Thailand is a precious travel hub of Southeast Asia that we should definitely thank for the good natured hospitality, warm hearts and endearing smiles of Thais.
Did you know? Average Thai tends to smile far more than an average westerner, thanks to the welcoming nature of the Thai people. There is much more to the Land of smiles than just friendly faces.
Documents
1. PrintOut of return air ticket paid in full2. Original Passport, with at least 6 months validity, from the date of arrival.
3. Visa fee + One application form
4. Two passport sized colour photographs, not older than 3 months, taken against a white background + Gum to paste = Must
5. Demonstrate evidence of enough funds during your stay by one of the following:
• An endorsement of a 500 USD foreign exchange purchase in the passport
• An international credit card (Most suitable)
• Bank statement - 6 Months
SIM
SIM cards are easy to find on the airport itself and 7-11 shop.Best Providers - True or 123 (multiple SIMS from multiple service providers can be purchased). TrueH provides you Initial balance.
To recharge - Go to a 7-11 shop - Just tell your number - they will give you print out with a recharge code - Dial *123*code#.
Prefixing 00600 to the international number like 91-99999999999 gets you VOIP rates.
Food
- Take sensible precautions such as washing hands before and afterwards.
- Eat where there are crowds because a faster turnover means fresher food. Begin with light food on your first day. Never drink the tap water.
- If you had too much of spicy food, do not drink too much beer after that. Meat is considered as beef, so insist for Chicken.
- Thai street food comes abundant, high quality and astoundingly cheap and should not cost more than 60 THB.
- Thai Food in restaurants should taste better, but should cost around 150 THB. Indian restaurants are plenty on the Indira Road (walking distance from Siam road) but could be costly.
- Vegetarians have very less options in Thailand. You can find 7-11 shop after every 1000. Stock up on food.
- If you face gas, indigestion or stomach ache, eat porridge or fruit salad. They are available almost everywhere. 1 cut fruit or pan cake = 40 THB.
- Food to Try - Sea food, coconut milk curry, pad thai (fried noodles with veg/ non veg), coconut shake, pancake, barbecue fish like red snapper or white snapper.
- Drinks to Try - Coconut shake, coconut water, papaya shake, orange shake or any other shake.
Clothing
- Cotton clothing is best suited here. The best choice would be to wear a comfortable cotton pant and t-shirt.
- Come with light sports shoe or even sandle.
- Charges for Laundry are around 40 THB/kg of clothings.
Transportation
- From the Airport, Express trains will take you to the middle of the Bangkok city.
- Interlinked metro services will help you to reach your desired location from anywhere. Make sure your train travels from one place to another happens during the daytime, as train fares get doubled during nights.
- As far as Road transport is concerned, Thailand has Tuk Tuks and cabs available everywhere.
- If comfort is your preference, use cabs and insist on any cab you use being metered.
- If you want to enjoy local experiences, take tuk tuks. Remember to agree to a price before getting in a tuk tuk(run by Thai Mafia). Do not agree to Tuk Tuk driver's promotion midway.
- Bike-lover? Bike renting costs around 200 THB/day. Look for the dents, scratches, broken lights, on-blinking lights before you hire. You'll need to submit your passport for renting the bike. Take all around picture of the bike before you hire them for the proof.
- To buy Thailand bus, railway and ferry tickets or check timetables online, you can make use of 12go.asia site.
Markets
Bargain well. The rule is 1/3 of the price quoted. Aim for 25-30% off the quoted price for products, of if you’re buying in bulk, see if the seller offers a wholesale discount.One Word of Caution
Relax yourself by trying the foot massage but stay alert by getting the Tourist police’s numbers. 300 THB is levied each time you withdraw money from an ATM. The best deal is withdrawing all the cash at once.Don’t leave your cameras, passport and money pouches in the hotel. Keep your belongings as close to you as possible, ideally strung around you in a zipped up bag.