Thailand Travel

GEOGRAPHY

The kingdom of Thailand lies in the heart of Southeast Asia, making it a natural gateway to Indochina, Myanmar and Southern China. Its shape and geography divide into four natural regions : the mountains and forests of the North; the vast rice fields of the Central Plains; the semi-arid farm lands of the Northeast plateau; and the tropical islands and long coastline of the peninsula South.

The country comprises 76 provinces that are further divided into districts, sub-districts and villages. Bangkok is the capital city and centre of political, commercial, industrial and cultural activities. It is also the seat of Thailand's revered Royal Family, with His Majesty the King recognised as Head of State, Head of the Armed Forces, Upholder of the Buddhist religion and Upholder of all religions.

CLIMATE

Thailand enjoys a tropical climate with three distinct seasons-hot and dry from February to May (average temperature 34 degrees Celsius and 75% humidity); rainy with plenty of sunshine from June to October (average day temperature 29 degrees Celsius and 87% humidity); and cool from November to January (temperatures range from 32 degrees Celsius to below 20 degrees Celsius with a drop in humidity).

LANGUAGE

Spoken and written Thai remain largely incomprehensible to the casual visitor. However, English is widely understood, particularly in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya and Phuket.

VISA

Every kind of visa is valid for a 90- day peri from the date of issue.

CURRENCY

The Thai unit of currency is the baht which is worth a little less than 4 US cents. One US dollar = approximately 37 baht.

The baht is divided into 100 satang. "Copper" coins are valued at 25 and 50 satang. "Silver" coins are in denominations of 1' 2 and 5 baht. A 10 baht coin is composed of both "silver" and "copper". Banknotes are valued at 10 baht (brown), 20 baht (green), 50 baht (blue), 100 baht (red), 500 baht (purple) and 1,000 baht (khaki

CAPITAL

Bangkok (Krung Thep, meaning "city of angels")

AIRPORT TAX

International departure flight airport tax is 500 Baht at Suwanphom airport

OFFICE HOUR

Start from 8:00 AM to 16:30 PM (except Saturday and Sunday )

ELECTRICITY

The electric current is 220 Volt AC (50 cycles) throughout the country. There are many plugs and sockets in use. Travellers with shavers, tape recorders and other appliances
should carry a plug-adapter kit. The better hotels will make available 110 Volt transformers.