2005/12/23

Krung Thep

Well, after having my flight out of Nagoya canceled because of snow and sleeping the night on the floor in the airport, I finally arrived in Thailand and got checked into a hotel, took a shower, and all that stuff. No pictures yet, since I literally just got here, but I'll post them when I have them. For now I'm staying in an old hotel in the backpacker's haven known as Khao San Road, located in the Banglamphu district of a modern metropolis, the real name of which is, in Thai, Krungthep mahanakhon amonratanokosin mahintara ayuthaya mahadilok popnopparat ratchathani burirom udomratchaniwet mahasathan amonpiman avatansathit sakkathattiya witsanukamprasit.

According to my Lonely Planet book the name means, roughly, "Great City of Angels, Repository of Divine Gems, Great Land Unconquerable, Grand and Prominent Realm, Royal and Delightful Capital City Full of Nine Noble Gems, Highest Royal Dwelling and Grand Palace, Divine Shelter and Living Place of Reincarnated Spirits." Quite a mouthful. Luckily, in everyday speech, the Thais shorten it to Krung Thep, "City of Angels." For some reason foreigners always refer to this city by mispronouncing the name of a very small old neighborhood within the city known as "The Place of Olive Plums" , or Bang Makok, which of course you and I know as Bangkok.

1 件のコメント:

匿名 さんのコメント...

Funny that we were both in different "Cities of Angels" at the same time.
scfs