daeng bireley Posted December 27, 2001 Report Share Posted December 27, 2001 Thais call bkk, Krungthep when talking amongst each other. Krungthep or Krungthepmahanakorn is an abbreviation for a much longer name. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lamock Chokaprret Posted December 27, 2001 Report Share Posted December 27, 2001 Krungthepmahanakon bowornratanakosin mahintarayudyayamahadilopo noparatanarajthaniburirom udomrajniwesmahasatarn amornpimarnavatarsatit sakattiyavisanukamphrasit The translation here is pretty much the unabridged history of the city rather than a word. krungthep mahanakhon The land of angels, the great city of amorn rattanakosin immortality, various of devine gems, mahintara yudthaya mahadilok pohp the great angelic land unconquerable, noparat rajathanee bureerom land of nine noble gems, the royal city, the pleasant capital, udomrajniwes mahasatarn place of the grand royal palace, amorn pimarn avaltarnsatit forever land of angels and reincarnated spirits, sakatattiya visanukram prasit predestined and created by the highest devas. Listed by Guiness as the worlds longest city name I believe. [ December 28, 2001: Message edited by: Lamock Chokaprret ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 28, 2001 Report Share Posted December 28, 2001 Post deleted by DoxyBlue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 28, 2001 Report Share Posted December 28, 2001 Probably another silly question, but nevertheless -- Do the Thais ever refer to the city as "Bangkok" amongst themselves? Or is it always "Krungthep" -- perhaps with the exception of proper names including "Bangkok" (like "Bangkok Post")? And when you (farang expats) are dealing with the Thais in Thai language, do you use "Krungthep" also? Thanks for any leads. Ciao! micsnee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 28, 2001 Report Share Posted December 28, 2001 My experience is that Thais only use the word "Bangkok" when speaking to english speakers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lamock Chokaprret Posted December 28, 2001 Report Share Posted December 28, 2001 Sorry DB, hope that's better for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 28, 2001 Report Share Posted December 28, 2001 Thanks guys! I had a distinct impression that somehow Bangkok was just a fleeting figment of my farang-tainted impression So if Krungthep . . . was built on top of old Bangkok, is continuing to call the city Bangkok akin to calling NYC "New Amsterdam"? Ciao! micsnee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daeng bireley Posted December 28, 2001 Report Share Posted December 28, 2001 Bangkok has offically been known as Krungthep for over 200 hundred years. The farang name stayed Bangkok supposedly due to the fact that the port has always been known as Bangkok. In olden days there was a bangkok east, Krungrattanakosin, and a bangkok west, Thonburi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted December 29, 2001 Report Share Posted December 29, 2001 Bangkok is and always has been Bangkok. It is a very old village on the west side of the Chao Phaya River and appears on European maps of the 17th century and perhaps even earlier. Basically, it is the area around the Temple of Dawn -- the district now known as Bangkok Noi. The village of Bangkok was an important stop for ships on the way to the former capital of Ayutthaya. Krungthep is a much more modern city, dating only to 1782. Until fairly recent years, Krungthep was only on the east side of the river, whilst Thonburi on the west (including Bangkok) had a seperate municapal government. Nowadays both are lumped together as Krungthep Mahanakorn "etc" and form a province. (Thus Bangkok has a governor, not a mayor.) Foreigners have never been worried about little things like what the "natives" of a country call things. Accordingly, they continued calling the new city by the name of the old village across the river. Just as even now many geography texts in the west talk about the Menam River at Bangkok! Thais will be careful to say Bangkok to foreigners, since they know we are a bit thick and like to humour us. That's why the smile at us all the time. [ December 28, 2001: Message edited by: Flashermac ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 29, 2001 Report Share Posted December 29, 2001 Post deleted by DoxyBlue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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