Bangkok, capital of Thailand

Monday, 21 January 2019 - 11:00 am (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination:
Category/Kategorie: General
Reading Time:  4 minutes

Yaowarat Road, Bangkok's Chinatown at night © flickr.com - Ninara/cc-by-2.0

Yaowarat Road, Bangkok’s Chinatown at night © flickr.com – Ninara/cc-by-2.0

Bangkok is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies 1,568.7 square kilometres (605.7 sq mi) in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand, and has a population of over eight million, or 12.6 percent of the country’s population. Over fourteen million people (22.2 percent) lived within the surrounding Bangkok Metropolitan Region, making Bangkok the nation’s primate city, significantly dwarfing Thailand’s other urban centres in terms of importance.

Bangkok traces its roots to a small trading post during the Ayutthaya Kingdom in the 15th century, which eventually grew and became the site of two capital cities: Thonburi in 1768 and Rattanakosin in 1782. Bangkok was at the heart of the modernization of Siam, later renamed Thailand, during the late 19th century, as the country faced pressures from the West. The city was at the centre of Thailand’s political struggles throughout the 20th century, as the country abolished absolute monarchy, adopted constitutional rule, and underwent numerous coups and several uprisings. The city grew rapidly during the 1960s through the 1980s and now exerts a significant impact on Thailand’s politics, economy, education, media and modern society.

Aerial view of Lumphini Park © Terence Ong/cc-by-2.5 Floating Market © Azchael/cc-by-sa-3.0 Grand Palace from across the Chao Phraya River © Mda from the Thai Wikipedia/cc-by-sa-3.0 Khao San Road at night © flickr com - Kevin Poh/cc-by-2.0 Makkasan Highway interchange at night © aotaro/cc-by-2.0 View from Baiyoke Sky Hotel on Sukhumvit area © David McKelvey/cc-by-2.0 Wat Phra Kaeo in the Grand Palace © Aimaimyi/cc-by-sa-3.0 Yaowarat Road, Bangkok's Chinatown at night © flickr.com - Ninara/cc-by-2.0
<
>
Grand Palace from across the Chao Phraya River © Mda from the Thai Wikipedia/cc-by-sa-3.0
The Asian investment boom in the 1980s and 1990s led many multinational corporations to locate their regional headquarters in Bangkok. The city is now a regional force in finance and business. It is an international hub for transport and health care, and has emerged as a centre for the arts, fashion, and entertainment. The city is known for its vibrant street life and cultural landmarks, as well as its notorious red-light districts. The historic Grand Palace and Buddhist temples including Wat Arun and Wat Pho stand in contrast with other tourist attractions such as the nightlife scenes of Khaosan Road and Patpong.

Bangkok’s rapid growth coupled with little urban planning has resulted in a haphazard cityscape and inadequate infrastructure. An inadequate road network, despite an extensive expressway network, together with substantial private car usage, have led to chronic and crippling traffic congestion, which caused severe air pollution in the 1990s. The city has since turned to public transport in an attempt to solve the problem. Five rapid transit lines are now in operation, with more systems under construction or planned by the national government and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration.

Read more on City of Bangkok, TourismThailand.org – Bangkok, Bangkok Travel Guide, LonelyPlanet.com – Bangkok, Wikivoyage Bangkok and Wikipedia Bangkok (Smart Traveler App by U.S. Department of State - Weather report by weather.com - Global Passport Power Rank - Travel Risk Map - Democracy Index - GDP according to IMF, UN, and World Bank - Global Competitiveness Report - Corruption Perceptions Index - Press Freedom Index - World Justice Project - Rule of Law Index - UN Human Development Index - Global Peace Index - Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index). Photos by Wikimedia Commons. If you have a suggestion, critique, review or comment to this blog entry, we are looking forward to receive your e-mail at comment@wingsch.net. Please name the headline of the blog post to which your e-mail refers to in the subject line.






Recommended posts:

Share this post: (Please note data protection regulations before using buttons)

The Isle of Man in the Irish Sea

The Isle of Man in the Irish Sea

[caption id="attachment_151738" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Isle of Man Tourist Trophy statue at Snaefell, showing Joey Dunlop by sculptor Amanda Barton © Finn Bjorklid[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]The Isle of Man, otherwise known simply as Mann, is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is represented by a Lieutenant Governor, bu...

[ read more ]

Theme Week Asturias - Langreo

Theme Week Asturias - Langreo

[caption id="attachment_217540" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © Astur1[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Langreo (Asturian: Llangréu) is a municipality and town of northern Spain, province of The Principality of Asturias. It is the 4th largest town of Asturias with 43.000 inhabitants. Langreo is located in the centre of Asturias, approximately 20 kilometres (12 mi) south-east of Oviedo. It was an important mining and metallurgical center. In the neighbourhood fruit and cider are produced, and there are still important coal mines, f...

[ read more ]

Syros in the Cyclades

Syros in the Cyclades

[caption id="attachment_153489" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Ermoupouli © Jeremy Avnet[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Syros is a Greek island in the Cyclades, in the Aegean Sea. It is located 78 nautical miles (144 km) south-east of Athens. The area of the island is 83.6 km2 (32 sq mi) and it has 21,000 inhabitants. The largest towns are Ermoupoli, Ano Syros, and Vari (el). Ermoupoli is the capital of the island and of the Cyclades. It has always been a significant port town, and during the 19th century it was even more signific...

[ read more ]

Port Lockroy in Antarctica

Port Lockroy in Antarctica

[caption id="attachment_150882" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Base A © flickr.com - Eugene Regis/cc-by-2.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Port Lockroy is a natural harbour on the north-western shore of Wiencke Island in Palmer Archipelago of the British Antarctic Territory. In 1996 the Port Lockroy base was renovated and is now a museum and post office operated by the United Kingdom Antarctic Heritage Trust. It was discovered in 1904 and named after Edouard Lockroy, a French politician and Vice President of the Chamber of...

[ read more ]

Marino in Lazio

Marino in Lazio

[caption id="attachment_151275" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © Deblu68/cc-by-sa-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Marino is an Italian city and comune in Lazio (central Italy), on the Alban Hills, 21 kilometres (13 miles) southeast of Rome, with a population of 38,000. The territory of Marino was inhabited by Latin tribes from the 1st millennium BC. The Grape Festival (Italian: Sagra dell'uva) is held every 1st Sunday of October. This festival is very famous in the surrounding area because, for about one hour, some of the city'...

[ read more ]

Theme Week Indonesia - Kalimantan on Borneo

Theme Week Indonesia - Kalimantan on Borneo

[caption id="attachment_196249" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Banjarmasin Floating Market © Muhammad Haris/cc-by-sa-4.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Borneo is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and east of Sumatra. The island is politically divided among three countries: Malaysia and Brunei in the north, and Indonesia to the south. Approximately 73% of the islan...

[ read more ]

Theme Week Lombardy - Varese

Theme Week Lombardy - Varese

[caption id="attachment_153440" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Palazzo Estense and gardens - Town Hall © Docfra/cc-by-sa-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Vares is a city and comune in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy, 55 kilometres (34 mi) north of Milan. It is the capital of the Province of Varese. The hinterland or urban part of the city is called Varesotto. The city also looks over Lake Varese. The city has both an extensive city bus network and provincial bus services. The A8 motorway connects Varese with Milan...

[ read more ]

Capitola in California

Capitola in California

[caption id="attachment_186006" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Capitola Hotel © Ashokmehta72/cc-by-sa-4.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Capitola is a city in Santa Cruz County, California, United States, on the coast of Monterey Bay. The population is at 10,000. The original settlement now known as Capitola grew out of what was then called Soquel Landing. Soquel Landing got its name from a wharf located at the mouth of Soquel Creek. This wharf, which dates back to the 1850s, served as an outlet for the produce and lumber grown in...

[ read more ]

Haarlem, capital of the province of North Holland

Haarlem, capital of the province of North Holland

[caption id="attachment_160674" align="aligncenter" width="590"] De Adriaan Windmill © Dfarrell07[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Haarlem, in the past usually Harlem in English, is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland, the northern half of Holland, which at one time was the most powerful of the seven provinces of the Dutch Republic. Haarlem lies in the northern part of the Randstad, the sixth-largest metropolitan area in Europe. By the end of 2010 Haarlem had a total...

[ read more ]

Theme Week Catalonia - Badalona

Theme Week Catalonia - Badalona

[caption id="attachment_151298" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Port of Badalona © Vicente Maza Gómez/cc-by-sa-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Badalona is a city in eastern Catalonia. It is located in the comarca of the Barcelonès, joined to Barcelona and part of its metropolitan area. It is situated on the left bank of the small Besòs River and on the Mediterranean Sea, backed by the Serra de la Marina mountain range. Badalona is the third most-populated municipality in Catalonia after Barcelona and L'Hospitalet de Llobregat...

[ read more ]

Return to TopReturn to Top
Philip Webb's Red House in Upton, Bexleyheath, Greater London © Ethan Doyle White/cc-by-sa-3.0
Arts and Crafts Movement

The Arts and Crafts movement was an international movement in the decorative and fine arts that began in Britain and...

Buddhist monks in front of the Angkor Wat © flickr.com - sam garza/cc-by-2.0
Angkor Wat in Cambodia

Angkor was the capital city of the Khmer Empire, which also recognized as Yasodharapura and flourished from approximately the 9th...

© flickr.com - KimonBerlin/cc-by-sa-2.0
Bahia Honda State Park in the Lower Florida Keys

Bahia Honda (Spanish deep bay) is an island in the lower Florida Keys. U.S. 1 (the Overseas Highway) crosses the...

Schließen