Bangkok


Situated at the mouth of the Chao Phraya river Bangkok was only a small village inhabited mostly by Chinese traders. Until April 1782 when King Rama I decided to move the old capital Thonburi to the other side of the river, where he found the terrain to accomplish his ambitious plans of a cultural and architectonical renaissance of the detroyed Ayutthaya. King Rama I gave the new capital the name "Krungthep" which means "City of Angles".

bangkok-chakri.JPG - 51776 Bytes Bangkok has become one of the most exciting places on the planet. It is the political, cultural and oeconomical center and a main traffic junction of Thailand, a strong concentration of capital functions, which can be felt all the time. And Bangkok is still growing. More and more skyscrapers have dramaticly changed the metropolis and gave her a new face. Bangkok, that is millions of cars, traffic jams, air pollution, a high level of noise and poeple and more poeple. Estimating every 10th Thai lives in the wide capital - now an estimate of 10 million inhabitants alltogether.
Chinese, Indians and Tourist are concentrating on certain areas as well culture and administration can be found in different parts of the city. Countless markets, shops and department stores make Bangkok to a first degree shoping paradise. The choice of commercial lodging is enormous and it is hard to follow up all the culinary variety of the many restaurants. Bangkok is a pulsing and suprising metropolis where only a few footsteps away from the hectic, noise and dirt you can find the peaceful silence of a hidden temple or the virtually countrified atmosphere of a small side road.