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Monkey College: Bangkok

Thailand has some unusual educational institutions, including a monkey college where monkeys are trained to perform tasks like collecting coconuts and receive a feast after graduating. Bangkok has the longest place name of any city in the world at 169 letters. While the western year is 2017, in Thailand it is currently the year 2560 according to the Thai solar calendar which starts counting from 543 BC when Buddha died. Ghosts are widely believed in Thailand and form part of daily life, with homes and businesses having spirit houses and shrines to appease spirits.

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Joseph Julian Bigornia Maglonzo
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29 views1 page

Monkey College: Bangkok

Thailand has some unusual educational institutions, including a monkey college where monkeys are trained to perform tasks like collecting coconuts and receive a feast after graduating. Bangkok has the longest place name of any city in the world at 169 letters. While the western year is 2017, in Thailand it is currently the year 2560 according to the Thai solar calendar which starts counting from 543 BC when Buddha died. Ghosts are widely believed in Thailand and form part of daily life, with homes and businesses having spirit houses and shrines to appease spirits.

Uploaded by

Joseph Julian Bigornia Maglonzo
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Monkey college

Thailand is home to some great universities and prestigious institutions, but it’s also
home to some which are a little more unusual. In Surat Thani, Thailand has a
monkey college – that’s right, a college for monkeys. In these institutions, monkeys
are trained to perform and collect coconuts, and are rewarded with a huge feast
once they graduate.

Longest city name


Bangkok – referred to as Krung Thep by Thais – actually has the longest name of
any city in the world. Its full title is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin
Mahinthara Ayuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom
Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya
Witsanukam Prasit – an un-tweetable 169 letters!

Living in the future


Whilst the year in the west is 2017, in Thailand they use a different calendar. The
Thai solar calendar was introduced in 1888 AD by King Rama V, and starts from
year 0 in 543 BC – the date Gautama Buddha died. That means today the year in
Bangkok is 2560 – though they don’t quite have flying cars just yet.

Land of ghosts
Halloween isn’t really celebrated in Thailand, but ghosts are. Ghosts are widely
believed in in Thailand, and form a large part of a person’s daily routine. Thai
homes and business often have spirit houses and shrines, where offerings are
made to appease the spirits. Thailand also has its share of malevolent ghosts, such
as the floating viscera and head of Krasue, and whistling is said to call ghosts to
your location.

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