Welcome to Bangkok, Thailand | DW Documentary

king rama the first wanted to make his mark so he decided to turn a small fishing village into his new residence bellico's neighbors had reduced his hitherto beloved capital into rubble the gods were consulted and the evil spirits placated good advice was exchanged no efforts were spared and high flying plans were forged [Music] the wise prophesied a golden future a residence for the gods they even saw a capital of the world there was also a new name for this global seat of government never heard of it that's no surprise outside the country the new city

continued to be known under its old to name good old days [Music] welcome to krontep that's its short form bangkok's official name still is the longest name of any capital in the world with more than 20 million visitors bangkok took the top spot of most visited cities in the world in 2016 well ahead of london and paris [Music] the wat arun named after the indian god of dawn is one of bangkok's best-known landmarks and thailand's most famous temple [Music] it's adorned with flower patterns made of shells and chinese porcelain more than a million individual pieces

were used to maintain the temple's shine these mosaics are polished and the stucco freshened up every 10 years this has to be done by hand on the white we use very traditional very simple methods in our restoration works the white stucco is made of ground and fired sandstone making it more durable than any modern paint it dries in just a few minutes you can wash it and it's very resistant to rain and moisture the technique takes a lot of time and it's expensive that's why it's only used for the restoration of royal temples [Music] the

easiest way to reach the wat arun is by ferry those who opt to come here by car will encounter bangkok from its least pleasant side [Music] the dream of the car-friendly city for nearly an entire century planning and construction in bangkok focused almost exclusively on motorized personal transport these days it's possible to cross the city center on three lines with a sky train or the underground there's no better way of getting from a to b in a quick and safe manner in thailand's capital [Music] the greater metropolitan area of bangkok is home to more than

15 million people with a population density two and a half times that of los angeles [Music] the two skytrain lines are no less reliable than trains in switzerland compared to the chaos on bangkok streets they feel like a parallel universe and almost clinically clean and perfectly organized world of punctuality ice cold air from air conditioning units and polished granite passengers mustn't make a mess and they're not allowed to eat or drink either the problem with this system is that with its 36 kilometers and its capacity of roughly 700 000 passengers a day it's still far

too small for this sprawling city [Music] an airplane graveyard in the middle of bangkok the shells of several retired planes lie here from short haul craft to jumbo jets [Music] it's not an official museum and not an actual destination for tourists the compound is in private hands and that's why it's possible to visit it for a fee of around five euros the investor had originally planned to use these wrecks for event oriented dining experiences alternatively he hoped to sell off parts neither plan worked the airplane graveyard isn't listed in travel guides yet and most bangkok

residents haven't been here either the best way to find this place is to look up the address online and show a taxi driver the map it's much easier to find the trimit the temple of the golden buddha [Music] it houses a treasure that's 700 years old and had long been thought lost the statue of the sage on whose teachings buddhism was founded it was hidden under a simple stucco coating covered in colourful glass shards this coating was accidentally damaged during renovation works in 1955 revealing its gold interior the statue weighs five and a half tons

and consists depending on the body part of up to 99 gold the material value of the gold is around 300 million euros but its spiritual value is immeasurable chinatown unmistakably starts right behind the temple long before bangkok became the capital there was already a large chinese community here this immigrant community has maintained its traditions and faith to this day just like chinese architectural styles and a ponchon for bright bold colors [Music] [Music] houses that look like film sets and nighttime crowds to rival airports at peak travel times anything with between two and eight legs lands

in the pots and on the plates here except of course the tables and chairs you need a bit of courage but not a particularly robust stomach to eat your fill [Music] the wares spilling out onto narrow sidewalks further crowd bangkok's bustling pavements the tourists love it and the locals have learned to live with it but many street vendors don't pay proper taxes at best we're told they make unofficial donations to the police that's a thorn in the side of the military junta that seized power in 2014 and a problem for its state coffers if it

were up to the government all this trading would take place in the regulated monitored context of organized markets some street vendors have already been cleared [Applause] a good compromise between the chaotic street food stalls and the polished night market is a hearty thai barbecue diners help themselves to as much food as they can eat for around five euros then they cook or fry it at their table to their taste tourists should definitely try more than they're served in typical tourist restaurants the ingredients are fresh and properly cooked that's why everything here is very hygienic for

you i would recommend you to uh not go to the regular places like khao san all these tourist places but to go into the sai side roads we call they're called soys and that's where you can find the real thai street food and you will have something different than the pad thai from herring filets to masaman curries this dutch chef and his colleagues get plenty of inspiration from thailand street kitchens even after years in bangkok [Applause] that inspiration takes the shape of fresh shrimp tartare seasoned with chili for the typical thai spiciness with mango for

a touch of the exotic and avocado to turn it all into a small salad a very small salad the park society restaurant prefers to boast with the view it affords when dining on the roof terrace the gourmets have half the city and bangkok's biggest urban green space lumpini park at their feet speaking of park [Music] [Applause] the swan lumpini or swan lung for short is thailand's biggest open-air fitness venue when temperatures drop a little in the late afternoon locals head here for a workout [Music] everyone's allowed to train spontaneously without a contract those who come

just the one time pay 50 cents the monthly price is roughly 5 euros [Music] whipping yourself into shape is completely free if you use the many other apparatuses in the park and then there's stretching and jogging too but beware there are rules there's a designated area and joggers have to run in a counterclockwise direction there's more exercisers have to keep an eye on the time because there's a daily 40-second state mandated pause in the park that's strictly enforced [Music] the moon [Music] [Music] from here [Music] that was the national anthem wherever it's played people are

expected to stop in their tracks it's frequently confused with thailand's second anthem which also brings public life to a standstill but it's dedicated just to the king one of the richest men in the world on october the 13th 2016 a world ended for millions of ties this film footage was taken minutes before the death of king rama ix the oldest male monarch in the world at the time people were praying for their king whom they venerated far more than his successor but nobody would talk about that publicly because insulting the monarch is a crime that

carries a sentence of up to 15 years in prison beloved venerated idolized the mourning period for the dead king was set at one year after 70 years on the throne many people in thailand feel that that's too short rather than too long public life is now back on track except on the roads of course that's why for our trip from the historic to the modern center we've chosen a mode of transport that's definitely congestion free the clong boat over the past century almost all of bangkok's canals have been filled in to create room for roads

there are speed boats in regular operation on one of the few remaining waterways when the water in the clung festers after long dry periods the stench from the canal rivals venice at the height of summer [Music] but never mind a ride on a clong boat is an experience nobody should miss the trip on the canal is a trip along the city's future past properties are classed as premium locations in bangkok if they can be reached by skytrain by underground or by one of the major arterial roads that's not the case for the area around the

canal as a result property prices are more reasonable here and the pace of urban densification is slower too [Music] when money speaks the truth is silent [Music] entire neighborhoods in bangkok often have to make way for new construction projects heritage buildings town planning they've heard of that here but such things tend to get in the way of development we're visiting an area that's so far been able to withstand the construction boom at least in part located by the embassy quarter the starting point of our tour is somerset park one of the few private but publicly

accessible green spaces in the city it's right on the attractive swan plu road to get going we choose not to walk instead we opt for a mode of transport whose characteristic engine noise gave it its onomatopoeic name are a symbol of thailand most tourists have never taken a tuk tuk before and they want to try at least once no wonder it's fun and you sit in the cool breeze in contrast to taxis tuk tuks don't have a meter prices are often too high that's why it's best to get your hotel reception to organize a tuk-tuk

and negotiate a good price for you in advance [Music] it's worth looking at the ground in bangkok from time to time because that's where one of the city's biggest problems becomes apparent bangkok is sinking if you pull the plug in a bathtub full of water and styrofoam beads they sink to the bottom something comparable is happening in bangkok because vast quantities of drinking water are being depleted from the ground beneath the city in the second half of the 20th century the growing city sank by up to one meter per decade if that had carried on

at the same rate parts of the city would already be below sea level how can you tell by looking at the streets which are often in perfect condition easy while the houses and private plots are slowly losing height the road level is regularly raised with a new layer of asphalt or concrete this road here was recently resurfaced even in heavy rain visitors hardly get wet feet in the covered food stores of this side street off the suwan plu unfortunately this only moves the problem because the water finds its own way onto other roads and properties

as well as into the now lower lying ground floors of nearby houses when i started my shop 27 years ago that time the footpath was lower than the much lower than my shop and the road was even lower than the footpath and now they have raced the road by nearly 70 centimeters so the road is higher than the footpath by nearly 35 to 40 centimeters wild mountainous landscapes and untamed nature this cannot be bangkok one might think but it is admittedly the rocks are all miniature and the natural setting is styled rather than untamed even

the fog that wafts mysteriously over the grounds is not real but everything's real in the turtle pond including the powerful jaws that's why it's important to bring the correct tools to a private wild beast feeding session towering in the middle of the lake there's a rock that looks like it's been cast out of wax the many small buildings are dedicated to the spirits of the dead they're memorials not temples the small haven of green is located on the grounds of the wat prayun its bell-shaped building is a chedi the thai version of a buddhist stupa

buildings of this type originally housed a relic of buddha but since the number of relics is limited chedis are primarily a religious memorial symbolizing the founder of buddhism and his teachings their places of quiet prayer the bell-shaped building style originated in sri lanka like a walled burial mound it isn't suited to be a self-supporting dome and chades are therefore usually solid that's different in the white prajun its shady is hollow and can be entered to pray meditate or leave devotional offerings such as the gold leaf on the walls or religious objects visitors can also marvel

at the simple trick the builders used to give their dome the necessary stability at the end of our film we returned to the beginning the naming of the capital 250 years ago there was just a small fishing village here with a relatively unimaginative name plum grove on the river bangkok king rama the first decided to build his new residence here bigger and more beautiful than anything seen before its glory was to be summed up in its name many suggestions were made and in the end almost all of them were adopted pick up a karaoke microphone

and sing the whole name with us [Music] 169 letters without spaces in thai a superstar among city names city of angels and of the emerald buddha impregnable city of god great capital of the world rich in palaces that resemble the heavenly home of the reborn god and that were gifted by the god indra that's the very free quick translation of this mouthful to learn the name by heart there's help in the form of this 1989 hit by the group asani wasan many people in thailand use it as a memory aid [Music] the best time to

practice this musical brain training is probably a trip in the chao praia express boat it's the breeziest way of crossing bangkok from north to south [Music] and features spectacular views of the capital which holds the record for the longest place name in the world oh [Music] you