Thailand Practical Guides

Flat illustration of a tuk tuk, a juice glass, a small swimming pool and a temple gate, deep teal and gold

Practicalities

The Kids Do Not Need a Holiday Planned and Neither Do You

A country organised around a village model, a food culture that feeds children constantly, and a heat that dictates the entire day. Thailand is easier with kids than most people expect.

Flat illustration of an identity card, a house, a bank and a passport on a desk, deep teal and gold

Visas & Immigration

The Pink Card Is Not a Visa and Everyone Thinks It Is

It does not let you stay in the country, it does not let you work, and it does not let you vote. It does let you open a bank account, and that is the whole reason to get one.

Flat illustration of a passenger aircraft, a boarding pass, a suitcase and a runway, deep teal and gold

Practicalities

Domestic Flights Are Cheap and Almost Nobody Uses Them

Bangkok to Phuket costs more than Bangkok to London and takes eight times as long, and that one strange fact explains the whole Thai domestic aviation market.

Flat illustration of a banded sea snake, a jellyfish bell, a warning flag on a beach and a vinegar bottle, deep teal and gold

Practicalities

A Sea Snake in Thailand Is Almost Certainly Not Going to Bite You

The water is warm all year so everything lives in it, and almost nothing in the sea is interested in you. Here is the small number of things that are actually worth knowing.

Flat illustration of a bank card, an ATM machine, a keypad and a stack of banknotes, deep teal and gold

Money & Costs

Your Bank Called to Say the Card in Thailand Was Captured, and There Is Nothing You Can Do

Thai banks are required to destroy a card the moment it is captured for a wrong PIN, and nobody can overrule your issuer from ten thousand kilometres away. Here is how to not be that person.

Flat illustration of a passport, a suitcase on a conveyor, a stamp and a customs counter, deep teal and gold

Practicalities

The Question at Customs Is Not a Trick and the Answer Is on Your Phone

Two channels, three numbers, and a list of things that get confiscated that nobody warns you about. Customs takes ninety seconds if you know the answer in advance.

Flat illustration of two phones, a chat screen, a red warning symbol and a bank transfer slip, deep teal and gold

Practicalities

The Worst Thing That Happens in Thailand Is Not the Motorbike, It Is the Money

Some of it is organised crime and some of it is two people who ended up in a bad situation, and the advice that prevents most of it is uncomfortable and simple.

Flat illustration of a golf green, a flag, a sand bunker, a golf bag and a clubhouse, deep teal and gold

Practicalities

Thailand Has Two Hundred and Fifty Golf Courses and Almost None of Them Are in the Places You Are Going

Championship layouts, two caddies per group, a green fee system with twilight rates, and a January in Hua Hin that is a genuinely world-class week of golf.