Thailand Practical Guides

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Practicalities

March in Bangkok Is Not a Travel Month and the Air Quality Is Why

The worst air in the world is a four-week window every spring, and it is predictable, it is regional, and one city is genuinely fine while another is not.

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Practicalities

The Thai Hospital Is Not What You Are Afraid of and the Bill Is Not What You Fear

A private hospital in Bangkok is closer to a good hotel than a hospital, the doctor usually speaks English, and the thing to arrange before you fly is a guarantee of payment.

Flat illustration of a camera drone in flight, registration tags and a map grid, deep teal and gold

Practicalities

You Cannot Legally Fly Your Drone on a Two Week Trip to Thailand

Dual registration, a million baht of insurance and a fifteen day approval, and all of it has to be done after you land. The drone is the easy part.

Flat illustration of a cat and dog carrier, a microchip syringe shape and a passport, deep teal and gold

Practicalities

Bringing a Cat to Thailand Is Easy and Bringing a Dog Is a Six Week Project

A fifteen digit microchip, a rabies jab after the chip, a ten day certificate and a permit you cannot get until after you land. The rules are strict and the sequence is everything.

Flat illustration of a paper plane, a boarding pass, a globe grid and a suitcase, deep teal and gold

Practicalities

The Cheap Flight to Thailand Is Booked Six Weeks Out and Nobody Tells You

There is no secret airline and no secret route. There is a booking window, a calendar, and four demand spikes that account for most of what you pay.

Flat illustration of a lone backpack, a lit night market street and a motorbike taxi, deep teal and gold

Practicalities

Solo Female Travel in Thailand Is Mostly Fine and the Exceptions Are Sharp

There is no restriction on it, the country is easy, and the genuine risks are four specific ones that almost nobody tells you about.

Flat illustration of a vaccine vial, a syringe, a mosquito and a passport, deep teal and gold

Practicalities

Nobody Asks for a Yellow Card and Then They Ask for the One You Skipped

Almost nothing is required to enter Thailand. That is not the same as nothing being worth having, and the gap between the two is where the bad trips happen.

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.

Flat illustration of a menu card, a wok, chopsticks and a bowl of noodles with steam shapes, deep teal and gold

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.

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.