Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Legal Matters
In general, Thai police don't hassle foreigners, especially tourists. They usually go out of their way to avoid having to
speak English with a foreigner, especially regarding minor traffic issues.
One major exception is drugs, which most Thai police view as either a social scourge against which it's their duty to
enforce the letter of the law, or an opportunity to make untaxed income via bribes.
If you are arrested the police will allow you to make a phone call, either to your embassy or consulate in Thailand if
you have one, or to a friend or relative if not. There's a whole set of legal codes governing the length of time and man-
ner in which you can be detained before being charged or put on trial, but a lot of discretion is left to the police. In the
case of foreigners the police are more likely to bend these codes in your favour. However, as with police worldwide,
show respect or it will make matters worse.
Thai law does not presume an indicted detainee to be either 'guilty' or 'innocent' but rather a 'suspect', whose guilt
or innocence will be decided in court. Trials are usually speedy.
The
tourist police
( 1155) can be very helpful in cases of arrest. Although they typically have no jurisdiction over
the kinds of cases handled by regular cops, they may be able to help with translations or with contacting your embassy.
You can call the hotline number 24 hours a day to lodge complaints or to request assistance with regards to personal
safety.
Maps
ThinkNet
(
www.thinknet.co.th
)
produces high-quality, bilingual city and country maps, including interactive-map CDs.
Money
The basic unit of Thai currency is the baht. There are 100 satang in one baht; coins include 25-satang and 50-satang
pieces and baht in 1B, 2B, 5B and 10B coins. Older coins have Thai numerals only, while newer coins have Thai and
Arabic numerals. The 2B coin is similar in size to the 1B coin but it is gold in colour. The two satang coins are typically
only issued at supermarkets where prices aren't rounded up to the nearest baht.
Paper currency is issued in the following denominations: 20B (green), 50B (blue), 100B (red), 500B (purple) and
1000B (beige).
ATMs & Credit/Debit Cards
Debit and ATM cards issued by a bank in your own country can be used at ATMs around Thailand to withdraw cash (in
Thai baht only) directly from your account back home. ATMs are widespread throughout the country and can be relied
on for the bulk of your spending cash.
Thai ATMs now charge a 150B foreign-transaction fee on top of whatever currency conversion and out-of-network
fees your home bank charges. That means that ATMs are now a lot more expensive to use than in the past. Before leav-
ing home, shop around for a bank account that has free international ATM usage and reimburses fees incurred at other
institution's ATMs.
