkok's educational and cultural facilities include several universities, a fine arts academy, a national theater and a national museum.

Processed food, timber, and textiles are leading exports. Industrial plants include rice mills, cement factories, sawmills, oil refineries, and shipyards. The city is a famous jewelry center, buying and selling silver and bronzeware. Although technically illegal, prostitution is a major problem in Bangkok, making it a popular destination for sex tourism. Popular red light districts in Bangkok include Patpong, Nana Plaza and Soi Cowboy.

4 Transportation

An elaborate network of canals ( khlong) gave the city the nickname " Venice of the East", at a time when all transportation was done by boat. Today almost all are filled in and converted into traffic-filled streets. Several elevated highways, and a partially-finished ring road around Greater Bangkok, have been built to overcome the jams.

In 1999 an elevated two-line ' Skytrain' (officially called BTS) metro system was opened. The first line of the underground Bangkok Metro opened to the public in July 2004. The remains of a failed elevated railroad project (the Hopewell project ) can still be seen all the way from the main railroad station out towards the Don Muang airport - due to the Asian financial crisis the construction was halted and the concrete pillars were left unused.

In July 2004, a new MRTA subway system was launched connecting the northern train station of Bang Sue to the Hua Lamphong railway station near the city center, while going through the eastern part of the city. It connects to the BTS system at BTS Stations Mo Chit, Asok, and Saladaeng.

For travel by train, most passengers begin their trips at Hua Lamphong , at the southern end of the Metro. Here, trains connect Bangkok to Malaysia to the south, Chiang Mai and beyond to the north, and Khon Kaen and beyond to the northeast.

Virtually all cities and provinces are easily reachable by bus from Bangkok. For destinations in the southwest and the west, buses leave from the Southern Bus Terminal, west of the city. For destinations in the southeast, such as Pattaya and Ko Samet , buses leave from the Eastern Bus Terminal, at Ekamai, the third-eastern-most stop on the Skytrain. And for all destinations north and northeast, the Northern Bus Terminal at Mo Chit, which is reachable by both Skytrain and Metro, is the place to start.

The Don Muang Airport, the busiest in South-East Asia, is located north of the city, now already enclosed by urban areas. Construction for the new Suvarnabhumi Airport in the Bang Phli district of Samut Prakan province to the south-east of the city started in 2002, it is scheduled to be opened in 2005. By then all international traffic is expected to go to the new airport and Don Muang will become domestic only. There is also a train station at Don Muang for destinations to the north and northeast.

5 Current issues

Air pollution is a major problem in Bangkok, blamed on the city's massive traffic jams. The recent construction of elevated second-level expressways has eased the problem a little.

The sale of illegally copied copyright material (mostly software and DVD movies) is widespread in Bangkok. One of the most popular locations in Bangkok for purchasing pirated software is Pantip Plaza. Although many attempts have been made at cracking down on illegal copying by raiding Pantip and other venues over the years, these have been ineffective and illegal copying of copyrighted material is still a booming business. The BSA, an American software copying prevention group believes that it could extract 80 million USD from Thailand if all of illegally copied software there was stopped [1]. Due to heavy, long term pressure[2] from groups such as the BSA and the Recording Industry of America Association, which threatened difficulties for trade agreements for Thailand [3], the Thai government has now started to crack down heavily on the unauthorised copying by its citizens including the introduction of "one of the most aggressive legislative schemes for the protection of intellectual property rights in any developing nation"[4]. However, these measures have not yet halted the appetite of Thai citizens for unauthorised copies, the sale of unauthorised discs continues and the raids have been called "half hearted". The BSA states, however, that reduction of illegal copying is a long term goal [5] and that the aim now is more to re-educate the Thais towards the BSA's own views.

6 External links

Thailand Cities in Thailand

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