• the Wat Phra Kaew, a Buddhist temple (temple complex pictured) in Bangkok, Thailand, has an idol of Emerald Buddha with a legend linked to India, five centuries after Buddha attained Nirvana?
• the origins of Pak Khlong Talat, the primary flower market in Bangkok, Thailand, date to the 1700s?
• the pillars of the cancelled Bangkok Elevated Road and Train System project (pictured) have been described as "a Bangkok version of Stonehenge"?
• the International Olympic Committee has shortlisted five cities — Athens, Bangkok, Moscow, Singapore and Turin — out of nine bids to host the first Youth Olympic Games in 2010?
• although the first meeting of the Indian Independence League took place in Tokyo in March 1942, it was not formally proclaimed until June of that year in Bangkok?
• Chamchuri Square, an office/residential/retail building complex in Bangkok, Thailand, stood uncompleted for almost ten years due to the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis?
• a 1955 "Speaker's Corner" experiment in Bangkok inspired the launching of a Thai Hyde Park Movement Party?
• Thai history scholar Benjamin Batson took up his field while posted in Bangkok as a university maths lecturer?

Facts on topics related to Bangkok

Kuala Lumpur

• Arthur's Day benefit concerts—celebrating the 250th anniversary of Guinness (pictured)—will be held today in locations as diverse as Dublin, New York, Kuala Lumpur and Yaoundé?

Jakarta

• Cyclone Rosie was the first ever tropical cyclone to be monitored by the Tropical Cyclone Warning Center in Jakarta?
• Sumitro was a prominent Indonesian General in the early years of General Suharto's New Order, but retired after student riots in Jakarta in 1974?
• the Megaria (pictured), a historic movie theater in Jakarta, Indonesia, is the city's largest remaining Art Deco building?
• the Wayang Museum in Jakarta contains the tombstone of Jan Pieterszoon Coen?
• the recent flooding in Jakarta is considered to be the worst in the last three centuries?

Manila

• Filipino indie rock band Taken by Cars had two singles that reached the top of Manila's local radio charts before getting signed in a major record label?
• Nick Joaquin's play, A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino, was described in The New York Times as an "engaging, well plotted metaphor for the passing of Old Manila"?
• Ancient Tondo became so prosperous that the Kingdom of Brunei had to attack it and set up a rival settlement to keep it in check?
• Arsenio Lacson was the first person to be elected to three terms as mayor of Manila?
• España Boulevard, the main street of Sampaloc, Manila, is notorious for its waist-deep floods during the Philippine typhoon season?
• Jeronima de la Asuncion (pictured) was the foundress of the first Catholic monastery in Manila and the Far East?
• Typhoon Patsy (1970) was the deadliest tropical cyclone to strike Manila since the establishment of the Philippine Weather Bureau in 1865?
• after the Mendiola massacre on January 22, 1987, the Filipino Government banned all public demonstrations on Mendiola Street in Manila?
• civilians took refuge in St. La Salle Hall in Manila during World War II, believing that its walls would protect them from anything but a direct hit?
• despite being running mates in Manila's upcoming local elections, Alfredo Lim and Isko Moreno support different candidates in the presidential election?

Beijing

• Beijing Communist Party chief Li Ximing was a leading supporter of military action against the Tiananmen Square protests that resulted in the deaths of hundreds, possibly thousands, of people?
• French Sinologist Paul Pelliot was caught up in the Boxer Rebellion and trapped in the siege of Peking?
• British cyclist Simon Richardson won two gold medals and one silver at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing?
• Ireland's former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern presented an episode of GAA television programme The Road to Croker when the usual host was at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing?
• a Cossack community existed in Beijing as early as 1685?
• Bailin Temple in Beijing was not pillaged by Anglo-French forces in 1860 or by the Eight-Nation Alliance in 1900 because of the superstitious fear that Tibetan Buddhism inspired in the invaders?
• Beijing opera did not originate in Beijing but in the Chinese provinces of Anhui and Hubei?
• James Bennet was set to become Beijing correspondent for The New York Times when he instead was appointed the fourteenth editor-in-chief of The Atlantic Monthly in March 2006?
• Meng Xuenong was sacked as mayor of Beijing during the SARS crisis, but has now made a comeback as governor of Shanxi province?
• Tim Morehouse, a member of the U.S. fencing team at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, originally took up fencing in order to be excused from his high school gym class?

Seoul

• South Korean fashion model Daul Kim was also a keen painter and had exhibited her works at a solo exhibition in Seoul?
• Dream Cinema is the last remaining single-screen movie theater in Seoul, Korea?
• Insadong is a district of Seoul consisting of galleries and antique shops, known for "culture of the past and the present"?
• Kim Swoo Geun, a leading South Korean architect, was referred to as "Lorenzo de Medici of Seoul" by Time for his contributions to Korean culture?
• Pocheon, a South Korean city located between Seoul and Gangwon province is famous for makgeolli (unfiltered rice wine) and galbi (marinated short beef ribs)?
• Songpa sandaenori is a type of Korean mask play originated in the neighborhoods of Songpa-dong of Seoul, Korea?
• among Korean regional cuisine, the luxurious style of Kaesong cuisine of North Korea is frequently compared with those of Seoul and Jeolla cuisines of South Korea?
• the Anyangcheon, a river in Gyeonggi Province and Seoul City of South Korea, is home to a variety of wildlife such as goldfish, Grey Heron and Northern Shoveler?
• the Gwangtonggwan in Seoul is the oldest continuously-operating bank building in Korea?
• the Ilmin Museum of Art is an art museum of South Korea, located on Sejongno, Jongno-gu, central district of Seoul where royal palaces and gates of Joseon dynasty are also situated?

Dhaka

• Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh was also known as Jahangir Nagar?
• Islam Khan was the founder of the modern city of Dhaka and the first Mughal general to subjugate Bengal?
• Suhrawardy Udyan in Dhaka was the scene of Mujibur Rahman's historic speech on March 7, 1971 that eventually led to Bangladesh's Liberation War?
• a proposed strategic road link through Bangladesh and its capital Dhaka will reduce the travel distance between the Indian cities of Agartala and Kolkata from 1,700 kms to 400 kms?
• the Bara Katra palace in Dhaka, now dilapidated and half-destroyed, was built originally to be the residence of Mughal prince Shah Shuja?