Bangkok (Krung Thep)
- Krung Thep (City of Angels) is Thailand's capital and largest city. It's in the central part of the country, on the Chao Phraya River near the Gulf of Thailand (still often called the Gulf of Siam). Bangkok is Thailand's administrative, economic, and cultural center, and a major commercial and transportation center of Southeast Asia.
- The tourists call Bangkok as the City of Angels because of Bangkok’s many attractions such as Temple, River and Shopping center. The population of Bangkok is about 6,000,000 (in 2005). Bangkok is the growth pole of the whole kingdom with total area of 1568.737 square kilometers.
- The capital of Thailand was established at Bangkok in 1782 by the first king of the Chakri dynasty, Rama I. the name Bangkok comes from Bang Makok, meaning "Place of Olive Plums", and refers to the original site, which is only a very small part of what is today called Bangkok by foreigners. The official Thai name for the city is quite a tongue twister :
"Krungthep mahanakhon amonratanakosin mahintara ayuthaya mahadilk popnoparat ratchathani burirom udomratchaniwet mahasathan amonpiman avatansathit sakkathattiya witsanukamprasit"
