Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ive than the reasonable meter rate. Walking beyond the tourist area will usually help you
find an honest driver.
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Friendly strangers
Be wary of smartly dressed, well-spoken men who approach you
asking where you're from and where you're going. This is usually followed with: 'Ah, my
son/daughter is studying at university in (your home city)' - they seem to have an encyc-
lopaedic knowledge of the world's major universities. As the tourist authorities here have
pointed out, this sort of behaviour is out of character for Thais and should be treated with
suspicion.
Telephone
Mobile Phones
If you have a GSM phone you'll probably be able to use it on roaming in Thailand. If you
have endless cash, or you only want to send text messages, you might be happy to do that.
Otherwise, think about buying a local SIM card.
If your phone is locked, get it unlocked or shop for a new or cheap used phone (starting
at less than 1000B).
Buying a prepaid SIM is as easy as finding a 7-Eleven. The market is super-competitive
and deals vary so check websites first, but expect to get a SIM for as little as 49B. More
expensive SIMs might come with pre-loaded talk time; if not, recharge cards are sold at
the same stores and range from 100B to 500B.
Making International & Domestic Calls
Inside Thailand you must dial the area code no matter where you are. In effect, that means
all numbers are nine digits; in Bangkok they begin with 02, and are followed by a seven-
digit number. The only time you drop the initial 0 is when you're calling from outside
Thailand.
To direct-dial an international number from a private phone, you can dial 001 then the
country code.But you wouldn't do that, because 001 is the most expensive way to call in-
ternationally, and numerous other prefixes give you cheaper rates. These include 006, 007,
