Somchai Jaidee - Easy Thailand Visa (Page 15)

Flat illustration of a train crossing a border marker, two separate platforms and a suitcase between them, deep teal and gold

Practicalities

The Train to Malaysia Still Has a Change of Train in the Middle of It

There is no Bangkok to Kuala Lumpur through train any more, and everybody still books one. Here is what actually happens at Padang Besar, and why it is still the best crossing in the region.

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Visas & Immigration

The Ninety Day Report Is Not a Visa Renewal and It Is Not Optional

If you are on any long-stay visa, you have a form to file every ninety days. Almost nobody knows it exists, and the penalty for ignoring it is a flat two thousand baht.

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Street Food

You Do Not Need to Read Thai to Order in a Thai Restaurant

Six words on a menu will get you a full meal. Not six hundred. Here is the actual working vocabulary of a Thai kitchen, and what to do when the menu has no English on it at all.

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Islands & Beaches

Koh Lipe Has No Bridge and No Airport and That Is the Entire Point

Satun province, the Andaman Sea, and a boat you have to catch. Koh Lipe is the Thailand island most likely to be closed off by weather, and the one people come back from twice.

Flat illustration of a macaque on a temple wall, a phone in a claw and a first aid kit, deep teal and gold

Practicalities

A Monkey Bite Is Not a Souvenir and the First Fifteen Minutes Matter

Macaques are wild animals with a very specific set of medical risks, and the fifteen minutes after a bite decide almost everything. Here is the order of operations.

Flat illustration of a heap of red and green chillies, a bowl of soup with steam and a glass of water, deep teal and gold

Street Food

The Heat Is Not the Same at Every Stall and That Is the Whole Trick

Thailand's chillies run from a mild, floral heat to something that genuinely hurts. Knowing which pepper is on your plate turns every meal from a gamble into a decision.

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Thailand News

When the Shops Shut, They Still Sell You a Beer

Alcohol sales in Thailand follow real legal timetables, five religious days where the fridge is empty, and four provinces where the question does not arise at all.

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Slow Travel

Bangkok Has a Second River and Almost Nobody Gets on It

The khlongs are the working back streets of Bangkok, seen from above, at a busker's pace. A single boat route takes you from a market to a temple without a single car.

Flat illustration of a rice paddy, a water buffalo, drying rice racks and a wooden stilt house, deep teal and gold

Slow Travel

Farm Stays Are Cheap Because the Work Is Real

You are not a guest at a rural homestay, you are a seasonal labourer with a ceiling fan. That is why it costs a tenth of a beach hotel and why it is worth more.

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Temples & Culture

Getting Invited to a Thai Wedding Is a Good Reason to Learn Three Words

A Thai ceremony is not a service you sit through, it is a sequence you participate in, and the participation is optional in a way that would horrify a Western registrar.

Flat illustration of a river island with a pottery wheel, a bicycle, temple roofs and cargo ships, deep teal and gold

Islands & Beaches

Two River Islands, Ninety Minutes From Bangkok, and Almost Nobody on Them

Koh Kret makes pottery. Koh Sichang has the best sea view in the Eastern Gulf. Neither is on a package tour, and both are an afternoon from the BTS.

Flat illustration of a forest canopy, a waterfall, gibbons in a tree and a misty ridge, deep teal and gold

Practicalities

Khao Yai Is Three Hours Away and Costs What You Spend on Lunch in Bangkok

The closest thing Thailand has to a national park that works as a national park. Gibbons at dawn, elephants nobody has met, and an entrance fee that tells you who pays for it.