The curious origin of “Bangkok’s ‘Falling Road’”

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Transcript

00:00Did you know that there's a road in Bangkok literally called the Falling Road or Thanon Tuk?

00:05And no, that's not because someone fell there. It's because how the road ends.

00:10Thanon Tuk is the final stretch of the Jorongroon Road, the first paved road ever built in Bangkok,

00:16all the way back in 1861 during King Rama the Fall's reign.

00:21As this road winds through the city, it eventually stops right at the edge of the Jaupaya River.

00:27That's why people call it Thanon Tuk, which means the Falling Road,

00:30as in it falls off into the river at its very end.

00:34In the past, this area was a key transport hub with a pier called Thanon Tuk Pier,

00:39serving passengers and goods alike.

00:41Today, it's mostly used for cargo as the road traffic has taken over much of the community.

00:47So next time you hear the Falling Road, you know it's not a danger zone,

00:51it's just where the road meets the river.