Neighborhood Focus: Thonburi, the Original Bangkok [Season 2, Episode 70]

Key links for this episode:



Map of Thonburi



On the first show in our new series that digs into some of
Bangkok's better-known 'hoods, we ask: did you know that Bangkok
(that is, Thailand's modern capital) is not the original Bangkok?
Nope! The first Bangkok (that is, the new capital after Ayutthaya
was thrashed by the Burmese) was a little town called Thonburi.
But, that didn't last long. Another little village called Bangkok
became the new, new capital and Thonburi became a sleepy
suburb.


But after only 236 years, Thonburi is about to step into
the limelight in a big way. How, you ask? Malls! Trains! Hotels!
Markets! Craft beer! And...cable cars?


But before we get into that, we need to thank ErQing Hui,
our latest patron at the show shoutout level (who we simply call
EQ (because we're not that good with Chinese), as well as Han
Choi, who became our 50th patron and will be rewarded with one
(or more!) snazzy postcards.


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