Thailand

WHY CHOSE THAILAND FOR YOUR NEXT HOLIDAY

With its Oriental culture, vibrant nightlife and beautiful beaches, Thailand is a varied and exotic place for a well-balanced holiday in the sun. There’s the serenity of the endless temples, the throbbing bustle of Bangkok, the astonishingly pretty beaches of Koh Samui and Phuket - and delicious food. There’s something for every pocket and taste in Thailand, from hedonistic binge to hippy budget.

WHAT MAKES THAILAND SPECIAL

With its abundance of colours, temples and infectiously grinning people, Thailand is a sensual patchwork of experiences. It’s known as the ‘Island of Smiles’ for good reason – the country’s level of service and welcoming hospitality has become legendary. In addition to glorious islands and beach resorts like Phuket, Koh Samui, Krabi and Pattaya, Thailand offers a vibrant nightlife, and glorious temples on every corner. Oh, and giant Buddhas. Lots of them. You’ll also see plenty of Buddhist monks in their sweeping saffron robes, but don’t presume that they have all committed their entire lives to the monastic life. It’s possible for young men to show their devotion with ‘temporary ordination’ during the rainy season.

WHERE IS THAILAND

With Burma, Laos, Cambodia and Malaysia as its neighbours, Thailand sits in the middle of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. Some have compared the shape of Thailand as looking a bit like an elephant’s head, with its trunk stretching down the dramatic, limestone-edged Adaman and Malay coast, with Bangkok at the North as its eye and the East coast as the chin. Hmm, it’s a vote on that one…. Regardless of pachyderm resemblance, at 517,000sq. km Thailand is heffalump large - double the size of Victoria, and about the size of France.

• Capital: Bangkok
• Main tourist hotspots: Phuket, Pattaya, Krabi, Koh Samui, Chang Mai.
• Flight time from Sydney: Around 9 hrs.
• Population: 66,720,153
• Language: Thai – but English is understood in tourist hotspots.
• Religion: Buddhism, practised by 90%.

THE PEOPLE AND CULTURE OF THAILAND

Thailand has seen its fair share of political upheaval, both historic and recent. Yet visitors tend to see the smiling, positive face of the country, which really is the essence of genuine Buddhist hospitality. Internal conflicts aside, the Thai people are universally known for being sincere and true to their Buddhist ethos of acceptance and tolerance. But just because you’re a foreigner, or farang, in a sometimes seemingly liberal country, don’t expect bad behaviour to be accepted. A hint of disrespect can cause deep offence. Tearing up a banknote, which bears the King’s image, could land you in prison for three to 15 years.

Etiquette:

• When meeting someone, the traditional way to greet is to press your hands together with fingertips pointing upwards and bring them towards your bowed head. Men should say: “Sawasdee khrap”, and women: "Sawasdee ka". Say something that sounds as much like ‘sah wah dee kaaaar’ as you can, and you should be OK.
• As in other countries, the head and feet are ‘no go zones’. It is taboo to touch someone's head or point with the feet as the head is considered sacred, and the feet dirty.

THE BEACHES IN THAILAND

With over 3000kms of tropical coastline, Thailand has no shortage of lovely white sand beaches to choose from. The devastating aftermath of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami seems almost invisible to visitors today. But sadly and predictably, some of the most accessible of the good beaches are dotted with beach umbrellas and the usual tourist trappings. However, move beyond the obvious targets and there are hundreds of low key spots with bliss-inducing stretches of bleached sand crying out for your towel…

Best beaches :

• Hua Hin Beach, Hua Hin: Locals love this family-friendly, gently sloping beach on the Gulf of Siam, not far from Bangkok.
• Maya Bay, Koh Phi Phi Ley: The stuff of beach-addicts’ dreams, this is the epitome of a gorgeous Thai beach, cradled in a small bay surrounded by majestic limestone cliffs. It’s even more of a magnet after part of the Leonardo DiCaprio movie The Beach was filmed here.
• Choeng Mon, Koh Samui: A pretty curve of white sand with just the right balance of serenity and activity/eating options for a glorious day on the beach.
• Koh Mun Nork: For those truly wanting to get away from it all, this is not just a beach, it’s a tiny desert island in the North of the Gulf of Siam, reached only by a 45-minute ferry boat ride, with modest food and facilities.
• Freedom Beach, Phuket: A 15 min. longtail boat ride from Patong beach brings you to probably the most beautiful beach in Phuket, with white soft sand and crystal clear water. There are rented sunbeds and a restaurant, but no noisy jet skis or watersports.

FESTIVALS IN THAILAND

• Feb/March: Lion dances, parades, fireworks and lots of festivity to mark the Chinese New Year.
• April: Songkran Festival when Buddha images are ceremonially bathed, and lots of water is sloshed around for fun (it’s the peak of the hot season).
• May: The skies in the North East come alive for the Rocket Festival, when villagers send huge homemade bamboo skyrockets into the sky to encourage rain for the rice fields.
• November: Similar to Pamplona’s tourist-tempting ‘running of the bulls’, (only with elephants), the Surin Annual Elephant Round-up involves lots of….elephants.

MONEY MATTERS

• Local currency: Baht (THB)
• ATMS: In large tourist areas, ATMS are now easily found. Almost every town now has at least one bank with an ATM.
• Notes: Smallest – 20 THB (= approx. 0.66 AUD); Largest – 1000B(= approx. 33.16 AUD).
• Cards: Beyond the larger outlets where cards are nearly always accepted, paying by plastic is becoming increasingly common in Thailand. But don’t expect it at smaller shops and venues, or in less touristy areas.

TIME DIFFERENCE

• Sydney: + 4hrs
• Darwin: +2½hrs
• Perth: +1hr
• Adelaide: + 3½hrs
• Brisbane: + 3hrs

DOS AND DON’TS IN THAILAND

Safety: Worms can be picked up through bare feet, so however overwhelming your dude mood – keep the thongs on.

Water: Avoid tap water and stick to bottled, even when brushing your teeth.

Advice: Scams exist at lots of levels, especially in Bangkok and Chang Mai, and go way beyond spiked drinks in girlie bars. Avoid anyone approaching you at an airport purporting to be the official agent for cars/hotels/tours, and be super-cautious if unexpectedly lured to a gem shop and tempted to open your wallet. This is one area of buying which is rife with painful con tricks, and the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) receives over a thousand complaints a year. Never get engaged in a card game on the street - it can happen just by looking – you’ll be fleeced in more ways than you can imagine, with no sympathy from the police because street gambling is illegal. There are occasional border disputes, and domestic politics remain turbulent– but tourists are usually only affected by curfews.