The Bangkok Podcast | Expat Life In Thailand Via Expats From Canada & America

Greg and Ed discuss the significance of the recent decision by the Thai parliament to accept a change to the official English name of Bangkok that was proposed by the Royal Society of Thailand. Initially, it was announced as a major change from ‘Bangkok’ to ‘Krung Thep Maha Nakhon,’ (that’s กรุงเทพมหานคร for you Thai readers), but Greg clarifies that the change really was just a matter of punctuation. Nevertheless, the announcement kicked off a huge debate on social media over what Thailand’s capital should really be called, as it’s an issue fraught with a surprising amount of subtext, as this great thread from Khun Phacha will show. Ed notes initially that the word ‘Bangkok’ is not a word made up by Westerners, but an old word for a district of the old capital of Thonburi. Greg points out that Bangkok has been used for centuries and is extremely well known around the world so it’s a bit strange for the change to be made now. The guys also discuss proper pronunciation of places, as most countries have the ‘i