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Total moron travelling to Thailand

El Sueno

El Sueno

Dabbler
Hey Urbs,

Got my jabs today, got a passport, got my tickets. What the hell am I so anxious about? I'm staying with friends out there, travelling light... in fact now I've starting writing this thread I realise I think I've got everything covered.

But I do worry, see.

I figured on travelling light - buying suncream, towel etc. over there rather than lugging it around and maybe taking just hand luggage (only gonna be packing a few changes of tee, shorts and flip flops). I'll change up a couple of 1000 baht before I leave and bring some sterling and my cards. An adapter for my iPhone (camera and mp3 use only, can't be fussed to crack it and aint gonna be roaming etc.)

So am I missing anything important? Or should I just pack my bag, dump it in the corner and relax until my flight in a week next Friday? I've got tomorrow to hit the shops and grab stuff I need so if anyone's got any tips, giz a holla.

:)
 
take a towel. as douglas adams observes in 'the hitchiker's guide to the galaxy', having a towel is extremely important. can you rely on a thai towel being as good quality as john lewis or m&s?
 
Have you got at least 6 months left on your passport?

Have you taken photocopies of all important documents and left them with a friend/family - just in case?!
 
tbh I'm not bothered about the quality of the towel lol, I just don't want to carry a lot and figuered a beach towel would be pennies over there compared to here.

What about charging the iPhone on the plane? I got a lot of podcasts stored up for the journey. Aint took a plane in a while see...
 
Maybe get a small tube of sunscreen to take. I grew freckles in an hour when I arrived in Central America. Sun damage :(

Sai-Ree-beach-Koh-Tao-1.jpg

Enjoy :cool:
 
Minnie_the_Minx said:
Have you got at least 6 months left on your passport?

Have you taken photocopies of all important documents and left them with a friend/family - just in case?!
Click to expand...

Oh yeah, photocopies of passport - the nurse reminded me of that when I had my jabs this morning. And I'd already forgotten. :facepalm:
 
You might want to tell your bank/credit card people you are going. They may block withdrawal attempts and without a phone, you will be screwed.

There is a Boots on Ko San Road iirc, so get all your bits from there when you arrive. You could actually not even bother with a change of clothes. Tshirts are very cheap, so you could stock up on arrival.
 
Something to stop diarrhoea. So when you do get the squits, it won't stop you being able to travel anywhere if you have to.
 
El Sueno said:
Oh yeah, photocopies of passport - the nurse reminded me of that when I had my jabs this morning. And I'd already forgotten. :facepalm:
Click to expand...

and other important documents

and make sure your passport's valid. It's not a good idea landing in a foreign country with an out-of-date passport
 
Did you print out the emergency medical contact details from your travel insurance to take with you?
 
El Sueno said:
Don't they take stuff like that off you if it's in hand luggage though?
Click to expand...

Not if tube is 100ml or smaller

You can carry up to 10 items of liquid (as long as they're all 100ml or under). Make sure you put them in a clear plastic bag on top of your luggage when going through xray though
 
Oh have your friends meet you at the airport if possible heard of a few story's of very dodgy cabbies taking advantage of newbies
 
El Sueno said:
Cheers everyone, I think that's me covered :)
Click to expand...

Where's your plane ticket?

Have you turned everything off in the house (just in case of floods, gas leaks etc.?) I do that :oops:

Have you packed all your chargers? Very easy to charge your phone up overnight and leave house without it
 
There's an official taxi rank at Bangkok which has a fixed cheaper price iirc, just avoid the expensive dudes who hassle you, or preferably get the skyrail metro thing or the bus, you'll be able to work it out n it's generally more interesting if you don't have loaaads of stuff. Plus it's dead cheap.

Travel insurance would be a good idea, plus all relevant details in case you get stuff pinched. I would also make sure you have the address and phone number of where you're going in case you lose your friends or whatever. Might be a good shout buying a cheap phone out there too, would be fairly cheap but rather useful, although it depends how long you're going for?

Make sure you have some good mosquito repellent, either DEET or not, and cover up appropriately at the dawn/dusk worst times, cos even if you're not going to anywhere with the vaguest risk of malaria the mozzies carry all sorts of other tropical nasties like Dengue fever sometimes.

Good shout on taking some Baht and Sterling, and it depends on your bank but might make more sense taking out large amounts irregularly in cash (in Thailand) rather than relying upon changing Sterling out there. Then again I have no idea what sort of rate a decent place would offer. You can register at fairfx.com for a top up debit card which is good for using abroad, that def might be worth a shout, if you register today it'll probably arrive before next friday..
 
Riklet said:
Make sure you have some good mosquito repellent, either DEET or not, and cover up appropriately at the dawn/dusk worst times, cos even if you're not going to anywhere with the vaguest risk of malaria the mozzies carry all sorts of other tropical nasties like Dengue fever sometimes.
Good point

Avoid sitting in any eateries/bars etc. where there may be puddles/stagnant water lingering
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Riklet said:
or preferably get the skyrail metro thing or the bus, you'll be able to work it out n it's generally more interesting if you don't have loaaads of stuff. Plus it's dead cheap.
.
Click to expand...

Does the skyrail thing go to the airport? If so, definitely get that. Traffic in bangkok is fucking shocking.
 
El Sueno said:
Hey Urbs,

Got my jabs today, got a passport, got my tickets. What the hell am I so anxious about? I'm staying with friends out there, travelling light... in fact now I've starting writing this thread I realise I think I've got everything covered.

But I do worry, see.

I figured on travelling light - buying suncream, towel etc. over there rather than lugging it around and maybe taking just hand luggage (only gonna be packing a few changes of tee, shorts and flip flops). I'll change up a couple of 1000 baht before I leave and bring some sterling and my cards. An adapter for my iPhone (camera and mp3 use only, can't be fussed to crack it and aint gonna be roaming etc.)

So am I missing anything important? Or should I just pack my bag, dump it in the corner and relax until my flight in a week next Friday? I've got tomorrow to hit the shops and grab stuff I need so if anyone's got any tips, giz a holla.

:)
Click to expand...

Get a travel towel. They're small, light and dry quickly.

http://www.cotswoldoutdoor.com/inde...n/products.detail/code/B1110006/id_colour/180
 
Riklet said:
There's an official taxi rank at Bangkok which has a fixed cheaper price iirc, just avoid the expensive dudes who hassle you, or preferably get the skyrail metro thing or the bus, you'll be able to work it out n it's generally more interesting if you don't have loaaads of stuff. Plus it's dead cheap.

Travel insurance would be a good idea, plus all relevant details in case you get stuff pinched. I would also make sure you have the address and phone number of where you're going in case you lose your friends or whatever. Might be a good shout buying a cheap phone out there too, would be fairly cheap but rather useful, although it depends how long you're going for?

Make sure you have some good mosquito repellent, either DEET or not, and cover up appropriately at the dawn/dusk worst times, cos even if you're not going to anywhere with the vaguest risk of malaria the mozzies carry all sorts of other tropical nasties like Dengue fever sometimes.

Good shout on taking some Baht and Sterling, and it depends on your bank but might make more sense taking out large amounts irregularly in cash (in Thailand) rather than relying upon changing Sterling out there. Then again I have no idea what sort of rate a decent place would offer. You can register at fairfx.com for a top up debit card which is good for using abroad, that def might be worth a shout, if you register today it'll probably arrive before next friday..
Click to expand...

I was warned about Dengue fever so I'll be looking out fot that rascal, and I've been tipped off about the taxi rank - apparantly what you do is go upstairs to departures, then grab one as they drop someone off to save queueing and additional charges. I've got the address of where I'm staying and apparantly my iPhone will work out there without having to set it up or buy additional roaming bundles (only gonna use it for the odd emergency 'come and get me!' call so won't bother bringing a cracked old Nokia).

Think I'm sorted.
 
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