Something about Thailand!

There’s something about Thailand that you should know…

Thailand is located in South East Asia. The country covers an area of 513,115 KM2 (about the size of France, or a little smaller than Texas!). Borders are shared with Malaysia to the South, Myanmar to the west, Laos to the north and northeast, and Cambodia to the east. Thailand has 77 provinces , Bangkok is the capital city. The locals call Bangkok “Krung Thep”, which is the short form of the long version of the name which is; Find something more about Bangkok Attractions… Local Time: Time zone of Thailand is GMT+7 New York, USA Paris, France London, UK Moscow, Russia Electricity in Thailand is 220 volts.  Most devices run fine on 2 prongs, but some things should have a ground for reasons of both safety and equipment damage with 3 prongs. “Sawasdee” is Hello in Thai, we do say “Sawasdee” and Wai (a hand gesture) at the same time. The wai is part of the Thai greeting and a show of respect BUT remember, DO NOT WAI KIDS! Female “Ka” and Male “Krab”? We always use these words to end a sentence and to show respect. Ka, for female speakers, and a Krab, for male speakers. Examples: Male: Sawasdee krab = Hello Female: Khob khun ka = thank you Drinking age in Thailand? Most places don’t really care if you are old enough… But by Thai law, people under 21 years old can’t BUY or DRINK alcohol. When can alcohol be sold in stores? 11.00-14.00 and 17.00-24.00 only Do the bars ever close? There are 3 Great Buddhist days/year (holidays) that prohibit alcohol…

The Monarchy is deeply revered by Thai people. King Rama IX died on 13 October 2016, people of Thailand are in grieving for the loss of the King Rama IX and are in mourning for a year. On 1 December 2016, the Crown prince assumes the throne as King Rama X.  The new King will be known as King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun. Thailand National Flag: Religions: The majority of Thais are Buddhist. The next largest religion is Islam which is prevalent in the southern provinces near the Malaysian border. Other religions in Thailand include Christianity, Hinduism, Confucianism, Taoism, and more… To visit most Temples (Thai: Wat) in Thailand you will have to adhere to a dress code. Did you know…? We have a different Buddha image for each day of the week! But if you count them you’ll see 8 (not 7) different images! Read on to find out why?!?! The nation and official language is THAI… Thais call foreigners “Farang”.  English is taught in school but Thais are very shy to speak English!  So maybe, you should know some basic Thai Words? The Thai unit of currency is “BAHT” Idea for Exchange Rate: 100USD = ~3,000THB or read more about Thai Money How to get around Bangkok?!?! There are so many transport options in Bangkok. In downtown, the BTS (Sky train) and MRT(Subway) are the most convenient ways to avoid Bangkok’s traffic jams… these are the best ways ever! Taxis are everywhere in town (more than personal cars!), and the meter should start at 35baht. Taxi drivers must except your fair and refusing is illegal, but it happens a lot! Tuk Tuks are the most popular ride for tourists, you will see them in most tourist areas or in small side streets. It’s good for a short ride, price can be bargained but just remember a taxi meter starts at 35 baht for the 1st kilometer (and it’s got AC!). If you want to try to ride the Tuk Tuk for something fun but don’t really want to negotiate, try the Bangkok Tuk Tuk food tour (at night). They will take you to some cool places in Bangkok and feed you some of the best Pad Thai in town!

Thailand weather?
You don’t have to care much about weather if you stick around in Bangkok or most of Thailand.

Rain or No Rain, you will see Thais use umbrellas to cover their skin from the sun.

Most Thai’s strive to be white- skinned, and everyone stays out of the sun.  They say you can always spot a Thai girl on the beach, she’ll be the one in the shade!

Weather tips for your trip in Thailand:
Northern Thailand is popular during Nov-Feb, Thais will head to the mountains to catch the early frost.
Southern Thailand you can pretty much travel to the Beaches of Thailand all year round, just remember:

Andaman and the West side are good to visit during Nov – Apr, after that some of the islands are closed.  Then it’s a good time to visit the Gulf of Thailand (May – Oct).  Read more about Thailand Weather, or check the Beaches of Thailand.  The rainy season starts in June to October, but if you are heading to the beach I wouldn’t worry too much about the rain.  It’s typical that it will rain for an hour or two each day during the rainy season, but then the sun comes back and if you are at the beach it’s not a problem.  If you are in the city on the other hand… It gets really, really steamy (like a sauna) after the rain.

Holiday tips for your trip in Thailand:
There are 2 major holidays in Thailand that could impact the traffic, hotel, facilities etc…
1. Thai New Year is on 13-15 April and it could be longer if it falls next to a weekend.  This is also as a Family day for Thais, so if they are working in other cities, they will travel to visit their hometown.  It’s also known as the Water festival as they will throw water on each other.  So you can consider a visit to Thailand during this event, you will get a chance to play water with them!  But it’s high season, that  means you have to pay more!!!
2. The New Year, Thais will travel around and the most popular is in the North as it’s the coolest weather that we can get in the whole year!  The North will be more crowded and expensive.
You may need to search for Thai holidays in the year that you are planning to visit Thailand to plan ahead…

Thai food – Don’t expect real Thai food if you are not in Thailand!!!
Thais are extremely passionate about eating, it’s hard to tell what you should try when you travel to Thailand. We will try to round up some of the Thai dishes we couldn’t imagine living without.

You can follow Tim for his top 3 favorite Thai foods , Pad Thai, Pad Kraprao and Green Curry if you have no idea what to start with…

I hope you will get some ideas about Thailand. If you would like to know more about Thailand that we missed, let us know in the comments box below 🙂

Read more about Thailand trips, First time to Thailand?  Where to go?