Comments on: But they’re ladies

By: franzi j.

franzi j. — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 13:15:12 +0000

Marjorie, that’s right, “Bang Makok” sounds even more pornographic than Bangkok, hehe. But that Sasmuan thing is genuine, it was in the news back in the 1990’s I think. The citizens of Sexmoan (I wonder if the residents were called “Sex Moaners”)were just tired of people making fun about their town’s name, hence they changed it.
Jeg, here’s a good one: when a dude rides the MRT on a rush hour, he’s sure to Bangkok. hehehe.

By: Emenn Esse

Emenn Esse — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 05:31:37 +0000

What’s not to like about Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Ayuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit? Um, that should be easy, limme think, here, tuktuk drivers who don’t speak English; if they do they’d manage monosyllabic words and say it twice like “same same”, “no cannot”…wait every Thai does it I think…

By: jeg

jeg — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 05:59:45 +0000

Confucius say, Man going too fast through airport turnstile is going to Bangkok.

By: Marjorie

Marjorie — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 04:19:33 +0000

That sounds like one of those ubiquitous urban legends that just keeps getting repeated and repeated until it’s taken as gospel.

According to Lonely Planet, the official name of Thailand’s capital is a mouthful, shortened to Krung Thep. However, Bang Makok is the original name of the hundreds-year-old settlement; “foreign traders”from the beginning shortened that to Bangkok, and I guess it stuck among foreigners. Thais refer to it as Krung Thep, but outsiders stick with “Bangkok.” (Although, come to think of it, Bang Makok is actually even funnier and sounds nastier than Bangkok.)

So in other words, the old capital name predates the American arrival by several hundred years.

Cheers,
Marjorie

By: franzi j.

franzi j. — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 17:33:12 +0000

I read it somewhere, and I wonder if its true: Bangkok’s name was given by American troops during the Vietnam War, who frequently stayed there for their, ah, carnal entertainment in between mortar shellings and carpet bombings in Hanoi. Bangkok, when hyphenated, goes like “Bang-kok”. American brats mispronounce “kok” as “kahk” and you get the idea. Confirm or deny. (Its like our own Sexmoan town in Pampanga. Hyphenated, it means… well, it means what it means….so they changed it recently to “Sasmuan”.)