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Thailand
Thailand, ประเทศไทย (Prathet Thai) in Thai language, is the official name of the Kingdom of Thailand, ราช อาณาจักร ไทย (Ratcha Anachak Thai) in Thai, is a country in Southeast Asia, formerly known as the Kingdom of Siam, สยาม in Thai. The term derives from ไทย (Thai) adjective that means "free" in the Thai language.
Borders
The country is situated between 7° and 21° of latitude and is bordered by Myanmar to the West, Laos to the Northeast, Cambodia to the East and Malaysia to the South.
Capital
Bangkok, กรุงเทพ(Krung Thep) in Thai language , 9,000,000 inhabitants official, unofficial 13,000,000.
Population
About 69,500,000: Thai 75%, Chinese 14%, Malays 2%
Time zone
GMT +7 h; +6 h when Europe is in daylight saving time.
Telephone Prefix
+66
Area
Thailand covering an area of about 513 120 km square, 200,000 square miles.
Geography
Topographically the Thailand is characterized by a plateau that covers a third of the nation, extending from the north-east to the fertile valley of the river Chao Phraya, the Menam Chao Phraya in Thai, in the center. The mountains, covered with lush green forests with narrow fertile valleys, are concentrated in the north. The southern region of the peninsula is covered with lush rainforests coasts, and islands, full of paradisiacal beaches. Thailand is divided into 76 provinces, the Bangkok metropolitan area is an area with special status and is the 77th province. The provinces are divided into four major regions: the Central Region, the Northern region, the region of North-East and Southern region.
Form of government
Constitutional Monarchy. The parliamentary monarchy is a form of government that provides for a division of state powers between the monarch and the parliament with its own President. Head of state is King Bhumibol Adulyadej Rama IX, whose full name is Bhumibol Adulyadej Ramadhibodi Chakrinarubodin Sayamindaradhraj Boromanatbophit. For its duration, the Kingdom of Rama IX is the longest in the history of his country, the longest among those of the kings currently in living is at the 16th place in the ranking of the longest reigns in history. Bhumibol is respected and revered by the Thais, the king is legally considered inviolable, and an offense to the dignity of the monarch, the treason is punished by the penalty can be up to 15 years imprisonment.
Currency
The official currency is the Baht, THB, easily recognizable by the effigy of the King on banknotes and coins. The exchange rate is between 37 and 43 baht per euro, although a few years was around 50, the changes are, however, nearly every day. The largest banknote is 1000 THB, there are banknote from 500, 100, 50 and 20 THB. Should not absolutely change before arrival in Thailand, and even at the airport in Bangkok; unless you actually have to change just a few Euros for the first expenses. Better its change at banks or at exchange offices everywhere. Be careful, there are list whit exposed the change, and there are often differences between an agency and another. Credit cards are accepted almost everywhere, if you want you can take banknote directly at ATM devices, ubiquitous, similar to our ATMs and easy to use. For use the ATM enable this for withdrawals abroad, if you do not enable will be charged of additional fee. The Bath is a currency irreversible, if you bring home with you will have only a precious souvenir.
Banks
Opening hours from Monday to Friday, excluding holidays, 08:30 to 15:30; Monday to Sunday, including holidays, in schedule are operating inside the bank branches of the big shopping centers Tesco Lotus, Big C, Carrefur etc ... To open a bank account in your local currency must be in possession of at least 5000 Euros, otherwise you can open a bank account in Thailand THB. Some banks also offer the opportunity to activate a prepaid card in THB even for those who have no bank account in Thailand. The Krung Thai Bank, for example, at a cost of only 100 THB offers a prepaid card that is included also an insurance policy for medical expenses for a period of 7 days. The insurance policy, Krungthai Panich Insurance, will cover the cost of any accident, up to a maximum of 10 000 THB for outpatient treatment and 500 000 THB for the hospital stay, it also included a life insurance policy of 1 million THB, approximately 25,000 Euros. It can also be purchased at the Association of Thai Travel Agents, ATTA, that you will find Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok.
VAT Refund
A tourist who buys goods and products in Thailand, can claim back VAT paid on every purchase, in Thailand is 7%. The necessary conditions are: buy in stores where it is exposed Vat Refund and reboot from an international airport. You can reclaim VAT no later than 60 days from the day of purchase. You have to spend at least 2,000 THB in one store, in a day. The products purchased must at least reach a total of 5,000 THB. At the time of purchase of the products you will have to present your passport and ask the shop the form PP10 to be able to reclaim VAT for tourists, attaching together to form invoice or sales receipt. The form, the presentation of the products purchased and the VAT refund application must be submitted prior to check-in to boarding in the appropriate doors to international airports. If the amount of VAT to be refunded shall not exceed 30,000 THB you can receive your refund in cash, credited to the bank account or on a credit card account for larger amounts. In some malls you are predisposed to VAT Refund offices.
Climate
The climate of Thailand is tropical monsoon, but very special, because it can be divided into many microclimates, this due to the special geographical shape of the country that develops along meridians, temperatures and seasons vary by reason of the zones. A distinction is usually in the cold season, dry period from November to February, when the monsoon blows north-west, the hot season, from March to mid-May, and the rainy season, from May to November, caused by the southwest monsoon. In reality it is relatively warm most of the year. The weather in central in central, northern and north-eastern Thailand, the provinces landlocked, is determined by this three seasons, whilst the southern coastal regions will have only two.
Languages
Thai is the national language, written in its own alphabet. Numerous and widespread are the Thai dialects, in the north-east of the country is widespread Isan language, very similar to Lao, both the one and the other are intelligible with the Thai. Ethnic minorities use their own languages, especially the Hill Tribe and Khmer. Although it is widely taught in schools, English is not widely used, especially in remote regions, usually spoken in the capital Bangkok and the main tourist areas.
Sanitary Equipment
The quality standard of public hospital facilities is good, the private health facilities are great, but both are not free. It is advisable to conclude, before embarking on a journey, a health insurance policy that provides adequate, in addition to covering medical expenses, including any return of the patient. About health risks it is good to know that we are same outbreaks of tropical diseases. The Malaria is non-existent except for a few cases reported in remote areas of the border with Myanmar, have been reported sporadic cases of Dengue, several cases of Chikungunya. These viruses are contracted as a result of the bite of infected mosquitoes and manifest with similar symptoms, fever, muscle and bone pain, headache, fatigue, nausea and vomiting. It is advisable, therefore, to be taken during the in-country preventive measures against mosquito bites. Traveler's diarrhea it's causes can be many: bacteria, viruses, parasites, but also the stress of travel, change of food or climate. To reduce the risk of contracting pay attention to food hygiene, eat well-cooked foods, drink only bottled water and soft drinks without adding ice if not in public establishments that provide guarantees of hygiene, while the most important therapeutic measure to be put in place in case of diarrhea, is the restoration of the loss water and electrolytes by drinking liquids, not alcohol. Sunburn are quite frequent, always use protective creams even on a cloudy day, the sun's rays, especially at this latitude, they are strong and can cause burns very quickly. Pay attention to insect bites, especially if you are at risk of allergies, of scorpions, bees, wasps and hornets, centipedes, spiders and snakes bites as well as contact with jellyfish. The most frequent health problem among the tourists in Thailand are definitely the consequences of road accidents, drive carefully, the streets of Thailand are generally very good, but the rains and lack safe driving causing disappointment. In Thailand the spread of AIDS is high, use appropriate precautions.
Vaccinations
For entry into Thailand are not required vaccinations. The certificate of vaccination against yellow fever is required only for travelers greater than one year of age coming from infected areas of Central Africa and South America. We recommend vaccination against hepatitis A and B, but not required as mentioned, always useful in all tropical countries.
Education and Culture
In Thailand the education is free, and compulsory from 7 to 14 years, with approximately 94% of schooling Thailand is one of the countries of Southeast Asia with the highest literacy rate. The long and glorious history of the Thais has made this people polite, hospitable, courteous, humble in the service of their simple religious duties and politicians. In Thailand, no one has ever hurry, hospitality, as at all the peoples of the East, is sacred and if modern life in cities has somewhat mitigated this dowry, in the countryside is still used to give hospitality to travelers without their asking for anything. The meek and quiet life stile of the inhabitants makes the phenomenon of crime rather limited.
Transport
The road network of the Thai is good over most of the territory and is covered by an efficient transport system with bus line. A rail system, SRT, connects the main cities of the north, northeast and southern area. The main resort of Thailand is connected to each other by airplane. In Bangkok, the displacements are practical and economical. Taxis are everywhere and at all hours. The tuk tuk are very characteristic and economic, should always bargain before boarding, but certainly the best mode of transport in the capital is the metro panoramic elevated SkyTrain, BTS, or underground subway, MRT, with which you can move in the most characteristic of the city.
Religion
In Thailand the official religion and the Buddhist, 95% of Thai professes Theravada Buddhism. In addition to Buddhism there is a Muslim minority, about 5%, concentrated in the south and in particular represented by the minority of the population with origins Malaysians. Christians, especially Catholics, are 0.75% of the population.
Flora
The coastal areas are characterized by jungle and swampy areas, with large areas of tropical vegetation that abound in mangroves. The highlands are forested with prevalence of tropical plants, fruit and flowers, such as orchids, hibiscus, mango, banana and coconut trees, in the areas of Noed East are some of the few remaining virgin forests of teak in the world. The mountainous part of Thailand has beautiful bamboo forests, oaks and hardwoods, over 1,000 meters are evergreen forests of pine, chestnut and other forms of vegetation that are typical of temperate regions.
Fauna
The fauna of Thailand sees the presence of many species of mammals such as Macaques, Monkeys and Gibbons, Asian Black Bear, Shrews, Deer, Boars, Siamese Hares, Tigers, Leopards and Elephants. There are also numerous species of reptiles, mostly poisonous, and great is the variety of birds and fish species, as well as an infinite number of insect species.
Economy
In the course of 2013 the unemployment rate was less than 1%. Almost 70% of the Thai populations are farmers, thriving mechanical industries, textiles and electronics. As a general increase in international tourism that focuses, in particular, in the coastal zone. In 2013, about 19 million tourists visited Thailand. Thailand is ranked first in the world for the export of tapioca, the second to that of rice and rubber, the third to that of canned pineapple. In addition, this country is one of the leading exporters of sugar, maize and tin. Developing countries are the garment industry and electronics.
Documents
For entry into Thailand the passport must be valid for at least 6 months from the date of departure, and at least two free pages remaining for the endorsement. Tourists, by law, are required to always carry their original passport. At arrival is automatically granted a tourist permit valid for one month, 15 days in the case of terrestrial border crossing. The tourist visa for stays longer than 30 days is issued by the Thai embassies or consulates in the world.
Clothing
In Thailand are recommended clothing of cotton, lightweight and comfortable, like T-shirts, shirts and pants, preferably in natural fibers, these are the ideal clothing to visit the country throughout the year. You should bring a waterproof jacket to a sudden downpour, comfortable closed shoes and a sweater that will be needed for the air conditioning of the structure and for the cooler evenings. In places of worship it is compulsory to wear clothing with long sleeves and trousers.
Driving License
In Thailand in order to conduct any means of transportation, scooters, motorcycles, quads, cars, pick-ups etc ..., you must be in possession of a driving license, although it was estimated that only a small part of the population have driving license. For foreigners wishing to drive in the Kingdom, it is the necessary international driving license, recognized that Thailand is one of the Geneva Convention of the year 1949.
Driving rules
In Thailand driving is on the left, overtaking on the right, seat belts is compulsory to wear on the front seats, helmet for motorcyclists, driving while intoxicated is a crime, BAC the limit is 0.05%.
Weights and measures
In Thailand is used metric system, with some local variations, particularly with regard to certain measuring instruments such as scales.
Electricity
Thailand is used with 220V, 50Hz, power surges are frequent and sudden, especially in tourist areas or in isolated centers. The sockets are different, lamellar, more similar to those in use in America, but in tourist areas usually our electronic devices fit perfectly. In the inland areas it is recommended to bring an adapter for wall outlets charging mobile phones, tablets, computers, digital cameras, etc..
Call from Thailand
Buy a calling card Thai is more convenient than using your number in international roaming. The costs are ridiculous, using the codes 004, 008 or 009, depending on the telephone company, before the number you have to call Europe or the rest of the world, the costs are about 4 or 5 THB every minute, about 10 cents euro. You will find the cards anywhere, whether arriving at airports in the kiosks of various promotional companies, which in any store Seven Eleven or Family Mart, who are one every 50 meters in Thailand and are open 24 hours. Important telephone numbers: Emergency: 191 Tourist Police: 1155 Tourist services: 1672