Travel Thailand

Places to see:

  • Bangcock (temples - pollution - lots of people)
  • Phi Phi island (awesome - swimming - snorkling - water sports)
  • Phuket (or beaches nearby - relaxy tourist area - activities)

Things to do:

Things NOT to do in Thailand:

  • Touch peoples heads
  • Shake hands
  • Show the bottom of your feet
  • Pick up shit in shops, cos they throw u in jail for stealing lol
  • Take a taxi from the side of the road, always used pre-arranged transport or something that is easy to jump out of lol (like those tuk tuk things)
  • eat dog.. or any other kind of pet..
  • get really sick
  • DON'T SIGN ANYTHING from a Pushy Travel Agent.

Fast Facts about Thailand:

  • Pick-up joint: the world’s second-largest pick-up truck market after the US
  • Border countries: Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, MyanmarBurma
  • Population: 65,493,296
  • Guinness World Records: longest condom chain, most couples married underwater and most Mini Coopers in a convoy (444 cars parked to spell out ‘Long Live the King’)
  • Karaoke culture: every major band or singer releases video CDs (VCD) specially formatted for karaoke-style singalongs
  • Religion: 95% Buddhist
  • Literacy: 92.6%, though reading anything other than the newspaper or comic books is regarded as an eccentric hobby
  • Currency: what's the Thai baht worth today?
  • Prime Minister: Abhisit Vejjajiva
  • Number of 7-Elevens currently: 3912
  • Highest point: Doi Inthanon 2565m
  • Head of state: King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX)
  • Internet is 2b per min - Sports Bar and Carpe Diem have free wifi
  • POLICE:
    While very visible, local police may not speak much English. The Thai Tourist Police can be of more assistance -- 1155 is a 24-hour hotline they can be reached on. Thai police are not paid much, so corruption remains a problem. http://www.thaitouristpolice.com/main.php
  • BARGAINING:
    Should I bargain for everything I want to buy in Thailand? No. If an item has a price tag then you're not expected to bargain. You are not expected to bargain in a restaurant either.
    What is the best way to bargain in Thailand? With a smile and a friendly attitude. The point of bargaining is not to make sure the merchant loses money but rather to get a price that you are both satisfied with. Be warned that in popular tourist areas, such as say Chaweng Beach on Ko Samui, the mark-up can be as much as 600-800%. In cases like this it's almost impossible to get a reasonable price compared to what you may pay in Chatuchak market in Bangkok, for instance. The simple solution is not to shop at Chaweng! But if you must, do bargain hard. Often bargaining in Thai - all you really need to know are the numbers, cheap (thuuk) and expensive (phaeng) - will reap greater rewards.
  • tips http://www.streetdirectory.com/travel_guide/209868/asia_destinations/tips_to_reduce_your_holiday_expenses_to_phuket_and_thailand.html
  • Scammers
    If a Bangkok tuk tuk driver knows you're shopping they'll invariably try to take you to a friend's shop along on the way. They get petrol vouchers and all manner of incentives for doing this. Taxis are cheaper and faster because they tend to go straight to your destination.
  • DON'T SIGN ANYTHING from a Pushy Travel Agent.
  • Don't exchange currency with friendly strangers
  • FOOD 
    Is there good vegetarian food in Thailand? Absolutely, but you'll need to look around a bit to find it sometimes. Chiang Mai is particularly good for vegetarians, though Bangkok also has a reasonable selection. It’s not unusual to see items in a vegetarian section such as "Vegetarian salad with pork/chicken/beef." They mean meat, not a soy substitute. A fair directory of Thai vegetarian restaurants is here

Words you should learn before going:

  • Hello
  • goodbye
  • thank you
  • yes
  • no
  • how much for this
  • please stop
  • hotel
  • vegetarian/no meat

Temple Etiquette: On visiting a Thai temple, there are a few rules that all visitors should follow:

  1. You should dress neatly when visiting any temple in Thailand. Men and women should not wear shorts or sleeveless shirts. Women in particular should avoid wearing revealing attire around monks.
  2. Monks are forbidden to have physical contact, or to receive an object directly from a woman. To hand something to a monk a woman should place the object within reach of the monk, or give it to a man who can then hand it to the monk.
  3. When entering any building within a monastery shoes must be removed. And when sitting in a temple, never point your feet towards any images of the Buddha.
  4. You should bear in mind that despite the number of tourists that may be walking around taking pictures, a temple is a place of worship and a quiet sanctuary for the monks and devotees. You should be sensitive to cultural and religious considerations.
  5. Lastly, temples do not charge an entrance fee, but they do have donation boxes for you to make some merit. Money will go towards upkeep of the temple and the temple's charitable activities.

Thailand Currency & General Money info:

  • 1 Baht = 100 Satang:
    The basic unit of Thai currency is the baht. There are 100 satang in one baht; coins include 25-satang and 50-satang pieces and baht in 1B, 2B, 5B and 10B coins.  Older coins have Thai numerals only, while newer coins have Thai and Arabic numerals. The 2B coin was introduced in 2007 and is confusingly similar in size and design to the 1B coin.  The two satang coins are typically only issued at supermarkets where prices aren’t rounded up to the nearest baht, which is the convention elsewhere. Paper currency is issued in the following denominations: 20B (green), 50B (blue), 100B (red), 500B (purple) and 1000B (beige). In the 1990s, the 10B bills were phased out in favour of the 10B coin but occasionally you might encounter a paper survivor.
  • Money Exchange:
    Do not change money in your home country before coming to Thailand. You will get a much better rate of exchange in Thailand. Bring an ATM card or travelers cheques. In fact, it is nice to have two sources of money in case of problems so why not bring both.Do not exchange your money at hotels. They give bad rates. Exchange booths at airports also give poor rates. The best way to get money when you first arrive is to use an ATM at the airport
  • Tipping:
    Tipping was never really a part of Thai culture. It is a custom that we visiting westerners have introduced and which Thai customers have now taken up. Most western visitors over-tip.The normal tip in Thailand at restaurants or bars is 20 baht. That may seem like a derisory sum to leave by western standards but in Thailand they do not expect any more. You are not being tightfisted by leaving so little. In fact, some claim that westerners who come here and tip big are actually causing problems for everybody else. They are creating an expectancy of big tips from westerners that never used to exist.