Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Avis
( 0 2251 1131;
www.avisthailand.com
; 40 Th Sathon Neua (North); 7.30am-7.30pm; Lumphini exit 2)
Cars and motorcycles can be hired through this international chain. Rates start at around 1000B per day, excluding in-
surance. An International Driving Permit and passport are required for all rentals.
Budget
(
0 2203 9222;
www.budget.co.th
;
19/23 Bldg A, Royal City Ave (RCA);
8am-7pm;
Phra Ram 9
exit 3 & taxi) A reliable car-hire place.
Thai Rent A Car
( 0 2737 8888;
www.thairentacar.com
; 2371 Th Petchaburi Tat Mai; 8.30am-5.30am Mon-
Sat; Thong Lo exit 3 & taxi) If you're not dissuaded, cars and motorcycles can be rented through this local chain,
which has a branch at Suvarnabhumi International Airport. Rates start at around 1000B per day, excluding insurance. An
International Driving Permit and passport are required for all rentals.
BANGKOK ADDRESSES
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Any city as large and unplanned as Bangkok can be tough to get around. Street names often seem unpro-
nounceable, compounded by the inconsistency of romanised Thai spellings. For example, the street sometimes
spelt as 'Rajdamri' is actually pronounced 'Ratchadamri' (with the appropriate tones, of course), or in abbrevi-
ated form as Rat damri. The 'v' in Sukhumvit should be pronounced like a 'w'… One of the most popular loca-
tions for foreign embassies is known both as Wireless Rd and Th Witthayu (
wí·tá·yú
is Thai for 'radio').
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Many street addresses show a string of numbers divided by slashes and hyphens, for example, 48/3-5 Soi 1,
Th Sukhumvit. The reason is that undeveloped property in Bangkok was originally bought and sold in lots. The
number before the slash refers to the original lot number. The numbers following the slash indicate buildings (or
entrances to buildings) constructed within that lot. The pre-slash numbers appear in the order in which they were
added to city plans, while the post-slash numbers are arbitrarily assigned by developers. As a result numbers
along a given street don't always run consecutively.
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The Thai word
tà·nŏn
(usually spelt 'thanon') means road, street or avenue. Hence Ratchadamnoen Rd
(sometimes referred to as Ratchadamnoen Ave) is always called Thanon (Th) Ratchadamnoen in Thai.
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A soi is a small street or lane that runs off a larger street. In our example, the address referred to as 48/3-5
Soi 1, Th Sukhumvit will be located off Th Sukhumvit on Soi 1. Alternative ways of writing the same address in-
clude 48/3-5 Th Sukhumvit Soi 1, or even just 48/3-5 Sukhumvit 1. Some Bangkok soi have become so large that
they can be referred to both as thanon and soi, eg Soi Sarasin/Th Sarasin and Soi Asoke/Th Asoke. Smaller than a
soi is a
tròrk
(usually spelt 'trok') or alley. Well-known alleys in Bangkok include Chinatown's Trok Itsaranu-
phap and Banglamphu's Trok Rong Mai.
Bus
