Welcome to Bangkok

The City of Bangkok

              Bangkok or, Krungthep mahanakorn boworn ratanakosin mahinthar ayuthaya mahadilok popnop paratrajatani buriromodomrajatniwet mahasatanamornpimanawatansatisakatatiyavisanukum prasit basks on the East bank of the Chao Phya river between Ayutthaya and the sea, and is the city of Angles according to it's Thai name.
              The city's land was originally underwater, the Chao Phya river slowly built up mud flats with the soil it swept Southwards upon which small houses on stilts were built by fishermen. The river pushed more and more mud towards it's mouth extending the shore South into the Gulf of Siam and the fishermen slowly became farmers. The city now rests on an alluvial plane which is between one and three meters above sea-level, every October the city is reclaimed by the river when it is swollen by the monsoon rains meeting an incoming high tide.
              The capital started off life as a small trading post after King Prajairaja (1534-546) had a 2 kilometre canal built on the neck of a 17 kilometre loop of the Chao Phya river to shorten the distance between Ayutthaya and the sea. It's name was Bang (Village), Kok (Plum-olive) after the orchards of Plum-olive fruit which have puzzled botanist, as it cannot decide whether they were Plums or Olives. The town was inhabited by a few Chinese merchants and the farmers who had their orchards on the low lying ground which flooded. There were two star shaped forts of French design, built on the banks of the river to protect Ayutthaya from attack by ships coming up the river from the sea.
               The City and the Chakri dynasty was officially established on April the 6th 1782 by King Rama I (Chakri). The Lak Muang(A stone pillar honouring the Hindu god Shiva, and the corner of the city) was placed in Wat XXXX at 54 minutes after sunrise on the 21st of April 1782. Bangkok is the second largest city in the world next to Tokyo. At present there are about 6 million people living in the Bangkok metropolitan area which covers a 1,568 square kilometre area.

What To See

City	National Museum	Giant Swing	Statue	Marble Temple
Wat Mahatat	Wat Pra Kew	Golden Mount Wat Saket	The Zoo	Suan Phakkard
Grand Palace	Lak Muang Shrine	Parliament Building (Old)	Wat Arun	Victory Monument
Wat Po( Reclining Buddha)	Democracy Monument	Vimanmek	Snake Farm	Jim Thompsons House
Wat Rajanadda	Wat Bowonniwet	Royal Barges	Siam Society	Wat Tramit Golden Buddha
Science Museum	China Town	Pratoo Nam

What To Do
              Night Life Probably one of the more famous streets in Bangkok is Patpong. Owned by Udom Patpong the street is an oasis in the busy city. With its start during the Viet Nam war the street has been built up to what is seen today. The history of the street is as complex as the electric wires that feed it with the juice that the street requires to power its millions of lights and the hundreds of thousand of watts of stereo that never seems to be turned off.
             There are 231 bars about in the Patpong area so it is not possible to keep totally up to date with the smaller bars. You will find only the longer lasting bars (over one year old) listed. The original bar has to be the Grand Prix which was opened in XXXX by Rick and has survived through thick in thin.
              Buying the girls out of the bar is the way one pays back the bar for taking their "Best Girl" out for a bowl of noodles, price varies from bar to bar between 200 to 300 baht. The young lady must also be paid for her "lost wages" this is an arrangement you need to make before leaving the bar. There are quite a few quiet places nearby that you can take your new found love, she will be able to take you to many places nearby. There are two that are well established the Rose behind the Montien hotel between Patpong and Rama IV Road, and the Suriwongs Hotel, on Suriwongs Road just past La Cherie massage parlor the prices are between 200 and 400 baht an hour.
             If you are staying at a hotel it is wise to ask before hand the policy, some allow, some charge extra and a few flatly say no.
            Lucy's Tiger Den Club 99 Super Star Bobby's Arms Mitzu's Kitchen Gold fingers Eating Meeting