Thailand is known as one of the friendliest countries to visit, which is also known as the land of smiles. For most visitors to Thailand, the first place they will land in Bangkok. Bangkok can be a bit of a culture shock at first, there are tips that may help. What are these Bangkok travel tips?
Bangkok is generally fairly safe for tourists but you do need to use common sense. Tuk-tuks are a nightmare in Bangkok and taxis are a lesser evil but there are issues with them not using meters. The tourist police are powerless while the Thai police are not the best.
In this post, we will go through a few Bangkok travel tips for first-time visitors. Let’s get started!
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Bangkok Travel Tips
Thailand has its own customs and little quirks. To make your visit to Thailand in particular Bangkok more enjoyable and to avoid any misunderstanding or cultural challenges we have a few Bangkok travel tips that will help.
Here are some Bangkok Thailand travel tips.
Avoid Tuk-Tuks
The problem with using tuk-tuks in Thailand is that the tuk-tuks are not safe. And the tuk-tuk drivers have a bad reputation as scammers. This is not incorrect.
The real safety concern the that a lot of tuk-tuks are in a bad state as well as they have are no seatbelts. So if there is a crash between a tuk-tuk and a car or lorry you will go flying.
The biggest problem is the tuk-tuk drivers. For example, if you get a tuk-tuk and agree on a price of 50 baht. After a few mins, he wants to take you to visit a jeweler or tailor’s shop. To be ripped off. If you say no the price will increase to 250 baht. There are a lot of horror stories about tuk-tuk drivers in Bangkok.
Taxi’s Not Using Their Meters
The BTS, MRT, and Airport Link services will get you around cheaper but maybe not faster. The point of taking rapid transport is to shorten the travel time which is achieved mainly by not being stuck in traffic which is awful in Bangkok, particularly on Friday evenings.
General rules in Bangkok to make getting around easier are.
- Try and live or stay near a BTS station because this will save a huge amount in taxi fares.
- Make sure that the taxis agree to use their meters before you step into one or you will have a nasty shock on arrival. If the driver refuses to do so, just give it a miss and get the next taxi.
Be Careful If You Want To Drive
Simply driving in Thailand is dangerous and Bangkok is the worst place to drive in Thailand. Also, it has one of the worst accident rates in the world particularly moped accidents account for around 80% of the 60-odd deaths a day on the roads.
This stems from the “might is right” approach to driving. Trucks and buses will assume the right of way over cars and mopeds with the pedestrian at the bottom of the highway food chain.
If you are brave enough to drive a car or moped be very cautious. And wear a helmet, if the police catch you without a helmet, it will be a 200 baht fine.
General warning: If you are caught in a minor motoring accident the police will immediately assume it’s the foreigner’s fault. You will be required to pay on-the-spot restitution to the other motorist and maybe some merit money to the police officer for his “assistance”.
After Midnight You Can’t Buy Booze From Shops
After midnight you won’t be able to buy booze from shops like 7/11s or Family Mart. Also, you cannot buy booze from 2 pm to 5 pm. So, do NOT insist, they will not sell it to you. If you really need booze, go to a bar.
Tourist Police Have No Power
The tourist police have much less power than the Thai ‘normal’ police of course. They do not carry guns, for one. And basically they ‘liaise’ with the ‘real police’ for important matters.
Of course, they are present only in tourist destinations.
- The tourist Police number is 1155.
- Thailand Emergency Services (Fire, Ambulance) number is 191.
In The Movie Theatre, Stand Up
Stand up, in a movie theatre, before the royal hymn starts. Many people ended up in jail for refusing to do so. Just stand up, like everyone else.
Thai Greeting – Wai
The wai is made to greet and leave people. It is not necessary to wai for everyone. A simple rule is that you wai more deeply with someone older or of higher status than you and vice versa.
A bar girl or waitress will probably wai to you you can acknowledge their wai by bowing your head slightly. It is not necessary for you to wai them in return.
Be Patient With Thai Timekeeping
Do not expect people to be on time unless it is a business environment. An appointment at 10:00 often means they are on their way to you at 10:00.
Learn Thai Or Have A Few Words
The tones will drive you nuts, but there are only 5. The Thai language is tonal and very ‘unnatural’ to Western people.
Sawasdee Krab/Kha and Khob Khun Krab/Kha with a smile will get you everywhere.
You will never understand Thailand if you can’t listen to Thais speaking their own language.
Set A Budget For Your Living Costs
Set yourself a budget for your living costs and stick to it. I have an app to keep tabs on what I spend.
In Thailand, it is easy to get carried away with spending and then run out of money in no time, and there is the expensive 200 baht charge on foreign cards using ATMs.
Get Health Insurance
MAKE SURE you have health insurance or travel insurance covering you for all your time in Thailand. Remember many insurers have exclusions and limitations such as with motorcycle rentals or scuba diving.
Most temporary tourist insurance policies have time limits and cannot be extended. Stuff happens and can happen to you too.
Avoid Public Affection
Try to avoid kissing or holding hands with your girlfriend/boyfriend in public places. Also avoid shaking hands, kissing on the cheeks, or hugging people.
Remember the ‘wai’, low ‘wai’ for people of your ‘status age’, and higher wai for monks and older people. If you do not know what to do, just smile and nod a bit.
If It Is Imported It Is EXPENSIVE
Treat imported food and alcohol as a luxury because it is. It costs ten times as much as local food. Even American fast food like McDonald’s or KFC is expensive compared to street food or local restaurants.
Even the 7/11’s pre-prepared food isn’t bad! Seriously, if it’s late and everything is closed their frozen meals (which they’ll heat for you) are amazingly decent and well-priced.
USEFUL TRAVEL RESOURCES
Book Accommodation
Booking.com has a large range of properties from hotels, hostels, guesthouses, and resorts where you will find the best deals. Airbnb and Hostelworld also have a good range of places to stay at good prices.
Booking Flight
Skyscanner is a flight search comparison website that searches millions of flights all at once. Ultimately it is the best flight comparison website online at the moment.
Booking Transportation & Things To Do
Rome2rio and 12Go are useful to plan how to get anywhere by searching train, bus, car, and ferry routes. Especially useful in countries like Vietnam or Thailand. While Klook is great for exploring things to do in each place.
Travel Insurance
Travel insurance is cheap and more than likely you will never need to use it but you will have peace of mind if something does happen, you are covered in case of an emergency. World Nomads have great customer service and competitive prices.
Check out our resource page for the best companies to use when you travel.
Wrapping Up
Finally, Bangkok is generally fairly safe for tourists but you do need to use common sense. Tuk-tuks are a nightmare in Bangkok and taxis are a lesser evil but there are issues with them not using meters. The tourist police are powerless while the Thai police are not the best.
And that’s it for now! I’d love it if this post on these Bangkok travel tips for first-time visitors was helpful to you. Let me know if you have any questions and let me know if there is more to add.
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