Thailand - Thaimaa

Thailand is located In Southeast Asia. It has a coastline in the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Siam 3219 km. The border neighbors are Myanmar (Burma) in the north-west, Laos in the northeast, Cambodia in the southeast and Malaysia down south.

Thanks to its great food, tropical climate, fascinating culture and stunning beaches, Thailand attracts tourists from all over the world.

Regions

Cities

• Bangkok - the capital
• Chiang Mai
• Korat

Other items

• Pattaya
• Ko Samui
• Krabi
• Khao Lak
• Phuket
• Koh Chang

Understand

Thailand is Southeast Asia the most popular holiday destination, and no reason. Due to its nature, the country has everything from the mountains of the north to the jungles of the south, not forgetting the bright green sea and white sandy beaches. Thailand is at the same time exotic, but developed safe - it is an easy introduction to tourism in Southeast Asia. The price level in the country is downright cheap, although if you want you are sure to find all the amenities you are used to. In Thailand, you only pay many orders of magnitude less for them! Although Thailand sometimes Asian Canary called, can be a little effort in seeing to find areas where no tourists appear. In addition to family travelers, the country also attracts backpackers seeking individuality. Partly also because the connections with other Asian countries are excellent. Despite the huge influx of tourists, the country has somehow managed to maintain its own grip, and many are leaving the country just to return again.

Of course, all of this also has its downsides. The UN classifies the country as a developing country, and many of us make ends meet with insignificant money a day. A fast-growing economy demands its pain of growth: income disparities are huge and sex tourism is rampant. Capital Bangkok is one of the worst cities in the world in terms of air pollution, and uncontrolled construction and the growth of tourism have taken away most of the natural beauty that was discovered a few decades ago, for example From Pattaya or From Phuket. Many areas favored by tourists are imaginative scammerswho earn their living by taking advantage of the good faith of the traveler.

Come

By plane

To Bangkok can fly from almost any corner of the world. There are direct scheduled flights from Finland to Bangkok, as well as leisure flights at least To Phuket. For a better price, many travel via Copenhagen, Frankfurt or the Middle East.

Thailand has excellent connections to the rest of Southeast Asia and AirAsia, for example [1] operates domestic as well as international flights from Bangkok’s old Don Muang Airport. Targets include e.g. Hanoi, Kota Kinabalu, Kuala Lumpur, Langkawi, Macao, Penang, Phnom Penh, Shenzhen, Singapore, Xiamen and Yangon. There are others in the area low cost airlines.

By train

From Malaysia there are direct trains to Bangkok daily. The trip takes about 24 hours. There are no direct connections to other neighboring countries, however Laos capital Vientiane is just across the Mekong River from the northeast track terminus Nong Khaista and the line is currently (2007) continuing across the border.

By road

By bus

By boat

Move

By plane

Thailand is a big place and if 10 hours on the bus is not appealing, then you might want to consider flying. Bangkok radiates flights to every corner of the country and the prices are very reasonable if purchased in advance.

A flight like a flight departs on Thai Airways [2] less than 2000 baht if booked in time, and low cost companies such as Nok Air [3] or Air Asia [4] can get to the price of the bus ticket cheaper.

By train

Thai State Railways (SRT, [5]) operates the country’s rail services. The network is four thousand kilometers long and covers the whole country from the north Chiang Taste southward Malaysia border. Trains are not wildly fast-paced games in Thailand, but at least buses are safer. In addition to the distance, the price of the trip also depends on the type of train and the class of travel. Trains usually have three categories:

• First class (Chan neung) has two sleeping cabins with air conditioning, but prices can be at the level of the cheapest airline tickets.
• Second grade (Chan song) is a good compromise between price and convenience. The ticket has to suffer about as much as a first-class bus ride, and the comfort of the train is the same. Some second class trains have air conditioning, but not all. There is a small additional charge for air conditioning. The second class beds are quite comfortable and reasonably priced. A narrower upper bed is slightly cheaper than a wider lower bed. Food and toilets are basic. In the second class special express trains, the seats are tilted and refreshments are included in the price. Unlike many other trains, these fold the journey about as fast as a bus.
• Third class (Chan saam) prices are mostly nominal and travel in the third class can be an extensive experience. Even with a bag of rice and a cheap bottle of liquor in the middle of returning tuktuk drivers farangina you are guaranteed to be the center of attention. A few hours is certainly quite interesting, but ten may already be a little too much. On some trains, the third-class benches are wooden, in some they are padded. Refreshments can be purchased from merchants wandering the aisles.

By bus

The most common means of transportation in Thailand is still the bus and the state bus company BKS (บ ข ส Bo Ko So), in English only Transport Company [6], covers every little village villain with its net. BKS buses are cheap and surprisingly reliable. The classification of buses is broad and confusing, but the main categories are:

• Local bus. Full of country bags with chickens, stops at each hut. Desired slow.
• Express bus (rot Duan). Orange. Doesn't stop everywhere, but otherwise worth the local bus. No air conditioning, no toilet.
• Second category (Chan song). Blue and white with orange stripe. Stops quite often and there are usually still no toilets, but at least they are air conditioned.
• First class (Chan neung). Blue and white. About 40 seats, passing at a staggering pace, a toilet and air conditioning can be found, often including a blanket, a bottle of water and a nominal snack.
• VIP. Blue and white or blue and silver long-distance luxury bus. 32-34 seats, ample legroom and tilting benches, a meal is often included in the price.
• S-VIP. An even trickier version with only 24 wide seats. Mainly on long routes overnight.

BKS is competed with wholesale private companies, which compete on price and / or on tourists. The villains of Bangkok’s Khao San Road backpacker street, wrestling in their own league, selling high-priced “VIP” tickets to dilapidated minibuses that accidentally break down every time their cousin’s restaurant meets and eventually dump in the middle of the night directly to their chosen hotel reel on the wrong side of town. Especially on the southbound tourist bus lines, thieves are rampant. Thait do not use these and it is worth taking a model and favoring BKS.

Both public and private buses like to play pop and / or kungfu movies loudly, so you should bring earplugs. Even warm clothes don’t hurt, as the air conditioning is often ice cold.

Songthaewilla

Songthaew means a type of pallet truck with benches on both sides of the pallet. These usually run local bus posts and are often the cheapest way to travel short distances. Those who want to board can stop the car by waving their hand and those who are left use a clock that has a button on the stage. Often, drivers work for tourists to get their attention, making boarding easy. In quieter times, songthaews also act as taxis. So be careful if there are no other people on board: you may be charged the price of a taxi ride. So it’s best to agree on a price before jumping aboard.

By road

• Tuk tuk. A three-wheeled taxi that makes traveling cheap. The meter cannot be found in the closet, so always agree on the price in advance. The price range is a bit cheaper than a taxi: at 20 baht you can get around the corner, at 100 baht you will be buzzing for an hour or so.

By boat

Many of the popular destinations in Thailand are islands, so boating is often the only option. There are various ship connections in terms of speed, distance and comfort. The ship's connections are described in more detail on the sites' own pages.

Talk

See also: Thai travel dictionary

In Thailand, it is mainly spoken thaita, but popular resorts also speak a little English.

Buy

Monetary

The currency of Thailand is baht (THB, in Thai บาท or บ). The Baht is divided into 100 satangs. The value of the baht is floating, but in recent years it has gained 50 baht for the platter. At the moment, 1 euro corresponds to about 37-38 baht, so you can dream of 50 baht / 1 eur. It is worth exchanging money only on arrival, as there are both vending machines and currency exchange points everywhere and the euro gets a good exchange rate. (However, it's not worth it directly, or you can usually even pay for it.) Credit cards are also great for any slightly larger store or restaurant, but they should be used judiciously because planing copies is worryingly common.

There are six coins and banknotes in use:

• 25 and 50 satang copper colored coins which are almost unnecessary due to their value
• 1, 2 (either gold or silver), 5 (silver) and 10 baht (hopern or gold) coins
• 20 (green), 50 (blue), 100 (red), 500 (purple) and 500 (gray-brown) baht banknotes

Price level

Thailand is by almost any yardstick budget I. Western hotels and other services are available in Western countries at very reasonable prices (few hotels cost more than € 100 or a meal more than € 10), and if you are willing to live like a Thai then the prices will drop even further. The cramped backpacker does well with a daily budget of 800 baht, and by doubling that amount, you can already spend the night in three-star hotels.

Eat

Thais like strong flavors like lime juice, lemongrass and fresh coriander, a trio whose combination gives Thai food its distinctive taste. Thai food is also known of their fieryness, the main culprit being a small torpedo - shaped chili pepper called phrik khii nuu (พริก ขี้หนู, literally "mousetrap"), which can be found in many places. Thait know that these can cause problems for Westerners and so often ask Do you like fiery (เผ็ด phet); you can answer "yes" to this at your own risk!

Classics of Thai food include:

• Phat thai (ผัด ไทย), thin rice noodles fried with side dishes in tamarind sauce. Cheap, good and often completely chili-free.
• Tom yam kung (ต้มยำ กุ้ง), perhaps the most famous food of all, i.e. shrimp soup seasoned with sour lemongrass and galangal root. Can be really hot!
• Kaeng Daeng (เเ ก ง เเ ดง, red curry) ie Kaeng phet ('Fiery curry') are the same thing and, as the name suggests, this is red and often fiery. Often eaten with grilled duck (Kaeng pet Yaang เเ ก ง เป็ด ย่าง).
• Kaeng khio-waan (เเ ก ง เขียวหวาน), or sweet green curry, is a coconut-based curry found in lemongrass and kaffir lime. Often softer than red.

Juo

In Thailand, drinks are also inexpensive. For example, beers (bia) prices are arranging 30-50 baht / bottle, big / small. In bars or restaurants, prices are usually around 50 baht on each side. Thailand’s most popular beer brands are Singha (pronounced “sing”), Chang, Tiger and Leo. European beer is also available relatively cheaply, for example in Heineken. Thai beer is often remarkably brisk (about 6%), the main reason being the local way of keeping it cool by pouring it on ice!

Even cheaper is local broth, ie Thai whiskey, that is to say, a distillate distilled from rice, which, with whiskey, has little to do but a brown color and a moody alcohol content. The best known brands are dry Mae Khong ("Mekong") and sweet, more rum-like Saeng Som. A bottle the size of a pocket mat comes loose in the store up to less than 50 baht and the price of a liter bottle is a hundred spools.

Lemonades from Thailand can also be obtained very cheaply: from a shop for 10 baht, in a restaurant or bar for 25-40 baht. As a local specialty, you should try it Krathing Daengenergy drink (กระทิง แดง), i.e. the original Red Bull, which is sold in every kiosk for 10 baht. However, the original differs quite a bit from the European version: in Thailand, "Bulli" is non-carbonated, syrupy sweet and comes in a medicated brown glass bottle.

Fresh fruit juices are definitely worth a taste. Coconut water (น้ำ มะพร้าว naam ma-Phrao) is cheap, good and guaranteed safe, as the seller only cuts a hole in the nut when ordering. Bright orange Thai orange juice (น้ำส้ม naam som), which is squeezed from small oranges that look like a mandarin, is also delicious, but you should look at what kind of water it is lanterned with.

Study

Work

VolunteeringMore than a million homeless street dogs live on the streets of Thailand and the number is growing. A dozen charities have risen to respond to the stigma of street dogs, focusing on vaccinating dogs, sterilizing them, treating diseases, training local people, and finding new homes for dogs. Volunteers are constantly needed e.g. to walk, wash and socialize with dogs. Volunteer veterinarians are also sought. Volunteering is free and unpaid, with a minimum working time ranging from a couple of hours to a couple of weeks. Volunteering can be done in Phuket, for example [7], Chiang Maissa [8][9], In Sangklabur [10], Koh Samuilla [11] and Koh Chang [12]. A quick and easy - and completely free - way to help is to register as a volunteer flight companion for a dog (registration via the so-called website).

Stay safe

Anti-government protests in November 2008 led to the closure of both Bangkok airports for a week, causing massive chaos on passengers ’plans. The crisis was triggered so far with the resignation of the Prime Minister, but the political situation in Thailand remains volatile, so monitor the local situation.

Transport

When moving around the city, be sure to stay alert in traffic, as Thai traffic culture is very different from Finnish! Few people follow traffic rules. Even when crossing the guardrail, one should be vigilant as some will not stop when the reds are burning. Traffic jams occur easily and during peak hours they can grow really long.

Scammers

Bangkok scammers in particular have made cheating a bona fide tourist almost an art. However, the enlightened traveler walks around these pitfalls with reasonable ease, as long as he keeps his eyes open, is skeptical of the types who are forced to talk, and remembers that if something sounds too good, it probably is. To sum up: the temple you were going to No don't stick to gemstone prices No never rhyme with discounts and et come to earn thousands by selling them on.

Crime

Pocket thefts also happen to some extent. Valuables should be kept in good storage.

Stay healthy

Thailand is a tropical country, but there are no worse health risks in tourist destinations (e.g. malaria). Mosquitoes should still be protected, as they can spread dengue fever. The greater risks in practice are sunburn and burning of the skin: drink plenty of fluids and use plenty of sunscreen, especially if you swing outdoors in the midday heat.

Respect

• The traditional Thai greeting is wai, where the hands are pressed together and bent over. As such, a simple-looking gesture is part of a rather complex etiquette, where the lower ones show respect to their upper ones, so it’s best not to imitate even if you’re poking yourself, because done wrong or done in the wrong place wai is whimsical at best and an insult at worst. Wain as an acknowledgment, a nod is quite enough.
• Thailand is a class society and a social class is inferred from clothing. You can dress as you like on the beach (although women's topless is not tolerated), but elsewhere you should keep a shirt on and long pants on. This is especially true if you plan to tour the temples or come into contact with the authorities.
• Do not touch the Thai on your head, or touch or point at anyone with your feet. For example, do not raise your legs on a free chair to relax your legs.
• The Thai appreciate their royal family very much and expect guests to do the same. Among other things, the baht banknotes and coins have the image of a king, so even if the coin drops and starts to spin, you must not step on it.
• In Thailand, you may come across flower girls who sell flowers. These innocent-looking girls would not be believed to be scammers who, after throwing a flower around their necks, begin to shout that they are being sexually exploited. In reality, this is just a scam, but the local police may also be involved in the plot, in which case fines will have to be paid. If you don’t pay you could in the worst case go to jail.
• Don’t pose in front of a Buddha statue, let alone climb on it.

Take contact

GSM works well in Thailand. You can buy a SIM card for a couple of hundred baht on the spot.

There are internet cafes on every corner, and prices are around 1 baht / minute. If you suddenly find yourself typing in Thai, you’ve probably accidentally pressed a keyboard shift combination like Ctrl or Shift-Alt; look for "TH" at the bottom of the screen and change it back to "EN".

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