Joanna James
Bangkok has a lot more to it than you may think; the city has a rich history and culture. Some of the things about the city will induce some laughter, and some will impress you.
To you, it's Bangkok, but the locals call it Krung Thep, but that's not all of it, Krung Thep is only the shortened version of the actual name, the actual name has 169 characters, and it is a challenging tongue twister. When translated into English, it relays, city of angels, the great city of immortals, magnificent city of the nine gems, seat of the king, city of royal palaces, home of gods incarnate, erected by Visvakarman at Indra's behest.
As per the World's Meteorological Organization's findings, Bangkok is claimed to be the world's hottest city. The average air temperature is calculated to be 28 degrees, and it goes up to 34 degrees during the period between March and May. Therefore, it is deemed that the best time to visit the city is the period of November and February.
If you find yourself at a BTS station during the day, you might see locals come to a halt in order to show respect for the recital of Thai national anthem. What no one would guess, however, is the fact that the national anthem is played at theatres before the movie begins and at the start of cultural performances. Everyone is expected to stand when the anthem is played, and not doing so will show disrespect, and it is also an illegal act.
The temples you see stamped on Thai coins do exist, and with a bit of effort, you can actually find them. 1 baht coin has the image of Wat Phra Kaew, 2 baht carries the image of Wat Saket, 5 bath coin has Wat Benjamabophit while 10 baht coin pays tribute to Wat Arun.
Whether you are at Avani Atrium Bangkok or any other hotel in Asoke, you are bound to hear the word 'sawadee'; the word has the meaning greetings. In fact, you hear this word all over the city, but what's surprising is that the word only became part of the local language in the 1930s.
The energy drink everybody loves was originated in Thailand. Red Bull has been a popular energy drink in Thailand since 1976, which is when it was first made. The genius who came up with this concoction of caffeine and sugar was Chaleo Yoovidhya, he came to the city to make a living, and he had had little to no education. By the time Chaleo Yoovidhya passed away in 2012, he was the third richest person in the country with a wealth of $5 billion.
Don't be surprised if you see a third washroom at public places in addition to male and female washrooms; the third type is meant for transgender men. Bangkok is one of the cities that has an admirable tolerance for gender identity, and the city makes it known by introducing sperate facilities for transgender people.
The sprawling market place in Bangkok, Chinatown, is the biggest Chinatown in the world. The labyrinth of alleyways packed with small shops and restaurants always confuse the first-time visitor. The daytime is usually when you can buy products at low prices, and the nighttime turns the place into a street food haven. Chinatown is also where you find the world's largest solid gold Buddha statue. The statue is housed inside Wat Traimit: the story of the discovery of the statue relays that it was thickly plastered with another material so as to hide the gold statue, the gold statue was revealed while it was being moved because the workers dropped the statue due to its heavyweight.
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