Hot answers tagged thailand
14
The options are:
Tourist visa in your home country (1-3 entries, 60+30 days on each entry)
Documentation is not particularly difficult. Exact requirements vary depending on the consulate, but usually it's a 1-page application form, two photos, copy of confirmed flight itinerary and a recent bank statement showing some minimal balance ($1500 or so). Visa ...
11
Risk of contracting malaria is higher in nearby countries than in Thailand. Look at this map from NHS Fit For Travel:
Risky areas are clearly regions bordering neighbouring countries. Borrowing from a previous answer I gave, malaria is transmitted by a specific type of mosquito (female anopheles) that breeds in still / stagnant water. When you're in ...
11
Many Thai people vacation in Malaysia, it's not too expensive for them and they still feel at home there. So just as @MastaBaba suggested I would also suggest Malaysia. Many areas are very similar to Thailand and communication is not too much of a problem. Oh and you might poke in to Singapore while you're there to really fill up the meter for your ...
10
Yes, it is possible to hire motorbikes in Bangkok and Chiang Mai. I haven't done this myself but some friends did. It costs about 200-800 baht per day to hire one depending on the type of motorcycle you get. It might make sense to buy one from an expat or a another traveller, then sell it when (if?) you go back to Thailand. You will definitely need to have ...
10
I can't help with the logistics of actually getting the vehicle between Thailand and Australia, however despite what is and isn't possible there, there's no cheap way to do what you're asking.
Australia has a relatively strict process for approving imported vehicles, which would normally only be worthwhile if the car was in some way special. If the vehicle ...
10
Bali (an island of Indonesia) is similar to Thailand in all aspects.
Bali is cheap.
10 Euros are basically 124.000 Rupiah. Native usually spends only 20.000 Rupiah for their lunch/dinner. It means You can live and eat like a king.
Incredible beaches
Bali has a lot of beautiful beaches. Try to search for Nusa Dua/ Sanur beach in Google.
Stay away from ...
9
Generally, around September the northern parts of Thailand get less rain than the southern parts. So looking at the places you listed, Chiang Mai, Bangkok, Udon Thani etc will be less wet than, say, Phuket where the weather can often prevent speedboat services that take you to nearby islands / beaches. Koh Samui, Koh Phagnan etc are better off than Phuket ...
9
According to the CDC, they recommend
MMR, DPT, polio, Hep A/B, Typhoid and Japanese encephalitis
Also Malaria meds are recommended.
That being said, I've lived in SE Asia and travelled around with only MMR, DPT, polio and the Heps. A lot of people swear by Malaria meds, but every time I take them, I feel horrible and can't really do anything so I ...
8
I have not used that web site, but always bought the tickets a day in advance at the station or even just when getting on the train in Thailand. For sleepers I would recommend to buy in advance, just to be sure.
Whether you should buy before your trip really depends on how sure you are about the dates. What if you really like a place and want to stay a few ...
8
According to the Thailand entry on the Finnish site rokote.fi,
These vaccines are recommended for everyone:
Hepatitis A
DPT / DTwP
MMR
These are recommended for some, based on a risk estimate (preferably conducted with a health professional):
Hepatitis B
Japanese encephalitis (but see also Ginamin's answer!)
Cholera
Typhoid
Preventive malaria ...
8
Many tourists wishing to stay in Thailand longer than 30 days given on the standard tourist visa (on incoming flights) do 'visa runs' to nearby countries. You are correct that overland entries only get a two-week visa instead of a month-long visa, but sometimes you need to evaluate what works out cheaper for you.
You'll obviously be looking for the cheapest ...
8
Having been to both during Ramadan:
In all reasonably touristy areas in Thailand, including the southern resort islands, you basically will not notice Ramadan at all -- pretty much everything is open as usual.
Malaysia, though, is a different story. While you certainly can get drinks and food, most places that stay open do so a little discreetly, with ...
7
A taxi ride would be at least 3000 Baht, but from the Airport you have taxi stands with fixed prices for most destination. From downtown Bangkok, you can negotiate to as low as 2000 Baht.
The less expensive would be to take the public minibuses. Thais use them for transport between provinces. Most of the minibuses can be catched at Victory Monument. To go ...
7
Of course it's legal to ask for anything. It's up to you whether you give it up.
Ultimately, they want to get their bike back and in working condition and to be paid for the rental and any damage. A passport is one of the only things a foreign tourist will value enough to ensure adherence to the agreement. On the flip side, the proprietor wants to make the ...
7
The answers above are not only generic, but inaccurate for Thailand.
First and most important question is whether you are actually renting a motorcycle ("big bike") or a scooter ("motorbike").
For scooters, you can always leave a copy of your passport. It is not an issue anywhere.
But for motorcycles, you pretty much have to leave your passport. There ...
7
I can't tell you the absolute cheapest, but I can tell you it's not commonly done. It is however uncommonly done - by people on "adventure" trips, challenges, etc.
One current such adventure I could think of is "It's on the Meter - World Taxi Challenge". I had heard that they had travelled with their London Taxi from England to Australia so did some ...
7
You're right, South Thailand is definitely more expensive than North Thailand. In my mind everything is just doubled in price. That's not to say you can't find a 35thb pad-thai or 150thb massage down South, it's just not as easy and common as it is in the North.
I really only know about the South East islands:
Ko Phangan
Ko Tao
Ko Samui
So I'll just ...
7
Bangkok is rather spread out, but a good location would be somewhere along Sukhumvit. There's a lot of activity there, and you're close to the skytrain.
But it's by no means the only location that works. Being close to the river is nice too, as is being smack in the middle of the commercial center, close to to the excellent Bangkok Art and Culture centre.
...
6
Nothing, really, unless you mean to stay in the jungles for a while. And yes of course you want mosquito repellent because skitos are never any fun.
Your biggest health concerns have to do with heat, hydration, food and traffic accidents. If you drink 2 liters at home, you need 3 liters in Thailand (assuming of course a temperate climate where you are ...
6
In Thailand, it depends on where you'll be going. Anywhere from Bangkok northwards, you won't notice anything in relation to Ramadan. There's a significant muslim presence in the south of Thailand (the sliver of land that borders Malaysia), but I don't know to what extent Ramadan celebrations there spill over into public life.
Malaysia is religiously ...
6
My wife and I booked through Barking Gecko Travel last January and had a really great experience. Barking Gecko Travel is operated by Travel Hub, so I think it would be fair to expect reviews about Travel Hub may translate over to Barking Gecko.
The tour guides provided spoke great English and we really felt that we were being taken into the jungle and ...
6
There's a new wiki site I've only recently become aware of (thanks mostly to other posters on this site!) specifically for prepaid data and sim cards.
So here's their Thailand page.
It looks like there are three main carriers - dtac, AIS and True Move, and there's quite a variety of rates. One interesting one is the unlimited data one, where the data is ...
5
Short answer, you can't.
However, you can at least make sure they have an official license, and any other accreditation which might lend some credence to their claims.
Look for ones that are licensed by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), and consider googling for the tour company plus some key words, to see if anyone has mentioned them or complained ...
5
Goodness, you're not kidding, it's hard to find.
I can offer the following:
Barking Gecko Tours: 2 Day 1 Night Trek and 3 Day 2 Night Trek, both which certainly don't MENTION elephants, despite having a picture of one on their banners. They are officially licensed by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT).
5
I tried to use the train, but i found the rail system a bit limited and couldn't use it (from Bangkok towards south) so i ended up using the bus instead. Unless you go on a public holiday you don't need to book anything ahead. You can get around by bus if you book one or 2 days in advance, and all those "Travel agencies" near hotels or tourist destinations ...
5
ATMs at the airport are numerous and easy to find. In Thailand, ATMs give you a better exchange rate than changing cash, especially for less-popular currencies like NZD. However, you need to be aware of the fees your home bank may charge (fixed fee + percent commission). On top of this, almost all ATMs in Thailand charge an additional 150 THB fee for ...
5
It's possible, but you would have to charter your own speedboat, which would be stupidly expensive: quotes on the net vary from 8000 baht for a privately negotiated transfer to 15000 baht (!) to getting the Holiday Inn to pick you up in their own boat. Staying another night and taking the ferry across the next day will thus almost certainly be cheaper.
In ...
5
The ferries between Koh Kong and Sihanoukville ended a few years ago, and the service seems unlikely to return. Between the paving of the southern road, the rise in fuel prices, and the fall in foreign tourism it is no longer economically feasible, and despite the election of the Shinawatra government, tensions between the two countries are high due to ...
5
You might be better off specifically going to Penang (Malaysia), so you can visit the Thai Embassy there and purchase a 90-day visa (as opposed to the traditional 30-day visa). It's quite easy to do the visa run from Phuket, and I would assume the same goes for Krabi as from memory it is quite close to Phuket.
When you're in Krabi or Phuket, go to a travel ...
5
Taxi.
Get in the official taxi stand queue just outside the airport doors and give the person at the counter the address you're going to. They will tell you how much it will cost (or more likely the ride will be metered - it won't matter much either way, as Bangkok taxis are cheap). They will give you a docket, and point you towards the taxi driver who will ...
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