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Thailand: Bangkok Part 2 - City Scenes
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Mar 17, 2023 14:15:51   #
srfmhg Loc: Marin County, CA
 
We started our first full day in Bangkok with a delicious breakfast on the hotel patio overlooking the river. We then departed by bus for a visit to the temples and grand palace. Like any big city in the world, there is a tremendous contrast between the luxury high-rises and the neighborhoods as you will see in these images. Here are some shots from the hotel and from the tour bus windows.
A little more about Bangkok:

Bangkok, Thai Krung Thep, city, capital, and chief port of Thailand. It is the only cosmopolitan city in a country of small towns and villages and is Thailand’s cultural and commercial centre.

Bangkok is located on the delta of the Chao Phraya River, about 25 miles (40 km) from the Gulf of Thailand. It was formerly divided into two municipalities—Krung Thep on the east bank and Thon Buri on the west—connected by several bridges. In 1971 the two were united as a city-province with a single municipal government. In 1972 the city and the two surrounding provinces were merged into one province, called Krung Thep Maha Nakhon (Bangkok Metropolis). The metropolis is a bustling, crowded city, with temples, factories, shops, and homes juxtaposed along its roads and canals. It is also a major tourist destination, noted for bountiful cultural attractions and a nightlife that includes a flourishing sex trade.

The name Bangkok, used commonly by foreigners, is, according to one interpretation, derived from a name that dates to the time before the city was built—the village or district (bang) of wild plums (makok). The Thai call their capital Krung Thep, which is the first part of its mellifluous and lengthy official name meaning “the City of Gods, the Great City, the Residence of the Emerald Buddha, the Impregnable City (of Ayutthaya) of God Indra, the Grand Capital of the World Endowed with Nine Precious Gems, the Happy City Abounding in Enormous Royal Palaces Which Resemble the Heavenly Abode Wherein Dwell the Reincarnated Gods, a City Given by Indra and Built by Vishnukarm.” The abbreviated name Krung Thep is often translated as “City of Angels.” Area Bangkok Metropolis, 604 square miles (1,565 square km). Pop. (2000) 6,355,144; (2010) 8,305,218.

Climate
The climate of Bangkok is hot throughout the year, ranging from 77 °F (25 °C) in the “cold” season in December to 86 °F (30 °C) at the height of the hot season in April. The mean annual rainfall totals 60 inches (1,500 mm), four-fifths of which falls in brief torrential downpours during the late afternoons of the rainy season, which lasts from mid-May through September; the dry season lasts from December to February. Mean monthly relative humidity varies from a low of 60 percent in the cold season to more than 80 percent during the rainy season.

The city layout
Modern Bangkok has undergone explosive growth, which the authorities have attempted to direct by means of a series of master plans since the 1960s. The city centre, formerly enclosed by a wall, has long been densely developed. Later expansion has sprawled outward well beyond the administrative boundaries into the surrounding agricultural areas. Some districts have evolved into functional units as the inner city has become more institutional and commercial and the outer city more residential and industrial. Throughout the city, walled Buddhist temples and monasteries called wats, often sumptuously ornamented, serve as focal points for religious, cultural, and even commercial life.

Traditional areas
The governmental and commercial districts of the city occupy traditional sites. Government offices were originally housed in the walled compound of the 18th-century Grand Palace, but by the late 19th century they occupied surrounding palaces and mansions. The bureaucracy then spread outward into nearby colonial-style or Thai-style office buildings and homes along Ratchadamnoen Road. Multistoried buildings have been erected to meet the ever-increasing demand for space, and the traditional government compounds have become overbuilt. A number of large camps around and north of the National Assembly Hall constitute the military area.
When Bangkok became the national capital in the 18th century and its citadel was moved to the east bank of the Chao Phraya River, Chinese merchants and tradesmen occupying the site moved a short distance southward to the area now known as Sam Peng. Business was at first carried on in one-story wood and thatch houses. By the early 1900s a number of streets had been lined with two-story masonry shop-houses. This ever-expanding district now contains rows of shop-houses that are sometimes five or more stories high. Warehouses line both banks of the river just south of Sam Peng, while industry is concentrated at Sam Rong, south of the port. Nightlife flourishes on Pat Pong Road. The financial district straddles Silom Road.

In the Floating Market a variety of foods and merchandise are sold daily from boats on the canals near Wat Sai. Formerly several such markets and innumerable door-to-door floating vendors served the daily needs of the city’s residents.

Housing
Homes generally consist of small, detached one- or two-story wooden houses or row houses. Most of these are overcrowded because there are far too few of them to house the expanding population. Government programs alone are insufficient to meet the housing shortage, and funds from the World Bank have been used to build low-income housing, such as the Din Daeng and Hua Mak developments. The government allows squatters to occupy unused public land. The number of squatters is small, and most of them are concentrated in the Khlong Toei area near the port.

Beginning in the 1960s, housing developed rapidly in the city. From the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s more than 100,000 new units were built. There was also an emphasis on renewal in inner-city areas. Private real-estate developers provide homes for middle-income groups, and many government agencies provide homes for their employees. Homes may be crowded onto small lots with rudimentary sanitation facilities. These developments have spread out haphazardly on the periphery of the city. Luxury housing, mostly for the wealthy foreign community, usually takes the form of large, modern, two-story masonry structures set in private compounds and equipped with separate servants’ quarters and kitchens. Bang Kapi is perhaps the most affluent neighbourhood. High-rise offices, hotels, and condominiums are increasingly common.

The people of Bangkok
The population’s outstanding demographic characteristics—its youth and the low proportion of non-Thais—are explained by the high rate of natural increase and by the restrictive foreign immigration quotas adopted after World War II. Roughly two-fifths of the residents are under 20 years of age. The birth rate has declined since the introduction of a birth control program. At the same time, the net in-migration of young adults, particularly females, has increased greatly, so that more than a quarter of the resident population of the city is made up of migrant Thais from all parts of the country.

Most of the city’s population are ethnic Thais. The Chinese are by far the largest minority, but there are sizable communities of other Asians, North Americans, and Europeans. Despite their small size, the foreign communities tend to live in certain areas. The Chinese concentrate in the commercial area of Sam Peng, Indians gather around mosques in the Wang Burapha section, and the Western and Japanese communities reside in the affluent, modern eastern section of the city.

Of the foreign groups, the Chinese enter the most intimately into city life. They appear to assimilate readily, and intermarriage is frequent. Their offspring are Thai citizens, and many Chinese families take Thai surnames and are naturalized.

Industry
There are many factories in the metropolitan area, but most operate on a small scale. Larger plants are located in the vicinity of the port, near the warehouses that store imported materials. Manufacturing is chiefly confined to food processing, textiles, the assembly of electronic equipment, and the production of building materials. Beginning in the mid-1970s, the government emphasized reducing congestion in the city and placed a high priority on locating industrial parks on the fringes of Bangkok. Roughly one-third of the country’s output is produced in the city, and nearly half of all firms are located in the metropolitan area. Tourism has increased greatly and is now a major source of revenue in Bangkok.

Finance
Bangkok houses about one-third of the country’s banking units, holding three-fourths of all deposits. The Industrial Finance Corporation of Thailand, the Board of Investment, and the Securities Exchange of Thailand are also located in the city.

Health
Bangkok has most of the country’s hospitals and clinics. Special services are offered for patients with tuberculosis and sexually transmitted diseases, and there are government homes for the indigent, handicapped, and aged. The Pasteur Institute and WHO supply vaccines. Family-planning clinics have proliferated in recent years. In the 1990s cases of AIDS increased among Bangkok’s prostitutes and drug users. The government has established special wards in hospitals to treat patients afflicted with the disease and has taken other measures to prevent the spread of HIV infection.

Education
Because of its high proportion of school-age citizens, Bangkok’s educational facilities are overburdened. There are too few schools, and the standard of instruction varies. Literacy is extremely high, however. Many of the government-built preprimary and primary schools are located on monastery grounds. Private primary and secondary schools run by foreign religious missions train the children of the elite. There are many private Chinese primary schools and night schools. The city has several universities. Wat Pho, long a traditional centre of learning, has often been considered the city’s first university; it is one of the oldest and largest temples in Bangkok.

Cultural life
The most important cultural feature of Bangkok is the wat. There are more than 300 such temples, representing classic examples of Thai architecture. Most are enclosed by walls. Many wats have leased a portion of their grounds for residential or commercial use.

The National Museum houses prehistoric and Bronze Age art relics, as well as royal objects dating to the 6th century AD. The city also houses the National Library and the Thai National Documentation Department. Jim Thompson’s Thai House, named for a U.S. entrepreneur and devotee of Thai culture, is composed of several traditional Thai mansions; it contains the country’s largest collection of 17th-century Thai religious paintings. There are also collections of Dvaravati and Khmer sculpture, in addition to examples of Thai and Chinese pottery and porcelain. In 1987 the 200-acre (80-hectare) King Rama IX Royal Park with its extensive botanical gardens was opened to commemorate the king’s 60th birthday.

All of the country’s daily newspapers and most of its weeklies and monthlies are published in Bangkok. Newspapers are printed in Thai, English, and Chinese. Radio and television are controlled by government agencies and the military. Most of the nation’s radio stations and all of its television stations are located in or near Bangkok. Most programs are in Thai, but some special programs are in English and Chinese. Motion pictures are extremely popular. There is a thriving Thai cinema industry, but films are also imported.

Fairs, festivals, and “kite-fighting” contests are held in the parks. The Ratchadamnoen and Lumphini stadiums host professional boxing bouts featuring the highly ritualistic form of boxing known as Muai Thai. Silapakorn National Theatre presents dancing, drama, and music.

Since World War II Bangkok has grown with unprecedented rapidity, which caused problems with transportation, communication, housing, water supply, drainage, and pollution. Tourism rose in importance during the Vietnam War, when the city became a popular destination for U.S. military personnel. By the 1980s, nightclubs and the tourist sex trade—as well as crime and sexually transmitted diseases—were flourishing. Although prostitution is formally illegal and the number of prostitutes per capita is lower in Thailand than in some other Asian countries, the city’s commercial sex industry employs an estimated 100,000 people and is popular among foreign tourists. However, the vast majority of clients are Thai nationals. To combat abuses, notably underage prostitution, the government stiffened penalties for both patrons and brothel operators during the 1990s. That those responsible for modernizing the metropolis are coping with these problems suggests the appropriateness of its official emblem: the God Indra seated atop a sacred white elephant, the four tusks of which denote its celestial status and its ability to accomplish the impossible. Throughout the 1980s the city experienced an economic boom, which was blunted by an economic crisis that hit Asia in the late 1990s. However, the city continued its role as one of Asia’s most important tourist, financial, and commercial centres. The city’s uniquely Thai character, while perhaps diminishing, provides a vibrant backdrop for Bangkok’s cosmopolitan image.
https://www.britannica.com/place/Bangkok/History

For additional images and narrative, Please see my previous post:
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-768406-1.html#13795578

I hope you enjoy these!
Mark


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Mar 17, 2023 14:16:42   #
srfmhg Loc: Marin County, CA
 
Location Map:


(Download)

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Mar 17, 2023 16:20:04   #
whatdat Loc: Del Valle, Tx.
 
Fantastic!! Seems you have spent a fair amount of time traveling in that part of the world. Always look forward to your pics & historical commentary; they give us much enjoyed insight into a part of the world most of us will never be able to see in person. I, for one, thank you.

Reply
 
 
Mar 17, 2023 17:20:35   #
Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States
 

Reply
Mar 17, 2023 18:19:22   #
kpmac Loc: Ragley, La
 
A fine set, Mark. Way too much city for me, though.

Reply
Mar 17, 2023 20:01:17   #
srfmhg Loc: Marin County, CA
 
whatdat wrote:
Fantastic!! Seems you have spent a fair amount of time traveling in that part of the world. Always look forward to your pics & historical commentary; they give us much enjoyed insight into a part of the world most of us will never be able to see in person. I, for one, thank you.


Thank you so much Michael for your kind comments. Actually, this was a single tour including Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Hong Kong. I took a few thousand pictures so we could remember the sites as well. I'm so please you're enjoying them and your comments are much appreciated!

Reply
Mar 17, 2023 20:01:37   #
srfmhg Loc: Marin County, CA
 
Longshadow wrote:


Thanks Bill.

Reply
 
 
Mar 17, 2023 20:03:19   #
srfmhg Loc: Marin County, CA
 
kpmac wrote:
A fine set, Mark. Way too much city for me, though.


Thanks very much Ken. I preferred the countryside as well but Gail loves the culture of the cities and towns.

Reply
Mar 18, 2023 01:39:11   #
DJphoto Loc: SF Bay Area
 
srfmhg wrote:
We started our first full day in Bangkok with a delicious breakfast on the hotel patio overlooking the river. We then departed by bus for a visit to the temples and grand palace. Like any big city in the world, there is a tremendous contrast between the luxury high-rises and the neighborhoods as you will see in these images. Here are some shots from the hotel and from the tour bus windows.
A little more about Bangkok:

Bangkok, Thai Krung Thep, city, capital, and chief port of Thailand. It is the only cosmopolitan city in a country of small towns and villages and is Thailand’s cultural and commercial centre.

Bangkok is located on the delta of the Chao Phraya River, about 25 miles (40 km) from the Gulf of Thailand. It was formerly divided into two municipalities—Krung Thep on the east bank and Thon Buri on the west—connected by several bridges. In 1971 the two were united as a city-province with a single municipal government. In 1972 the city and the two surrounding provinces were merged into one province, called Krung Thep Maha Nakhon (Bangkok Metropolis). The metropolis is a bustling, crowded city, with temples, factories, shops, and homes juxtaposed along its roads and canals. It is also a major tourist destination, noted for bountiful cultural attractions and a nightlife that includes a flourishing sex trade.

The name Bangkok, used commonly by foreigners, is, according to one interpretation, derived from a name that dates to the time before the city was built—the village or district (bang) of wild plums (makok). The Thai call their capital Krung Thep, which is the first part of its mellifluous and lengthy official name meaning “the City of Gods, the Great City, the Residence of the Emerald Buddha, the Impregnable City (of Ayutthaya) of God Indra, the Grand Capital of the World Endowed with Nine Precious Gems, the Happy City Abounding in Enormous Royal Palaces Which Resemble the Heavenly Abode Wherein Dwell the Reincarnated Gods, a City Given by Indra and Built by Vishnukarm.” The abbreviated name Krung Thep is often translated as “City of Angels.” Area Bangkok Metropolis, 604 square miles (1,565 square km). Pop. (2000) 6,355,144; (2010) 8,305,218.

Climate
The climate of Bangkok is hot throughout the year, ranging from 77 °F (25 °C) in the “cold” season in December to 86 °F (30 °C) at the height of the hot season in April. The mean annual rainfall totals 60 inches (1,500 mm), four-fifths of which falls in brief torrential downpours during the late afternoons of the rainy season, which lasts from mid-May through September; the dry season lasts from December to February. Mean monthly relative humidity varies from a low of 60 percent in the cold season to more than 80 percent during the rainy season.

The city layout
Modern Bangkok has undergone explosive growth, which the authorities have attempted to direct by means of a series of master plans since the 1960s. The city centre, formerly enclosed by a wall, has long been densely developed. Later expansion has sprawled outward well beyond the administrative boundaries into the surrounding agricultural areas. Some districts have evolved into functional units as the inner city has become more institutional and commercial and the outer city more residential and industrial. Throughout the city, walled Buddhist temples and monasteries called wats, often sumptuously ornamented, serve as focal points for religious, cultural, and even commercial life.

Traditional areas
The governmental and commercial districts of the city occupy traditional sites. Government offices were originally housed in the walled compound of the 18th-century Grand Palace, but by the late 19th century they occupied surrounding palaces and mansions. The bureaucracy then spread outward into nearby colonial-style or Thai-style office buildings and homes along Ratchadamnoen Road. Multistoried buildings have been erected to meet the ever-increasing demand for space, and the traditional government compounds have become overbuilt. A number of large camps around and north of the National Assembly Hall constitute the military area.
When Bangkok became the national capital in the 18th century and its citadel was moved to the east bank of the Chao Phraya River, Chinese merchants and tradesmen occupying the site moved a short distance southward to the area now known as Sam Peng. Business was at first carried on in one-story wood and thatch houses. By the early 1900s a number of streets had been lined with two-story masonry shop-houses. This ever-expanding district now contains rows of shop-houses that are sometimes five or more stories high. Warehouses line both banks of the river just south of Sam Peng, while industry is concentrated at Sam Rong, south of the port. Nightlife flourishes on Pat Pong Road. The financial district straddles Silom Road.

In the Floating Market a variety of foods and merchandise are sold daily from boats on the canals near Wat Sai. Formerly several such markets and innumerable door-to-door floating vendors served the daily needs of the city’s residents.

Housing
Homes generally consist of small, detached one- or two-story wooden houses or row houses. Most of these are overcrowded because there are far too few of them to house the expanding population. Government programs alone are insufficient to meet the housing shortage, and funds from the World Bank have been used to build low-income housing, such as the Din Daeng and Hua Mak developments. The government allows squatters to occupy unused public land. The number of squatters is small, and most of them are concentrated in the Khlong Toei area near the port.

Beginning in the 1960s, housing developed rapidly in the city. From the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s more than 100,000 new units were built. There was also an emphasis on renewal in inner-city areas. Private real-estate developers provide homes for middle-income groups, and many government agencies provide homes for their employees. Homes may be crowded onto small lots with rudimentary sanitation facilities. These developments have spread out haphazardly on the periphery of the city. Luxury housing, mostly for the wealthy foreign community, usually takes the form of large, modern, two-story masonry structures set in private compounds and equipped with separate servants’ quarters and kitchens. Bang Kapi is perhaps the most affluent neighbourhood. High-rise offices, hotels, and condominiums are increasingly common.

The people of Bangkok
The population’s outstanding demographic characteristics—its youth and the low proportion of non-Thais—are explained by the high rate of natural increase and by the restrictive foreign immigration quotas adopted after World War II. Roughly two-fifths of the residents are under 20 years of age. The birth rate has declined since the introduction of a birth control program. At the same time, the net in-migration of young adults, particularly females, has increased greatly, so that more than a quarter of the resident population of the city is made up of migrant Thais from all parts of the country.

Most of the city’s population are ethnic Thais. The Chinese are by far the largest minority, but there are sizable communities of other Asians, North Americans, and Europeans. Despite their small size, the foreign communities tend to live in certain areas. The Chinese concentrate in the commercial area of Sam Peng, Indians gather around mosques in the Wang Burapha section, and the Western and Japanese communities reside in the affluent, modern eastern section of the city.

Of the foreign groups, the Chinese enter the most intimately into city life. They appear to assimilate readily, and intermarriage is frequent. Their offspring are Thai citizens, and many Chinese families take Thai surnames and are naturalized.

Industry
There are many factories in the metropolitan area, but most operate on a small scale. Larger plants are located in the vicinity of the port, near the warehouses that store imported materials. Manufacturing is chiefly confined to food processing, textiles, the assembly of electronic equipment, and the production of building materials. Beginning in the mid-1970s, the government emphasized reducing congestion in the city and placed a high priority on locating industrial parks on the fringes of Bangkok. Roughly one-third of the country’s output is produced in the city, and nearly half of all firms are located in the metropolitan area. Tourism has increased greatly and is now a major source of revenue in Bangkok.

Finance
Bangkok houses about one-third of the country’s banking units, holding three-fourths of all deposits. The Industrial Finance Corporation of Thailand, the Board of Investment, and the Securities Exchange of Thailand are also located in the city.

Health
Bangkok has most of the country’s hospitals and clinics. Special services are offered for patients with tuberculosis and sexually transmitted diseases, and there are government homes for the indigent, handicapped, and aged. The Pasteur Institute and WHO supply vaccines. Family-planning clinics have proliferated in recent years. In the 1990s cases of AIDS increased among Bangkok’s prostitutes and drug users. The government has established special wards in hospitals to treat patients afflicted with the disease and has taken other measures to prevent the spread of HIV infection.

Education
Because of its high proportion of school-age citizens, Bangkok’s educational facilities are overburdened. There are too few schools, and the standard of instruction varies. Literacy is extremely high, however. Many of the government-built preprimary and primary schools are located on monastery grounds. Private primary and secondary schools run by foreign religious missions train the children of the elite. There are many private Chinese primary schools and night schools. The city has several universities. Wat Pho, long a traditional centre of learning, has often been considered the city’s first university; it is one of the oldest and largest temples in Bangkok.

Cultural life
The most important cultural feature of Bangkok is the wat. There are more than 300 such temples, representing classic examples of Thai architecture. Most are enclosed by walls. Many wats have leased a portion of their grounds for residential or commercial use.

The National Museum houses prehistoric and Bronze Age art relics, as well as royal objects dating to the 6th century AD. The city also houses the National Library and the Thai National Documentation Department. Jim Thompson’s Thai House, named for a U.S. entrepreneur and devotee of Thai culture, is composed of several traditional Thai mansions; it contains the country’s largest collection of 17th-century Thai religious paintings. There are also collections of Dvaravati and Khmer sculpture, in addition to examples of Thai and Chinese pottery and porcelain. In 1987 the 200-acre (80-hectare) King Rama IX Royal Park with its extensive botanical gardens was opened to commemorate the king’s 60th birthday.

All of the country’s daily newspapers and most of its weeklies and monthlies are published in Bangkok. Newspapers are printed in Thai, English, and Chinese. Radio and television are controlled by government agencies and the military. Most of the nation’s radio stations and all of its television stations are located in or near Bangkok. Most programs are in Thai, but some special programs are in English and Chinese. Motion pictures are extremely popular. There is a thriving Thai cinema industry, but films are also imported.

Fairs, festivals, and “kite-fighting” contests are held in the parks. The Ratchadamnoen and Lumphini stadiums host professional boxing bouts featuring the highly ritualistic form of boxing known as Muai Thai. Silapakorn National Theatre presents dancing, drama, and music.

Since World War II Bangkok has grown with unprecedented rapidity, which caused problems with transportation, communication, housing, water supply, drainage, and pollution. Tourism rose in importance during the Vietnam War, when the city became a popular destination for U.S. military personnel. By the 1980s, nightclubs and the tourist sex trade—as well as crime and sexually transmitted diseases—were flourishing. Although prostitution is formally illegal and the number of prostitutes per capita is lower in Thailand than in some other Asian countries, the city’s commercial sex industry employs an estimated 100,000 people and is popular among foreign tourists. However, the vast majority of clients are Thai nationals. To combat abuses, notably underage prostitution, the government stiffened penalties for both patrons and brothel operators during the 1990s. That those responsible for modernizing the metropolis are coping with these problems suggests the appropriateness of its official emblem: the God Indra seated atop a sacred white elephant, the four tusks of which denote its celestial status and its ability to accomplish the impossible. Throughout the 1980s the city experienced an economic boom, which was blunted by an economic crisis that hit Asia in the late 1990s. However, the city continued its role as one of Asia’s most important tourist, financial, and commercial centres. The city’s uniquely Thai character, while perhaps diminishing, provides a vibrant backdrop for Bangkok’s cosmopolitan image.
https://www.britannica.com/place/Bangkok/History

For additional images and narrative, Please see my previous post:
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-768406-1.html#13795578

I hope you enjoy these!
Mark
We started our first full day in Bangkok with a de... (show quote)


An interesting set Mark.

Reply
Mar 18, 2023 01:56:45   #
JD750 Loc: SoCal
 
srfmhg wrote:
We started our first full day in Bangkok with a delicious breakfast on the hotel patio overlooking the river. We then departed by bus for a visit to the temples and grand palace. Like any big city in the world, there is a tremendous contrast between the luxury high-rises and the neighborhoods as you will see in these images. Here are some shots from the hotel and from the tour bus windows.
A little more about Bangkok:

Bangkok, Thai Krung Thep, city, capital, and chief port of Thailand. It is the only cosmopolitan city in a country of small towns and villages and is Thailand’s cultural and commercial centre.

Bangkok is located on the delta of the Chao Phraya River, about 25 miles (40 km) from the Gulf of Thailand. It was formerly divided into two municipalities—Krung Thep on the east bank and Thon Buri on the west—connected by several bridges. In 1971 the two were united as a city-province with a single municipal government. In 1972 the city and the two surrounding provinces were merged into one province, called Krung Thep Maha Nakhon (Bangkok Metropolis). The metropolis is a bustling, crowded city, with temples, factories, shops, and homes juxtaposed along its roads and canals. It is also a major tourist destination, noted for bountiful cultural attractions and a nightlife that includes a flourishing sex trade.

The name Bangkok, used commonly by foreigners, is, according to one interpretation, derived from a name that dates to the time before the city was built—the village or district (bang) of wild plums (makok). The Thai call their capital Krung Thep, which is the first part of its mellifluous and lengthy official name meaning “the City of Gods, the Great City, the Residence of the Emerald Buddha, the Impregnable City (of Ayutthaya) of God Indra, the Grand Capital of the World Endowed with Nine Precious Gems, the Happy City Abounding in Enormous Royal Palaces Which Resemble the Heavenly Abode Wherein Dwell the Reincarnated Gods, a City Given by Indra and Built by Vishnukarm.” The abbreviated name Krung Thep is often translated as “City of Angels.” Area Bangkok Metropolis, 604 square miles (1,565 square km). Pop. (2000) 6,355,144; (2010) 8,305,218.

Climate
The climate of Bangkok is hot throughout the year, ranging from 77 °F (25 °C) in the “cold” season in December to 86 °F (30 °C) at the height of the hot season in April. The mean annual rainfall totals 60 inches (1,500 mm), four-fifths of which falls in brief torrential downpours during the late afternoons of the rainy season, which lasts from mid-May through September; the dry season lasts from December to February. Mean monthly relative humidity varies from a low of 60 percent in the cold season to more than 80 percent during the rainy season.

The city layout
Modern Bangkok has undergone explosive growth, which the authorities have attempted to direct by means of a series of master plans since the 1960s. The city centre, formerly enclosed by a wall, has long been densely developed. Later expansion has sprawled outward well beyond the administrative boundaries into the surrounding agricultural areas. Some districts have evolved into functional units as the inner city has become more institutional and commercial and the outer city more residential and industrial. Throughout the city, walled Buddhist temples and monasteries called wats, often sumptuously ornamented, serve as focal points for religious, cultural, and even commercial life.

Traditional areas
The governmental and commercial districts of the city occupy traditional sites. Government offices were originally housed in the walled compound of the 18th-century Grand Palace, but by the late 19th century they occupied surrounding palaces and mansions. The bureaucracy then spread outward into nearby colonial-style or Thai-style office buildings and homes along Ratchadamnoen Road. Multistoried buildings have been erected to meet the ever-increasing demand for space, and the traditional government compounds have become overbuilt. A number of large camps around and north of the National Assembly Hall constitute the military area.
When Bangkok became the national capital in the 18th century and its citadel was moved to the east bank of the Chao Phraya River, Chinese merchants and tradesmen occupying the site moved a short distance southward to the area now known as Sam Peng. Business was at first carried on in one-story wood and thatch houses. By the early 1900s a number of streets had been lined with two-story masonry shop-houses. This ever-expanding district now contains rows of shop-houses that are sometimes five or more stories high. Warehouses line both banks of the river just south of Sam Peng, while industry is concentrated at Sam Rong, south of the port. Nightlife flourishes on Pat Pong Road. The financial district straddles Silom Road.

In the Floating Market a variety of foods and merchandise are sold daily from boats on the canals near Wat Sai. Formerly several such markets and innumerable door-to-door floating vendors served the daily needs of the city’s residents.

Housing
Homes generally consist of small, detached one- or two-story wooden houses or row houses. Most of these are overcrowded because there are far too few of them to house the expanding population. Government programs alone are insufficient to meet the housing shortage, and funds from the World Bank have been used to build low-income housing, such as the Din Daeng and Hua Mak developments. The government allows squatters to occupy unused public land. The number of squatters is small, and most of them are concentrated in the Khlong Toei area near the port.

Beginning in the 1960s, housing developed rapidly in the city. From the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s more than 100,000 new units were built. There was also an emphasis on renewal in inner-city areas. Private real-estate developers provide homes for middle-income groups, and many government agencies provide homes for their employees. Homes may be crowded onto small lots with rudimentary sanitation facilities. These developments have spread out haphazardly on the periphery of the city. Luxury housing, mostly for the wealthy foreign community, usually takes the form of large, modern, two-story masonry structures set in private compounds and equipped with separate servants’ quarters and kitchens. Bang Kapi is perhaps the most affluent neighbourhood. High-rise offices, hotels, and condominiums are increasingly common.

The people of Bangkok
The population’s outstanding demographic characteristics—its youth and the low proportion of non-Thais—are explained by the high rate of natural increase and by the restrictive foreign immigration quotas adopted after World War II. Roughly two-fifths of the residents are under 20 years of age. The birth rate has declined since the introduction of a birth control program. At the same time, the net in-migration of young adults, particularly females, has increased greatly, so that more than a quarter of the resident population of the city is made up of migrant Thais from all parts of the country.

Most of the city’s population are ethnic Thais. The Chinese are by far the largest minority, but there are sizable communities of other Asians, North Americans, and Europeans. Despite their small size, the foreign communities tend to live in certain areas. The Chinese concentrate in the commercial area of Sam Peng, Indians gather around mosques in the Wang Burapha section, and the Western and Japanese communities reside in the affluent, modern eastern section of the city.

Of the foreign groups, the Chinese enter the most intimately into city life. They appear to assimilate readily, and intermarriage is frequent. Their offspring are Thai citizens, and many Chinese families take Thai surnames and are naturalized.

Industry
There are many factories in the metropolitan area, but most operate on a small scale. Larger plants are located in the vicinity of the port, near the warehouses that store imported materials. Manufacturing is chiefly confined to food processing, textiles, the assembly of electronic equipment, and the production of building materials. Beginning in the mid-1970s, the government emphasized reducing congestion in the city and placed a high priority on locating industrial parks on the fringes of Bangkok. Roughly one-third of the country’s output is produced in the city, and nearly half of all firms are located in the metropolitan area. Tourism has increased greatly and is now a major source of revenue in Bangkok.

Finance
Bangkok houses about one-third of the country’s banking units, holding three-fourths of all deposits. The Industrial Finance Corporation of Thailand, the Board of Investment, and the Securities Exchange of Thailand are also located in the city.

Health
Bangkok has most of the country’s hospitals and clinics. Special services are offered for patients with tuberculosis and sexually transmitted diseases, and there are government homes for the indigent, handicapped, and aged. The Pasteur Institute and WHO supply vaccines. Family-planning clinics have proliferated in recent years. In the 1990s cases of AIDS increased among Bangkok’s prostitutes and drug users. The government has established special wards in hospitals to treat patients afflicted with the disease and has taken other measures to prevent the spread of HIV infection.

Education
Because of its high proportion of school-age citizens, Bangkok’s educational facilities are overburdened. There are too few schools, and the standard of instruction varies. Literacy is extremely high, however. Many of the government-built preprimary and primary schools are located on monastery grounds. Private primary and secondary schools run by foreign religious missions train the children of the elite. There are many private Chinese primary schools and night schools. The city has several universities. Wat Pho, long a traditional centre of learning, has often been considered the city’s first university; it is one of the oldest and largest temples in Bangkok.

Cultural life
The most important cultural feature of Bangkok is the wat. There are more than 300 such temples, representing classic examples of Thai architecture. Most are enclosed by walls. Many wats have leased a portion of their grounds for residential or commercial use.

The National Museum houses prehistoric and Bronze Age art relics, as well as royal objects dating to the 6th century AD. The city also houses the National Library and the Thai National Documentation Department. Jim Thompson’s Thai House, named for a U.S. entrepreneur and devotee of Thai culture, is composed of several traditional Thai mansions; it contains the country’s largest collection of 17th-century Thai religious paintings. There are also collections of Dvaravati and Khmer sculpture, in addition to examples of Thai and Chinese pottery and porcelain. In 1987 the 200-acre (80-hectare) King Rama IX Royal Park with its extensive botanical gardens was opened to commemorate the king’s 60th birthday.

All of the country’s daily newspapers and most of its weeklies and monthlies are published in Bangkok. Newspapers are printed in Thai, English, and Chinese. Radio and television are controlled by government agencies and the military. Most of the nation’s radio stations and all of its television stations are located in or near Bangkok. Most programs are in Thai, but some special programs are in English and Chinese. Motion pictures are extremely popular. There is a thriving Thai cinema industry, but films are also imported.

Fairs, festivals, and “kite-fighting” contests are held in the parks. The Ratchadamnoen and Lumphini stadiums host professional boxing bouts featuring the highly ritualistic form of boxing known as Muai Thai. Silapakorn National Theatre presents dancing, drama, and music.

Since World War II Bangkok has grown with unprecedented rapidity, which caused problems with transportation, communication, housing, water supply, drainage, and pollution. Tourism rose in importance during the Vietnam War, when the city became a popular destination for U.S. military personnel. By the 1980s, nightclubs and the tourist sex trade—as well as crime and sexually transmitted diseases—were flourishing. Although prostitution is formally illegal and the number of prostitutes per capita is lower in Thailand than in some other Asian countries, the city’s commercial sex industry employs an estimated 100,000 people and is popular among foreign tourists. However, the vast majority of clients are Thai nationals. To combat abuses, notably underage prostitution, the government stiffened penalties for both patrons and brothel operators during the 1990s. That those responsible for modernizing the metropolis are coping with these problems suggests the appropriateness of its official emblem: the God Indra seated atop a sacred white elephant, the four tusks of which denote its celestial status and its ability to accomplish the impossible. Throughout the 1980s the city experienced an economic boom, which was blunted by an economic crisis that hit Asia in the late 1990s. However, the city continued its role as one of Asia’s most important tourist, financial, and commercial centres. The city’s uniquely Thai character, while perhaps diminishing, provides a vibrant backdrop for Bangkok’s cosmopolitan image.
https://www.britannica.com/place/Bangkok/History

For additional images and narrative, Please see my previous post:
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-768406-1.html#13795578

I hope you enjoy these!
Mark
We started our first full day in Bangkok with a de... (show quote)


My girlfriend and I just returned from a vacation in Thailand.

I loved it. One thing that's immediately noticeable, lots of scooters and lots of wires!

Reply
Mar 18, 2023 02:10:08   #
srfmhg Loc: Marin County, CA
 
DJphoto wrote:
An interesting set Mark.


Thank you very much Dennis.

Reply
 
 
Mar 18, 2023 02:11:43   #
srfmhg Loc: Marin County, CA
 
JD750 wrote:
My girlfriend and I just returned from a vacation in Thailand.

I loved it. One thing that's immediately noticeable, lots of scooters and lots of wires!


Thanks very much JD. I agree about the scooters and wires.

Reply
Mar 18, 2023 02:19:56   #
JD750 Loc: SoCal
 
srfmhg wrote:
Thanks very much JD. I agree about the scooters and wires.

I'm physically back in the US but my mind and heart are still in Thailand. Most of all I liked the people. Glad you are enjoying your time there and thank you for sharing the great pics and narrative.

Reply
Mar 18, 2023 02:26:24   #
srfmhg Loc: Marin County, CA
 
JD750 wrote:
I'm physically back in the US but my mind and heart are still in Thailand. Most of all I liked the people. Glad you are enjoying your time there and thank you for sharing the great pics and narrative.


Thes pictures are from my archive. We took the trip in late 2007 but looking at the pictures, I feel like we were there yesterday!

Reply
Mar 18, 2023 02:28:17   #
JD750 Loc: SoCal
 
srfmhg wrote:
Thes pictures are from my archive. We took the trip in late 2007 but looking at the pictures, I feel like we were there yesterday!

Ah ok. More wires now I think. LOL.

Reply
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