Crowds,chaos, cheap food, crazy night life- you name it bangkok has it all. The city of bangkok has lot more to offer. It is a love/hate destination.
But little do we know that "Bangkok" is just known for the foreigners, but for the Thai people it is completely different.
Unless talking to foreigners who don't know any different, Thais will never call their capital city Bangkok - indeed, some Thais in the more remote provinces like Chiang Mai or Chiang Rai may never have even heard of it being called that. Instead in Thai it is known as Krung Thep which roughly translates to 'City of Angels'.
In the official English romanisation, this is certified as the longest place name in the world in the Guinness book of records with 169 letters . It's pronounced something like:
"Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Ayuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit"
So given the length of it, it's not hard to see why it's shortened in every day use. The full name itself is never actually used, though it can be seen on a few signs around Bangkok as part of a tourist campaign. Despite the length of it, an impressive number of Thai people are still able to recite the entire name off by heart. In English tanslation the actual meaning is:
"The city of angels, the great city, the residence of the Emerald Buddha, the impregnable city (of Ayutthaya) of God Indra, the grand capital of the world endowed with nine precious gems, the happy city, abounding in an enormous Royal Palace that resembles the heavenly abode where reigns the reincarnated god, a city given by Indra and built by Vishnukarn"
Just remember during your next trip to Thailand, Bangkok is just more than a word.