Wat Phra Kaeo

Bangkok, known to the Thais as "Krung Thep" (which means the City of Angels), was established in 1782 by King Rama I as capital of Siam. Over the past two centuries, it has developed into a great metropolis with a population of over 5,000,000. Like other modern cities in the world, Bangkok boasts lots of massive building, numerous luxurious hotels, shopping centres, and a modern international airport. But, Bangkok has its charm. It is a mixture of East and West, the traditional and the modern. So, despite its modernization, Bangkok is still best suited for a glimpse of the traditional arts, architecture, religion, and culture of the Thai people.

View Wat Phra Kaeo from Sanamchai

Bangkok , capital and principal city of Thailand, south central Thailand, on the Chao Phraya River, near the Gulf of Siam. The city incorporates Krung Thep, which is regarded as Bangkok proper, on the eastern bank of the river, and Thon Buri, which before 1971 was a separate city, on the river's western bank. Bangkok is a major commercial and transportation center of Southeast Asia. It is a railroad junction and a port, handling a high percentage of Thailand's total imports and exports. It is located in a rice-growing lowland plain, and rice milling is one of the most important of the city's industries. Other industries include the assembly of motor vehicles, petroleum refining, and the manufacture of processed foods, textiles, cement, and jewelry.


Located here are the headquarters of the United Nations (UN) Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, as well as other UN regional offices. Bangkok is a city of numerous canals (known as khlong), although some have been filled in to provide more roads for the city's growing number of motor vehicles. However, the floating market—the selling of produce from boats—still thrives. Another distinguishing feature of the city is the more than 400 richly decorated wats, or temples. The most magnificent of these is Wat Phra Kaeo (Temple of the Emerald Buddha), located within the walls of the Grand Palace (both completed in 1785).


Bangkok is a center of Thai culture and education and is the seat of six universities— including Chulalongkorn (1917), Thammasat (1933), and Silpakorn (1943) universities—and several technical institutes.


The National Museum (1926) houses a large collection of Thai archaeology and art. Bangkok was founded in 1782 when General Pya Chakri, on assuming the throne of Siam as Rama I, moved the capital from Thon Buri on the western bank of the river where it had been since 1767.


The city was named Krung Thep (City of Angels) and was planned around a network of canals so as to resemble the ancient capital of Ayutthaya. During World War II the city was occupied (from 1941 to 1945) by the Japanese and was subjected to Allied bombing in 1944 and 1945.

Boat trip service and communication boats in The Chao Phraya River