From One City of Angels to Another

I've done a fair amount of travel for my years on this earth, and I expect to do a lot more. I've explored the Big Apple and enjoyed all that it's busy streets and pushy citizens have to offer. Now, I'm learning the ropes around the Big Mango (yeah, Bangkok), and finding it a totally different animal from most large cities I've been to.

As many of you know, I went to University just outside of Los Angeles. What fewer people know is that LA's full name is "El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles de Poriuncula." I don't know- it was a fun place to be and all, but I think calling it "The Angels" for short is a bit of a misnomer. Just ask the dude with the megaphone shouting obscenities at a trash can, across the street from Starbucks and he will tell you.

Interestingly, I moved from one City of Angels, to another. Bangkok's proper name, abbreviated, is Krung Thep - meaning something similar to City of Angels. Also, similar to LA's shortened name, Krung Thep is only part of an abreviated name that reads, "Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Ayuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit." It is certified as the longest city name in the world by Guinness Book of Records. It means something like "City of angles, the great city, residence of the beautiful Emerald Buddha, happy city... and on and on about how wonderful it is here."

So some of you are probably saying to yourselves, "with LA and Bangkok having so much in common, why go through the effort of moving half way around the world?" The truth is that they are really different. I mean really, really different. Sure, in both cities I have trouble getting by with my native language of English. And in both places I have the lightest skin of anyone around. Than again, I think that statement would be true for my pasty whiteness anywhere in the world, save Scandanavia in the dead of winter. The point is that contrary to popular belief, Bangkok is in fact not exactly like LA.

~Bear