Wat Saket Insight Bangkok

Wat Saket

At the bottom of the Golden Mount stands one of the capital's oldest temples, Wat Saket (daily 8am-5pm free). Upon returning from Laos in 1782 with the Emerald Buddha, general chakri stopeped here and took a ceremonial bath before making his way later changed to Saket, which means "the washing or hair"

      The temple is also associated with a more grisly history as it was used as the old city's main crematorium. Disease epidemics broke out regularly during the 19th century, killing an estimated 60,000 people. The bodies of the dead were taken out of the city to the temple through the Pratu Pii (Ghost Gate) for cremation: if the families were too poor to pay for the ceremony, they were left for the vultures. Be sure to visit the main hall, which is adorned with fine murals and usually ignored by tourists.

Wat Arun

Insight Bagkok : Wat Arun Ratchawararam Ratchawaramahawihan or Wat Arun is a Buddhist temple (wat) in Bangkok Yai district of Bangkok, Thailand, on the Thonburi west bank of the Chao Phraya River. The temple derives its name from the Hindu god Aruna, often personified as the radiations of the rising sun. Wat Arun is among the best known of Thailand's landmarks and the first light of the morning reflects off the surface of the temple with pearly iridescence. Although the temple had existed since at least the seventeenth century, its distinctive prang (spires) were built in the early nineteenth century during the reign of King Rama II.

The Old City insight Bangkok

    Insight Bangkok's Old City is embellished with yet more gilded temple stuctures and hitoric monuments that recall its chequered history. To the north is the area of wide boulevards and open space known as Dusit, the enclave of the Thai monarchy and government

Live Music bars and Pub Insight Bangkok

         

    Live Music  Insight Bangkok

      Fron-line international acts are returning insight Bangkok after a lull caused by the economic crash in 1997. Most gigs - recent ones include Norah Jones, Alicia Keyes and Sting - are held at Impact Arena or BEC Tero Hall.

         Local music in bars varies tremendously. The huge Tawandaeng German Brewhouse on Thanon Narathiwat features local band Fong Nam on Wednesday evenings. Led by American Bruce Gaston, the band combines the music of traditional Thai phipphat orchestra with rock. It's not everyone's cup of tea but give it a listen if you're in the neighbourhood. Likewise, visitors may find Thai rock and country a novel experience and prefer to stick to standard Western staples like R&B, blues,rock, reggae, and jazz all of which ate yours for the picking

Insight Bangkok After Dark

     Insight  Bangkok by night isn't all unbridled sleaze, bump-and-grind bars and boozy cruising. There are lots of hip dance clubs and cool bars, plus a thriving live jazz and indie music scene. Less well know are its highbrow classical and modern dance and theatre events

    Many visitors' expectations of Bangkok nightlife extend no further than the much-hyped up Patpong go-go bar options for entertainment once the sun goes down. The Thai craving for sanuk (fun) has in recent years seen booms in microbreweries and bars offering everything from Cuban cigars and art on the walls to clubs specialising in music as diverse as jazz, Latin, hip hop, house and mind-numbing techno, often all on the same street. In addition, there is traditional dance, theatre, opera, classical music, indie films and evening sports aplenty. Bangkok really comes alive under the cover of darkness, and never before has it offered so much choice to the nighttime reveler.

Jim Thompson's Thai House

            Insight Bangkok city increasingly dominated by Western architecture, this offers a glimpse of Thailand's rich cultural heritage

      Jim Thompson began his collection shortly after World War II, when the value of Thai antiques was still unknown. His assemblage includes precious Buddha image, porcelain, traditional paintings, and finely carved furniture and panels collected from old homes and temples throughout Thailand. The traditional Thai house where his collection is contained is painted with the red-brown hue characteristic of Thailand. The house features a dramatic outward-sweeping roof covered with rare tiles designed and fired in Ayutthaya. curving gracefully in ngo, the wide roof allows the airy rooms to remain open all year long, sheltered from the downpours of the rainy season. The entire struture, enveloped by lush tropical greenery, stand elevated a full storey above the ground as protection against flooding.

THONBURI Insight Bangkok

 

  This small area of winding canals had a brief moment of glory as the country's capital in the 19 th century : the royal connection left behind a legacy of exquisite temples in a placid landscape and a lifestyle defined by the canals and the river

Chainatown Insight Bangkok

 Bangkok's Chinese and Indian communities have made Chinatown their own by building shrines and temples as well as thriving businesses that serve both their people and the Thais. Loud, boisterous and frenzied, this is Bangkok at its visceral best

      Chainatown was settled by Chinese merchants in the 1780s, after being asked to relocate here so that the Grand Palace could be built. In 1863, King Mongkut built Thanon Charoen Krung (New Road), the first paved street in Bangkok, and Chinatown soon began mushrooming outwards from the original dirttrack of Sanpeng (now officially Soi Wanit 1). Other adjacent plots of land were given to the Indian and Muslim communities. Later, a third artery, Thanon Yaowarat, was built between Charoen Krung and Sampeng roads, in the process becoming the main artery of Chinatown and the Thai mane for the area.

Som Tam (Green papaya salad)

     Green papaya salad Green papaya salad is a spicy salad made from shredded unripe papaya. It is of Lao origin but it is also eaten throughout Southeast Asia. Locally known in Cambodia as bok l'hong , in Laos as tam som or the more specific name tam maak hoong in Thailand as som tam (Thai: ส้มตำ, pronounced ), and inVietnam as goi du du. Som tam, the Thai variation, was listed at number 46 on World's 50 most delicious foods compiled by CNN Goin 2011.

The National Museum Insight Bangkok

Bangkok's National museum,one of the largest in Southeast Asia, is a good place to start learning more about the history and culture of thailand.

Sao Chingcha insight Bangkok

       

      Sao Chingcha (Swing architecture is built to perform the swing.) Insight bangkok The Rite of Yum's November arrest. Tripwai to Hinduism - Hinduism In general, the Giant Swing is located in front of Wat Suthat Ram. And in front of City Hall (in the city) near the temple Brahmin. In Sao Ching Sue and Wat Phra Nakhon. It is a symbol of Bangkok. The swing ceremony was discontinued since the reign of King Rama VII was the seventh time.

Patpong Entertainment District Insight Bangkok

Patpong (Thai: พัฒน์พงศ์, RTGS: Phat Phong) is an entertainment district in Bangkok, Thailand, catering mainly, though not exclusively, to foreign tourists and expatriates. While Patpong is internationally known as a red light district at the heart of Bangkok's sex industry, it is in fact only one of numerous red-light districts some catering primarily to Thai men and some others, like Patpong, catering primarily to foreigners.

Wat Phra Kaew Insight Bangkok

 

    The Wat Phra Kaew (Thai: วัดพระแก้ว, RTGS: Wat Phra Kaeo, Pronunciation, English: Temple of the Emerald Buddha; full official name Wat Phra Si Rattana Satsadaram, Thai: วัดพระศรีรัตนศาสดาราม, is regarded as the most sacred Buddhist temple (wat) in Thailand. It is a "potent religio-political symbol and the palladium (protective image) of Thai society". It is located in Phra Nakhon District, the historic centre of Bangkok, within the precincts of the Grand Palace.

Tuk-tuks or sam lor Insight Bangkok

   

    Tuk-tuks or 'sam lor' (three-wheeled) used to be everyone's favourite way of getting around Bangkok before the BTS, MRT and colourful taxis took over. Originating from an old-fashioned rickshaw during the second World War, a tuk-tuk is essentially a rickshaw with a small engine fitted in.

       Tuk-tuks have become one of Bangkok's most recognisable transportation features, and are still popular among tourists and visitors. Riding a tuk-tuk is more of an experience rather than a practical way to get around. So, if it's your first time in The Big Mango, there's no harm in giving it a go.



5 Tips to Ride a Tuk Tuk in Bangkok

Whit Hot Insight Bangkok

    

   Sprawling and steamy Bangkok may have reinvented itself into an outpost of the hip,b but its current guise is yet another stage in a city that is forever shifting, and always adapting to trend and outside influences

    Observing the city today from the air-corditioned comfort of the elevated Skytrain, the Bangkok of the 1990s - ridden with choking smog, into distant memery. Most of the gleaming glass and steel towers are in place, the infamous traffic snarls are less and steel tower are in place, the infamous traffic smarls are less pervasive thanks to the Skytrain and a gleaming new underground metro line, and the pollution is noticeably liss smothering. The touts at Patpong are still around (Some things don't change) and the steamy heat still socks you in the face if you visit in muggy April. But with the economy back on track and a firm focus on the future, Bangkok is fast making a name for iself as Asia's new metropolis of cool.

    With hio hotels like the Metropolitan and Sukhothai and a clutch of uber cool nightlife spots led by the white hot Bed Supperclub and modish Q Bar, Bangkok is a hot new destination of the 21st century. The dining scene too, hasn't lagged far behind. Stylishly minimalist coffee clubs like Grey-hound have become de rigueur with the city's fashionable set, and wait till you try Thai Food within the rarefied atmosphere of Mahanaga, which mixes North African, Thai and Indian design accents to startling effects.

      The dreadlocked backpacker crowd still gathers at Thanon Khao San with its hodge-podge jumble of cheap eateries and tawdry souvenir shops, and sleazy male tourists still make a beline for the raunchy sex clubs of Patpong and Nana Plaza, but these scenes are oh so last century. With its feet set firmly in the present, Bangkok hardly qualifies as an Asian backwater. The shopping, too, has gone up a notch in the design quotient. The traditional stuff that That artisans are so famous for are still there - silver jewellery, tribal handicrafts, pottery and the like - but young Thai designers are fast making a name for themselves with bold and contemporary disigns in clothing and fashion, accessories furniture and home decor.

      Thankfully, Insight Bangkok hasn't become too painfully hip. Many of the traditional markers are still there: the golden spires of Buddhist temples, saffronrobed monks with arms outstretched at dawn for offerings, and thewafting smells of food hawked by streetside stalls. The shift to urban life has changed much of Bangkok's sensibilities, but it's a rare Thai who doesn't seek out sanuk (or fun), whether dining at a chic French restaurant or haddled around a pavement table piled with Singha beer ant Thai street food.

Dusit Zoo Insight Thailand

 Dusit Zoo
      Insight Thailand present  The Dusit Zoo, widely known as Khao Din Wana, was built by King Rama V as part of his personal park and is adjacent to the Royal Palace. After his reign, the park was left unattended for years. In 1938, the government led by Prime Minister Field Marshal Jomphol Por Phibulsongkram asked the King Rama VIII to offer the park to Bangkok City Municipality to be open as a public zoo. Home to over 2,500 species of domestic and international animals, Dusit Zoo serves well a green leisure spot for people from all over the country as well as an outdoor learning venue for students. Dusit Zoo is proud to be the only zoo that houses ‘Chao Petch’, the rare albino barking deer. Artefacts from World War II are also found here.


Opening Hours : daily 08.00 - 18.00 hrs.
Admission Fee : 10 baht/ Thai child, 70 baht/ Thai adult,30 baht/Thai Student, 50 baht/ foreign child, and 100 baht/ foreign adult.
For more information, please call : 0 2281 2000, 0 2281 9027-8
How to Get There : Take the Sukhumvit Line and get off at Victory Monument Station (or N3 Station), and go out through Exit No. 3 facing Rajavithee Road. Then, take a bus or public vehicle to Dusit Zoo.
Buses that go there (get on the bus at the bus stop in front of the hospital) : Bus No. 18, 28, 108, 528,515, 539, and 542

Website : http://www.dusitzoo.org/

Klong Bang Luang

Insight Bangkok has a reputation for bright lights, gleaming high-rises and seething nightlife, but on the west side of the Chao Phraya River in Thonburi, the city’s softer, simpler and more creative side hangs loose. Embodying this better than anywhere, the canal-side community of artists at Khlong Bang Luang posseses a homegrown artistic spirit that pervades this eclectic neighbourhood.

The centrepiece of the Khlong Bang Luang community is Baan Sinlapin (Artists House), which occupies a century-old two-storey teak wood house set beside the canal and clustered around a 300-plus-year-old chedi. A relic of the Ayutthaya period that rises from Baan Sinlapan’s open-air belly, locals still place offerings before the chedi each day.

Baan Sinlapin came into existence just three years ago when prominent Bangkok-based artist and conservationist Chumphon Akhpantanond set out to turn the dilapidated but charming old structure into an artist-run cafe and performance space. Everyone from notable professional artists to teenage art students joined the handful of creative types who already lived in the neighbourhood to rally around Chumphon and transform the space into a unique centre for the arts.

     Baan Sinlapin’s upstairs section typically houses casual exhibitions (usually paintings) while prints, drawings, photographs, sculpture and everything in between are scattered around the first floor in a colourful melange. Visitors can purchase postcards and T-shirts featuring locally produced works of art, or give donations in exchange for the opportunity to unleash their own creativity by painting their very own masks. Once finished, the masks can be left behind to add to the decor or taken home as a one-of-a-kind souvenir.

     Yet Baan Sinlapin’s most popular artists are its resident traditional Thai shadow puppet troupe, Kum Nai Hun Lakon Lek, who act out scenes from the Ramakien every day of the week at 14:00, except on Wednesdays. Dressed in jet black costumes with expressionless masks covering their faces, performers masterfully bring their khon puppets to life in thrilling and humorous shows.

     There’s no admission charge to see the puppet show, but if you don’t slip a 20 or 100 baht note in the donation box, you can expect a smack-in-the-face from Hanuman the monkey king. If you’re extra generous, the lovely Sita might blow you a kiss, and if you’re really lucky, you might even be pulled on-stage mid-show to operate Hanuman’s occasionally abandoned right arm.

     Before or after the show, snatch one of the cafe’s outstanding coffees or Thai iced teas at one of the art-workshop style tables that shouldn’t fail to inspire even the most left-brain-dominant of visitors to reach for a paint brush.
Baan Sinlapin is the main draw for most visitors, but the artist community wouldn’t be what it is if not for the surrounding neighbourhood. Well preserved stilted homes more than a century old and historic but non-touristy temples join smaller art studios, vintage antique galleries, a few outstanding hole-in-the-wall noodle shops, a tiny guesthouse and several family-run cafes, convenience shops and barbers to create the area’s infectiously laid-back atmosphere.

    Dangle your feet off the old wooden docks while feeding the fish, enjoy the homemade coconut ice cream sold by an old man who regularly stops by on his tiny wooden boat, or take a stroll through the narrow, leafy alleyways to the stunning but rather neglected Wat Kamphaeng.

    Although Khlong Bang Luang is still a relaxed affair, it is growing in popularity. Many long-time residents have embraced their newfound tourist destination status, and some have called for a full-scale floating market to take place on weekends. Chumphon and others have cautioned residents to carefully consider the potential consequences of a hasty rush for tourism money.

 

     Well respected in Bangkok art circles thanks to his commitment to sustainable tourism and historical preservation, Chumphon has — up until now at least — successfully guided Khlong Bang Luang to be an evolving tourism success story. Let’s hope it stays this way for a long time to come.

Muay Thai Insight Bangkok

   History of  Muay Thai

     Muay Thai is a martial art that can be used in both combat sports and martial arts, this is true, but antiquity. Ancestors of Thailand are trained to teach good son and national defense. Those young men were trained in Thailand. Virtually all of boxing Celebrated as warriors have to be trained and experienced in all types of art. The weapons used in ancient Krabi, Long Sword, Halberd, Pike, etc. If you have knowledge of boxing will cause most useful features. Especially in the wake of the fighting, courting hand. I will be relying on the help of body parts such as knees, elbows, etc., but come Boxing is often a tactic trainers in the master class adults. Or only kings and nobles, the military only. Subsequently spread to the common people, who have inherited the knowledge from those. A former military instructor and champion it. Science has been and remains to this day.


     Muay Thai martial arts and self-defense. But it is different from boxing punches are used to punch the opponent, but also the feet, knees and elbows to fight again. Using a punch, punch in boxing. There will be a straight punch punch punch sets and Upper Connecticut. Then, like a boxing Muay Thai boxing has a crankshaft subduction punch if the opponent has not looked back and his head down. Often swung back his opponent with a punch to knock them out. Threw a punch back, it lousy one is similar to the Talmud. The Punch back crankshaft But the back of the hand, wrist or smashed or hit the opponent. Naked Thai boxer to fight by using these. And also the organ. More help in many other ways, such as using low kick high kick This kick-off and kick pedal, which is available on both the toe and heel of the foot instep boxing skills. In the foot Mainly kicking and kicking The use of the knee Thai boxers are available in several ways, such as skipping a beat, he caught her opponent is also known as the elbows, knees, filled with extremely dangerous. There are many ways to hit the elbow with the elbow hit the tip means cutting the cast elbow elbow elbow drop directly to the ground in breadth leverage is measured by the elbow. Or lift the elbow up, elbow against elbow is struck out to elbow the opponent is spun with a variety of strike reeds.

     Boxing Thailand in ancient times fought each other face to face. Fighting each other and adventurous excitement than old fashioned boxer takes this thread. Raw Breaded thoroughly The size of a pencil thousand hands from shaking hands to the elbows. And tie a knot at the back of the knuckle (his fists) is a spiral galaxy called "a string", which does not wear down like the present. If the punch is a punch on the face of that. Or only narrowly missed any part of the film only. It will surely make your blood seep out in the past when there is no rule prohibiting it. With the weak like the present. Boxer both sides Must be fought Use the opponent's head. Just do not bite, but only later revised rules until the present.


      Boxing Tournament today Boxers must wear 4 oz gloves and boxing costume is wear athletic shorts Groin And whoever is wearing strap ankle collar. And will be read in the arm or upper bound. In competition with a final decision on the first person who settled the score in the stage 2 had a timer 1 and a physician at Stage 1 people raised in the match with five folio with 3 minutes rest between rounds 2. minutes into the match as the weight. The rules of boxing like boxing. The referee has the authority under the rules. Organs used in fighting game is to punch and elbow knees, feet kicking the hammers hit the road at any part of the body without restricting growth.
        Before the match, the two boxers will dance Teacher's bow three times to commemorate the parents, teachers, and sacred respect. He suggested to the Sri deceased. Or sacred to protect. Have a safe and secure victory in the end, they dance around the stage, according to a transcript of a teacher who has taught you throughout. My people are wearing the "sacred" sacred head is made ​​of multi-strand yarn wrapped together with a size of a finger. A snare to head The crown of the first game has a tradition of Thailand. Regard as sacred The teachers have done ceremony. And give it to her good fortune. If a boxer would wear it all the time, making Teacher sacred dance. And to remove the head on when you start the race. During the Wai Kru and dance music will be accompanied by the melody. Thailand is slow rhythm of musical instruments that include drums, clarinet, cymbals, 2 and 1 when the sacred, the Referee will give the two boxers shaking hands. Which was shown to have the sporting simultaneously, it is important to remember the rules relating to competition, the boxers are both unknown. When the fight began in earnest melody and music in urging both a fighter. Feel energetic and determined to fight fiercely. Dance and fight with the music for it. It is considered to be art It is a good tradition of. Thailand's former times, but Lost and can not be left to waste.
         Boxing is currently competing professional sports arenas in Bangkok. The competition is almost 2 times per day, it is for another. Gear up with the regulations of the Ministry of Interior. Is not a dedicated professional coaching in NIFT only. In order to Boxing Loss and to maintain the national sport and martial art in which foreigners who have come here in the UK. I usually do not want to miss The opportunity to watch the Muay Thai boxing competition will be trying to visit. Appear to be very attractive for foreigners. Because boxing is a punch in the world, and the more exotic Thai boxers also used to travel abroad several times and is widely known. The martial arts of different nations have sought to fight like boxing, judo, karate, taekwondo, boxing, wrestling, boxing, Kick Boxing, Martrialart etc., each fight is a fight. The victory was Cause foreigners to fight that fight. As a way to combat the harmful side. It took much interest in boxing. There are people with Thailand. Knowledge of boxing as well. This could be a boxing instructor before. Some people are skilled boxer and reputation before going to live abroad. Boxing teaches Thailand in a country to live. It has been great interest Current boxing career has been published and is known all over each other. I have a boxing match Abroad frequently, such as England, America, Canada, the Netherlands, Japan, etc. During a Muay Thai boxer with boxing training and foreign boxing popularity. Or a boxing match between themselves in the interests of foreigners boxing itself. Therefore, understanding and foreign skilled boxer. In combat, Muay Thai is better.

Insight Bangkok Khao San Road Eating

Khao San Road offers some of the cheapest and most diverse food selections anywhere in Bangkok. Travellers from all over the world attend the road, so there is a high demand for all kinds of ethnic food. Alongside the usual Thai dishes, Indian, Italian and Jewish cuisine are especially well-represented, as are restaurants specialising in vegetarian food.

Street carts on the road sell decent pad thai (fried noodles), quail eggs, roti (like a pancake), falafel, hummus, various bugs and some sell just cocktails. However, it's worth noting that much of it is specifically geared for backpackers — even the local pad thai, especially the 10 baht variety, saves money on the ingredients and uses soy sauce instead of the traditional tamarind sauce. Much better Pad Thai is available in almost any sit-down restaurant on Khao San.

As Khao San Road leaves its backpacker roots, standards (and prices) are rising. In the last ten years, many popular international food outlets have set up branches in Khao San Road, including Burger King, McDonald's and Subway. More mid-range restaurants are opened on a daily basis, but don't expect to splurge. Those looking for truly good food would be advised to head elsewhere, such as to Sukhumvit. Always keep an eye on the safety and fire exits. In April 2012 a tourist died in an illegal(unregistered) hotel because of a fire.

History of Bangkok insight Thailand

History of Bangkok

 
   The history of the city of Bangkok, in Thailand, dates at least to the early 15th century, when it was under the rule of Ayutthaya. Due to its strategic location near the mouth of the Chao Phraya River, the town gradually increased in importance, and after the fall of Ayutthaya King Taksin established his new capital of Thonburi there, on the river's western bank. King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke, who succeeded Taksin, moved the capital to the eastern bank in 1782, to which the city dates its foundation under its current Thai name, Krung Thep Maha Nakhon. Bangkok has since undergone tremendous changes, growing rapidly, especially in the second half of the 20th century, to become the primate city of Thailand. It was the centre of Siam's modernization in the late 19th century, subjected to Allied bombing during the Second World War, and has long been the modern nation's central political stage, with numerous uprisings and coups having taken place on its streets throughout the years.

Under Ayutthaya

     It is not known exactly when the area which is now Bangkok was first settled. It probably originated as a small farming and trading community, located in a meander of the Chao Phraya River within the mandala of Ayutthaya's influence. The town had become an important customs outpost by as early as the 15th century; the title of its customs official is given as Nai Phra Khanon Thonburi  in a document from the reign of Ayutthayan king Chao Sam Phraya (1424–48). The name also appears in the 1805 revised code of laws known as the Law of Three Seals.

View of the city of Bangkok 1822

At the time, the Chao Phraya flowed through what is now Bangkok Noi and Bangkok Yai Canals, forming a large loop in which the town was situated. In the reign of King Chairacha (either in 1538 or 1542), a waterway was excavated, bypassing the loop and easing navigation for ships sailing up to Ayutthaya. The flow of the river has since changed to follow the new waterway, dividing the town and making the western part an island. This geographical feature may have given the town the name Bang Ko (บางเกาะ), meaning island village, which later became Bangkok ( pronounced in Thai as  [bāːŋ kɔ̀ːk]). Another theory regarding the origin of the name speculates that it is shortened from Bang Makok , makok being the name of Spondias pinnata, a plant bearing olive-like fruit. This is supported by the fact that Wat Arun, a historic temple in the area, used to be named Wat Makok. Specific mention of the town was first made in the royal chronicles from the reign of King Maha Chakkraphat (1548–68), giving its name as Thonburi Si Mahasamut. Bangkok was probably a colloquial name, albeit one widely adopted by foreign visitors.

Map of 17th-century Bangkok from Simon de la Loubère's Du Royaume de Siam

   Bangkok - looking up river or canal 1895

Bangkok/Thonburi's importance increased with the amount of Ayutthaya's maritime trade. Dutch records noted that ships passing through Bangkok were required to declare the amount of their goods and number of passengers, as well as pay customs duties. Ships' cannons would be confiscated and held there before they were allowed to proceed upriver to Ayutthaya.[2] An early English language account is that of Adam Denton, who arrived aboard the Globe, an East India Company merchantman bearing a letter from King James I, which arrived in "the Road of Syam" (Pak Nam) on August 15, 1612, where the port officer of Bangkok attended to the ship. Denton's account mentions that he and his companions journeyed "up the river some twenty miles to a town called Bancope, where we were well received, and further 100 miles to the city...."

Ayutthaya's maritime trade was at its height during the reign of King Narai (1656–88). Recognition of the city's strategic location guarding the water passage to Ayutthaya lead to expansion of the military presence there. A fort of Western design was constructed on the eastern side of the river around 1685–87 under the supervision of French engineer de la Mare, probably replacing an earlier structure, while plans to rebuild the fort on the western bank were also made. De la Mare had arrived with the French embassy of Chevalier de Chaumont, and was remaining in Siam along with Chevalier de Forbin, who had been appointed governor of Bangkok. The Bangkok garrison under Forbin consisted of Siamese, Portuguese and French reportedly totalling about one thousand men.

French control over the city was further consolidated when the French General Desfarges, who had arrived with the second French embassy in 1687, secured the king's permission to establish troops there. This, however, lead to resentment among Siamese nobles, led by Phetracha, and ultimately resulting in the Siamese revolution of 1688, in which King Narai was overthrown and 40,000 Siamese troops besieged Bangkok's eastern fort for four months before an agreement was reached and the French were allowed to retreat. The revolution resulted in Siam's ties with the West being virtually severed, steering its trade towards China and Japan. The eastern fort was subsequently demolished on Phetracha's orders.

Thonburi

      Ayutthaya was razed by the Burmese in 1767. In the following months, multiple factions competed for control of the kingdom's lands. Of these, Phraya Tak, governor of Tak and a general fighting in Ayutthaya's defence prior to its fall, emerged as the strongest. After succeeding in reclaiming the cities of Ayutthaya and Bangkok, Phraya Tak declared himself king (popularly known as King Taksin) in 1768 and established Thonburi as his capital. Reasons given for this change include the totality of Ayutthaya's destruction and Thonburi's strategic location. Being a fortified town with a sizeable population meant that not much would need to be reconstructed. The existence of an old Chinese trading settlement on the eastern bank allowed Taksin to use his Chinese connections to import rice and revive trade.

       King Taksin had the city area extended northwards to border the Bangkok Noi Canal. A moat was dug to protect the city's western border, on which new city walls and fortifications were built. Moats and walls were also constructed on the eastern bank, encircling the city together with the canals on the western side. The king's palace was built within the old city walls, including the temples of Wat Chaeng (Wat Arun) and Wat Thai Talat (Wat Molilokkayaram) within the palace grounds. Outlying orchards were re-landscaped for rice farming.

       Much of Taksin's reign was spent in military campaigns to consolidate the Thonburi Kingdom's hold over Siamese lands. His kingdom, however, would last only until 1782 when a coup was mounted against him, and the general Chao Phraya Chakri established himself as king, later to be known as Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke or Rama I.

Rattanakosin

            Rama I re-established the capital on the more strategic eastern bank of the river called Rattanakosin Island, relocating the prior Chinese who had settled there to the area around Wat Sam Pluem and Wat Sampheng. (The area is now Yaowarat, Bangkok's Chinatown.) Fortifications were rebuilt, and another series of moats was created, encircling the city in an area known as Rattanakosin Island.

       The formal date of the city's establishment is counted to the erection of the city pillar on 21 April 1782. (The year would later mark the start of the Rattanakosin Era after calendar reforms by King Rama V in 1888.) Rama I named the new city Krung Rattanakosin In Ayothaya (กรุงรัตนโกสินทร์อินท์อโยธยา). This was later modified by King Nangklao to be: Krungthepmahanakhon Amonrattanakosin Mahintha-ayutthaya. While settlements on both banks were commonly called Bangkok, both the Burney Treaty of 1826 and the Roberts Treaty of 1833 refer to the capital as the City of Sia-Yut'hia.[8] King Mongkut (Rama IV) would later give the city its full ceremonial name:

    "Krungthepmahanakhon Amonrattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilokphop Noppharatratchathaniburirom Udomratchaniwetmahasathan Amonphiman-Awatansathit Sakkathattiyawitsanukamprasit "

         Rama I modelled his city after the former capital of Ayutthaya, with the Grand Palace, Front Palace and royal temples by the river, next to the royal field (now Sanam Luang). Continuing outwards were the royal court of justice, royal stables and military prison. Government offices were located within the Grand Palace, while residences of nobles were concentrated south of the palace walls. Settlements spread outwards from the city centre.

     Sanam Luang in front of the Grand Palace complex. Since the city's foundation, the field has been used for various royal functions.

The new capital is referred to in Thai sources as Rattanakosin, a name shared by the Siamese kingdom of this historical period.The name Krung Thep and Krung Thep Maha Nakhon, both shortened forms of the full ceremonial name, began to be used near the end of the 19th century. Foreigners, however, continued to refer to the city by the name Bangkok, which has seen continued use until this day.

        Most of Rama I's reign was also marked by continued military campaigns, though the Burmese threat gradually declined afterwards. His successors consistently saw to the renovation of old temples, palaces, and monuments in the city. New canals were also built, gradually expanding the fledgling city as areas available for agriculture increased and new transport networks were created.

At the time of the city's foundation, most of the population lived by the river or the canals, often in floating houses on the water. Waterways served as the main method of transportation, and farming communities depended on them for irrigation. Outside the city walls, settlements sprawled along both river banks. Forced settlers, mostly captives of war, also formed several ethnic communities outside the city walls.

        Large numbers of Chinese immigrants continued to settle in Bangkok, especially during the early 19th century. Such was their prominence that Europeans visiting in the 1820s estimated that they formed over half of the city population. The Chinese excelled in trade, and led the development of a market economy. The Chinese settlement at Sampheng had become a bustling market by 1835.

Modernization

       By the mid-19th century, the West had become an increasingly powerful presence. Missionaries, envoys and merchants began re-visiting Bangkok and Siam, bringing with them both modern innovations and the threat of colonialism. King Mongkut (Rama IV, reigned 1851–68) was open to Western ideas and knowledge, but was also forced to acknowledge their powers, with the signing of the Bowring Treaty in 1855. During his reign, industrialization began taking place in Bangkok, which saw the introduction of the steam engine, modern shipbuilding and the printing press. Influenced by the Western community, Charoen Krung Road, the city's first paved street, was constructed in 1862–64. This was followed by Bamrung Mueang, Fueang Nakhon, Trong (now Rama IV) and Si Lom Roads. Land transport would later surpass the canals in importance, shifting people's homes from floating dwellings toward permanent buildings. The limits of the city proper were also expanded during his reign, extending to the Phadung Krung Kasem Canal, dug in 1851.

     King Chulalongkorn's equestrian statue in the Royal Plaza reflects the adoption of Western ideas and designs.

     King Mongkut's son Chulalongkorn (r. 1868–1910) was set upon modernizing the country. He engaged in wide-ranging reforms, abolishing slavery, corvée (unfree labour) and the feudal system, and creating a centralized bureaucracy and a professional army. The Western concept of nationhood was adopted, and national borders demarcated against British and French territories. Disputes with the French resulted in the Paknam Incident in 1893, when the French sent gunboats up the Chao Phraya to blockade Bangkok, resulting in Siam's concession of territory to France.


      With Chulalongkorn's reforms, governance of the capital and the surrounding areas, established as Monthon Krung Thep Phra Mahanakhon  , came under the Ministry of Urban Affairs (Nakhonban). During his reign many more canals and roads were built, expanding the urban reaches of the capital. Infrastructure was developed, with the introduction of railway and telegraph services between Bangkok and Samut Prakan and then expanding countrywide. Electricity was introduced, first to palaces and government offices, then to serve electric trams in the capital and later the general public. The King's fascination with the West was reflected in the royal adoption of Western dress and fashions, but most noticeably in architecture. He commissioned the construction of the neoclassical Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall at the new Dusit Palace, which was linked to the historic city centre by the grand Ratchadamnoen Avenue, inspired by the Champs-Élysées in Paris. Examples of Western influence in architecture became visible throughout the city.

20th century

         By 1900, rural market zones in Bangkok began developing into residential districts. The Memorial Bridge was constructed in 1932 to connect Thonburi to Bangkok which was believed to promote economic growth and modernization in a period when infrastructure was developing considerably. Bangkok became the centre stage for power struggles between the military and political elite as the country abolished absolute monarchy in 1932. It was subject to Japanese occupation and Allied bombing during World War II, but rapidly grew in the post-war period as a result of United States developmental aid and government-sponsored investment. Infrastructure including the Don Mueang International Airport and highways was built and expanded. Bangkok's role as an American military R&R destination launched its tourism industry as well as sex trade. Disproportionate urban development led to increasing income inequalities and unprecedented migration from rural areas into Bangkok; its population surged from 1.8 to 3 million in the 1960s. Following the United States' withdrawal from Vietnam, Japanese businesses took over as leaders in investment, and the expansion of export-oriented manufacturing led to growth of the financial market in Bangkok.Rapid growth of the city continued through the 1980s and early 1990s, until it was stalled by the 1997 Asian financial crisis. By then, many public and social issues had emerged, among them the strain on infrastructure reflected in the city's notorious traffic jams. Bangkok's role as the nation's political stage continues to be seen in strings of popular protests, from the student uprisings in 1973 and 1976, anti-military demonstrations in 1992, and successive anti-government protests by the "Yellow Shirt" and "Red Shirt" movements from 2008 onwards.

    Administration-wise, eastern Bangkok and Thonburi had been established as separate provinces in 1915. (The province east of the river was named Phra Nakhon ) A series of decrees in 1971–72 resulted in the merger of these provinces and its local administrations, forming the current city of Bangkok which is officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration was created in 1975 to govern the city, and its governor has been elected since 1985.