# Kathmandu for one....



## Esmeralda

Some places have names that I think are interesting, that I like the sound of. It doesn't mean I like or even know anything about the place or want to go there, though I might, but I just like the way the name sounds.  

Two, for example, are:  Kathmandu and Addis Ababa.

And then there is this one: Tegucigalpa

I can't even imagine how to pronounce that one and have never heard of it.  

This thread may not take off, don't know, but I am thinking the purpose is to talk about places with interesting names.  

Tegucigalpa: Tegucigalpa [(Spanish pronunciation: [te&#611;usi&#712;&#611;alpa]) <--This doesn't help!] is the capital of Honduras and the largest city.  It is congested and is prone to floods in the rainy season. "Tegucigalpa was founded by Spanish settlers as Real de Minas de San Miguel de Tegucigalpa on September 29, 1578 on the site of an existing native settlement of the Pech, Tolupans and the Twahkas" (wiki).  It's located in a valley surrounded by mountains.  "The city consists of gentle hills, and the ring of mountains surrounding the city tends to trap pollution. During the dry season, a dense cloud of smog lingers in the basin until the first rains fall......Situated in a valley and surrounded by mountain ranges, Tegucigalpa is hilly with several elevations and few flat areas. The city is also highly disorganized, particularly around its oldest districts.....Honduras has the world's highest murder rate."  Tegucigalpa has parks and 14 museums. It doesn't sound like a great place to go because if the crime, pollution, and traffic congestion.  Anyone ever been there?


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## percysunshine

Woolloomooloo, New South Wales - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A toilet for hairy bovines?


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## Esmeralda

percysunshine said:


> Woolloomooloo, New South Wales - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
> 
> A toilet for hairy bovines?



Pronounced: WUU-lu-mu-LOO.  LOL

Ever been there?


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## editec

Ronkonkoma long Island,

I remember one conducter on the Long Island RR calling that name out as 


RON- KON- KOMAAAAAAAAAAA​
A local river I cross almost daily?>

the *PASS-A-GASS-A-WAU-KEAG!*


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## Pogo

One of my favourite place names is Kangiqsualujjuaq, an Inuit village on the Ungava Bay in northern Québec.  (KAN-jik-su-a-LOO-joo-ak)

I prolly wouldn't have ever heard of it except that I happened to be driving down through Michigan on New Year's Day 1999 when the first news story of the new year broke-- an avalanche that hit the school gymnasium and tragically killed nine people.  Hearing the news on both USian and Canadian radio, only the latter gave the name of the village.

"I tried to learn Eskimo but I just couldn't get Inuit"


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## Pogo

Esmeralda said:


> percysunshine said:
> 
> 
> 
> Woolloomooloo, New South Wales - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
> 
> A toilet for hairy bovines?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Pronounced: WUU-lu-mu-LOO.  LOL
> 
> Ever been there?
Click to expand...


Never been there but I know the name from Monty Python.

Another favourite, although I wouldn't attempt pronunciation:
Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch (Wales)  (<< there's not supposed to be a space in there; the board software can't handle it)

-- meaning "St. Mary's Church in the hollow of the white hazel near the rapid whirlpool  and the church of St. Tysilio with a red cave"


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## Pogo

Ougadougou


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## syrenn

Esmeralda said:


> Some places have names that I think are interesting, that I like the sound of. It doesn't mean I like or even know anything about the place or want to go there, though I might, but I just like the way the name sounds.
> 
> Two, for example, are:  Kathmandu and Addis Ababa.
> 
> And then there is this one: Tegucigalpa
> 
> I can't even imagine how to pronounce that one and have never heard of it.
> 
> This thread may not take off, don't know, but I am thinking the purpose is to talk about places with interesting names.
> 
> Tegucigalpa: Tegucigalpa [(Spanish pronunciation: [te&#611;usi&#712;&#611;alpa]) <--This doesn't help!] is the capital of Honduras and the largest city.  It is congested and is prone to floods in the rainy season. "Tegucigalpa was founded by Spanish settlers as Real de Minas de San Miguel de Tegucigalpa on September 29, 1578 on the site of an existing native settlement of the Pech, Tolupans and the Twahkas" (wiki).  It's located in a valley surrounded by mountains.  "The city consists of gentle hills, and the ring of mountains surrounding the city tends to trap pollution. During the dry season, a dense cloud of smog lingers in the basin until the first rains fall......Situated in a valley and surrounded by mountain ranges, Tegucigalpa is hilly with several elevations and few flat areas. The city is also highly disorganized, particularly around its oldest districts.....Honduras has the world's highest murder rate."  Tegucigalpa has parks and 14 museums. It doesn't sound like a great place to go because if the crime, pollution, and traffic congestion.  Anyone ever been there?



Pronunciation of tegucigalpa - how to pronounce tegucigalpa correctly.


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## Esmeralda

Pogo said:


> Ougadougou


Can you add anything to that?
Got anything to say about this place?


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## Esmeralda

Rancho Cucamonga

That's a funny sounding name to me.  



> "The name Cucamonga became well known to fans of Jack Benny's popular radio program, in which an announcer, voiced by Mel Blanc, would call out: "Train leaving on track five for Anaheim, Azusa and Cucamonga!". In addition to the effectiveness of Blanc's delivery of the line, the humor stems from the fact that it is geographically impossible for a single train to serve all three places.[citation needed] This running gag became so well known that it eventually led to a statue of Benny in Cucamonga.
> 
> Rancho Cucamonga has been featured on the Comedy Central hit show Workaholics where it was nicknamed "Hollywood East". The main characters are said to live in the heart of Rancho Cucamonga.
> 
> Rancho Cucamonga is the setting of the movie Next Friday; the home owned by Uncle Elroy and Day Day is in Rancho Cucamonga.
> 
> The sixth track on the 1975 Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart album Bongo Fury is titled "Cucamonga".
> 
> The sixth track on the Grateful Dead's 1974 album From the Mars Hotel is titled "Pride of Cucamonga".
> 
> In the SNL skit, "The Californians", Rancho Cucamonga is mentioned as the location of sand surfing in the episode hosted by Justin Bieber in early 2013"


Wiki


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## Saigon

Pogo said:


> Ougadougou



I was amazed to find that it is pronounced Wagga-do-goo. I'd been saying it wrong for 20 years! 

There are a few in Finland that challenge English speakers - such as Jyväskylä.

I have always liked N'Djamena as a name - not many capital cities have an apostrophe!

Also: Antannarivo is impressive, and I always liked saying Bujumbura. 


Tegucigalpa is an appalling shithole, btw. Avoid it like the plague.


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## westwall

Karamea rolls off the tongue.  It's also one of the prettiest places on the planet.  Timbuktu has a certain ancient appeal and of course there's the Bokhiin Orgoo for those who wish to watch a little wrestling action in Mongolia....


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## Pogo

Esmeralda said:


> Pogo said:
> 
> 
> 
> Ougadougou
> 
> 
> 
> Can you add anything to that?
> Got anything to say about this place?
Click to expand...


Well not really, never been there.  I picked up shortwave coming from there once or twice.. but it's where my eyes turn when I come upon an old world map or globe, the test being to see whether the country is listed as Burkina Faso or Upper Volta (post- or pre- 1984).


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## Esmeralda

Pogo said:


> Esmeralda said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Pogo said:
> 
> 
> 
> Ougadougou
> 
> 
> 
> Can you add anything to that?
> Got anything to say about this place?
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> Well not really, never been there.  I picked up shortwave coming from there once or twice.. but it's where my eyes turn when I come upon an old world map or globe, the test being to see whether the country is listed as Burkina Faso or Upper Volta (post- or pre- 1984).
Click to expand...

I've never heard of Burkina Faso either. I thought you might enlighten us dummies.  



> Ouagadougou - Capital of Burkina Faso
> 
> Ouagadougou is the capital of Burkina Faso and the administrative, communications, cultural and economic centre of the nation. It is also   the country's largest city, with a population of 1,475,223. The city's name is often shortened to Ouaga.


wiki


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## dilloduck

I had a co worker at the Red Cross who went to Burkina Faso as a peace corps volunteer about 4 years ago. Learned a lot about the history of it from her as she planned her trip. Since then I have read where radical Islamists have become a problem there and destroyed some ancient pyramid type structures.


I've always liked the sound of  Zamboanga myself.


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## Esmeralda

I like the name Ljubljana, has a musical sound to it.  I've been to the airport.


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## percysunshine

esmeralda said:


> percysunshine said:
> 
> 
> 
> woolloomooloo, new south wales - wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
> 
> a toilet for hairy bovines?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> pronounced: Wuu-lu-mu-loo.  Lol
> 
> ever been there?
Click to expand...


1996

I also liked Wagga Wagga....great name


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## percysunshine

Trashigang - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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## Pogo

Speaking of airports we've been to -- Reykjavik.  Mostly because I scored big with it in a high school game show quiz.

Don't you think the sound effect of a cowboy's bullet in a '50s western TV show sounds like "_pyonyang_!"?


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## sfcalifornia

I always liked Pitjantjatjara...  Aboriginal town in the middle of Australia.

Australia got some great town names derived from the Aborigines.

Closer to home, Philadelphia has some wacko names, also derived from the Indians I presume:  To get to Manayunk, go through Conshohocken on Wissahickon Drive


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## Unkotare

Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Ayuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit



Also known as Bangkok.


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## Esmeralda

There are lots of places in America with interesting Native American names, but most of them we are so used to, we don't notice.  This one is interesting, in Indiana: Mississinewa River.  Or, Pataguanset Lake, which is in Conneticut, also a Native American name.


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## hjmick

Rancho Cucamonga. What a dump.


Lake Titicaca.























Someone had to say it...


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## Sunshine

I had planned to go to Lloa Lloa, pronounced yow yow.  But now, international travel is out.

Llao Llao Luxury Hotel & Resort, Golf - Spa in patagonia, Bariloche Argentina


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## Unkotare

Sunshine said:


> But now, international travel is out.]






Why?


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## Pogo

Saigon said:


> Pogo said:
> 
> 
> 
> Ougadougou
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I was amazed to find that it is pronounced Wagga-do-goo. I'd been saying it wrong for 20 years!
> 
> There are a few in Finland that challenge English speakers - such as Jyväskylä.
> 
> I have always liked N'Djamena as a name - not many capital cities have an apostrophe!
Click to expand...


Another one, though archaic: 's-Gravenhage (from _des Graven Hage_, "the Count's Woods"), modernly known as Den Haag or The Hague.

It's a co-capital anyway.


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## Vikrant

Tualatin

City of Tualatin Home | The City of Tualatin, Oregon Official Website


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## ChloeP80

I want to go to Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu - New Zeland. Just to be able to say that I've been there


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## Jos

Esmeralda said:


> I like the name Ljubljana, has a musical sound to it.  I've been to the airport.



I went there a few years ago, spent the first two nights in a jail cell


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## Pogo

ChloeP80 said:


> I want to go to Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu - New Zeland. Just to be able to say that I've been there



The beginning of that name calls to mind Tatamagouche, on the north coast of mainland Nova Scotia roughly halfway between Pictou and Pugwash.  There used to be a lonely sign on Highway 6 that said "Bay Head Radio Museum".  If you pulled off to the guy's house he'd take you up through a garage festooned with license plates from everywhere you've ever heard of, upstairs to the radio museum where were stacked hundreds of radios, seemingly again every one you've ever heard of.  Sure enough he had a Heathkit GR-81, the shortwave receiver I built for myself as a boy, among them.  I managed to get one picture in those days of film cameras (attached).

The sign has been gone for several years and presumably the museum was sold off.  Seeing as how the guy looked to be about 104 years old when I met him and that was a good ten years ago I assume he's passed on to where the radio waves reside...


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## Pogo

Pahrump, Nevada.

Never been there, have only seen it on a map.  Sounds like a bodily function.


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## Esmeralda

Pago Pago



> American Samoa and its small group of islands were first settled by the Polynesians some 3,000 years ago. In 1722 they were discovered by Jacob Roggeveen, a Dutch explorer.
> 
> In 1900 it became an unorganized U.S. territory, and in fact, it's today the only U.S. territory located south of the Equator.
> 
> These rugged islands (fringed by reefs) have narrow coastal plains. All are volcanic in origin.
> 
> The beautiful city of Pago Pago (the capital), pronounced (pÃ£ng'Ã³ pÃ£ng'Ã³), has a magnificent harbor ringed by densely forested mountains. The outer islands are widely considered some of the most beautiful in the South Pacific.
> 
> While there is a strong American influence in the islands, American Samoans proudly retain their cultural heritage.
> 
> The local economy revolves around the long-established fishing industry, U.S. government jobs and the ever increasing tourism business.
> 
> Samoa, a neighboring independent country, shares the same culture, and much of the same history. For additional info about American Samoa, go here.


American Samoa Map and Information, Map of American Samoa, Facts, Figures and Geography of American Samoa -Worldatlas.com


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