Thailand Practical Guides

Flat illustration of a plug shape, a socket and a power adapter with a cable, deep teal and gold

Practicalities

You Will Need an Adapter and You Will Need It at Midnight

Thailand runs on 220V, uses three different plug shapes, and the outlet you need in Thailand is frequently the one your hotel room does not have.

Flat illustration of a water bottle, a glass with ice and a tap, deep teal and gold

Practicalities

There Is No Such Thing as an Empty Bottle in Thailand

Bottled water is 7 to 15 baht, ice comes in two different kinds with different rules, and the single question that identifies the safe one is written on the sign in Thai nobody can read.

Flat illustration of a washing machine drum, a hanging shirt and a wire drying rack, deep teal and gold

Practicalities

I Washed My Clothes in a Laundromat in Chiang Mai for 60 Baht

There are three ways to wash clothes in Thailand and one of them costs a quarter of what the hotel charges. The other two take fifteen minutes of your life each.

Flat illustration of a squat toilet pan with a plastic water scoop and a wall flush lever, deep teal and gold

Practicalities

Every Thai Toilet Has a Shovel and a Bucket and They Are Not a Joke

The bucket beside the pan is not decoration and the lever on the wall is not a light switch. A short tour of the most misunderstood room in Thailand.

Street Food

The Stall With Four Hundred Customers Is Safer Than the One Next to It

The food-scare in Thailand is about water and the water is fine. The three things that actually put you in hospital are much more specific.

Flat illustration of a bank passbook, a debit card and a mobile banking phone, deep teal and gold

Money & Costs

You Cannot Open a Thai Bank Account With a Tourist Visa and That Is the Point

Kasikorn's own published rules exclude tourist visas, visa-free entries and the DTV by name. Almost every blog round-up on the internet gets this wrong.

Flat illustration of a passport, a police report form, a queue of chairs and a replacement stamp, deep teal and gold

Practicalities

A Lost Passport in Thailand Is a Paperwork Problem, Not a Nightmare

Police report, embassy appointment, one document that takes a fortnight to replace. What actually happens, in the order it happens, with real timings.

Flat illustration of a taxi roof sign, a motorcycle taxi and a hand raised hailing a ride, deep teal and gold

Practicalities

How to Get a Taxi in Bangkok Without Being Ripped Off

Meter on or off is one sentence, and the whole thing takes eight seconds once you know it. The rest is knowing which vehicle to wave down.

Flat illustration of a road with crossing stripes, a stream of motorbikes and a pedestrian signal, deep teal and gold

Practicalities

Nobody in Bangkok Waits for You and Somehow You Survive It

There is no pedestrian crossing on a six-lane road and there are two thousand motorcycles. What to do with your body, not your courage.

Flat illustration of a fallen scooter, a first aid kit and a hospital receipt with a helmet beside it, deep teal and gold

Practicalities

Most Tourists Who Crash a Scooter in Thailand Are Not Hurt by the Road

The hospital bill is the smallest part. The part that ruins trips is a claim your insurer refuses, and that is decided by what you signed in a shop on a side street.

Practicalities

I Rented a Scooter in Chiang Mai and Nobody Told Me to Photograph It

Two hundred baht a day, no helmet included, and a deposit against a passport. The photo takes forty seconds and decides whether you lose a week.

Flat illustration of a coiled snake, a scorpion shape and a boot beside them, deep teal and gold

Practicalities

Thailand Has a Lot of Snakes and Almost None of Them Want to Meet You

The real risk is rubber plantations and the fact that people handle snakes for a living without protective equipment. Here is the actual risk map.