Somchai Jaidee - Easy Thailand Visa (Page 2)

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Practicalities

The Thai Health Check-Up Is Not a Medical Emergency. It Is a National Hobby.

Every Thai over a certain age does the annual blood test. Foreigners should know the packages, the real prices, and what they are actually paying for before they click book.

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Practicalities

Bangkok Flooded in All 50 Districts and Six of Them Still Are

Three hundred millimetres of rain in two days, a disaster declared across all 50 districts, and not one flight cancelled. What a Bangkok flood does to a trip, and which six districts are still wet.

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Islands & Beaches

Koh Samet Is Ninety Minutes From Bangkok and Almost Nobody Stays the Night

Six beaches, a national park fee, and a fire ban on half the island. How to get there, what it costs, and why the day-trippers all leave at four and you should not.

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Temples & Culture

The Best Museum in Bangkok Costs 200 Baht and Only Ten People Will Be Inside

Bangkok has a world-class silks merchant's house, a free history museum, and an art centre in a railway station. Here is which to actually spend a morning in.

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Street Food

Chiang Mai Has Three Night Markets and Only One of Them Is Worth the Taxi

The Night Bazaar is the one everybody photographs and the Sunday Walking Street is the one everybody should actually be on. Here is the difference, with opening hours.

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Visas & Immigration

Thailand Turned 33 Passports Into a Fast Lane at Suvarnabhumi and Left Americans in the Queue

The arrival e-gates now take 33 nationalities, but only if you have been here before, on the same passport, visa-exempt, with your arrival card filed. Here is who is in and who is out.

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Money & Costs

My First Condo Electricity Bill Was 3,400 Baht and the Landlord Blamed the Grid

Thai electricity is sold by the unit, the unit is a kilowatt-hour, and the building may be selling it to you at double the national rate. The numbers, and the one question to ask at signing.

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Money & Costs

You Can Get 7% of Your Shopping Back at the Airport and Almost Nobody Does It

Thailand has a tourist VAT refund scheme, it pays 7%, and the paperwork is one form you have to ask for at the till. Here is the whole system, including who does not qualify.

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Slow Travel

Thailand Has a Season for Everything, and You Are Choosing One Right Now

The monsoon is not a national thing. It hits the Andaman in May and the Gulf in November, the air is worst in March, and the month you pick decides which country you actually visit.

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Visas & Immigration

Getting a Thai Birth Certificate Legalised for a School Abroad, and Why It Takes Three Offices Until February 2027

Thai documents still go to three offices and two countries before they are accepted abroad. That changes on 28 February 2027, and here is what to do before it does.

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Temples & Culture

You Walked Past Nine Shrines This Morning and Did Not Know What They Were

The little house on a post outside every Thai home and shop is not a temple. What it is, what goes on it, why red Fanta matters, and the seven things never to do.

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Temples & Culture

Thai Country Music Is Not Cowboy Music and a Boxing Stadium Night in 1973 Decided What It Sounds Like

Luk thung is a third of Thailand's own music and almost nobody outside the country has heard it. Its dead king, its 1973 split, and how to find a live band tonight.