Practical Thailand
The small things, sorted.
Thailand is an easy country to travel once someone has told you the handful of systems that run it. These are the ones that matter on a first or second trip.
Money
The baht is the currency. Cards work in hotels, malls and most restaurants in the cities, but Thailand still runs on cash in the places visitors love most: markets, street stalls, songthaews and small towns. ATMs are everywhere and charge a flat fee per foreign-card withdrawal, so fewer, larger withdrawals cost less. Locals pay each other by PromptPay QR code, which needs a Thai bank account; visitors pay cash or card.
Staying connected
A data eSIM is the painless route: buy before you fly, land connected, and use the data for maps, translation and timetables. Tourist SIMs from AIS, True and dtac are sold at every airport arrival hall if you prefer a physical card. Coverage is good in cities and on the main islands; the mountains of the far north are the exception.
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Plugs and power
Thailand uses 220 volts and sockets that accept the flat two-pin (Type A), round two-pin (Type C) and the Thai three-pin (Type O) plugs: most travellers' chargers fit somewhere in that mix, and hotels usually have at least one universal socket. Heating appliances from 110 volt countries need a converter, not just an adapter.
At the border
Complete the Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) online in the three days before you arrive; it is free, and it replaced the paper card. Most visitors enter visa-free for a set period that depends on nationality: check yours before you fly, and carry proof of onward travel, which airlines may ask for at check-in. The drug laws are severe and enforced, and cannabis rules have tightened again in recent years: do not carry anything across the border, in either direction, and check the current rules before you travel if it matters to your trip.
Customs that catch people out
Temples are working places of worship: cover shoulders and knees, take shoes off where the signs say, and never climb on statues or point your feet at a Buddha image. Stand for the national anthem (it plays in public places at 8 in the morning and 6 in the evening, and in cinemas before the film). The monarchy is treated with genuine reverence and protected by strict law: leave commentary aside. Alcohol cannot be sold on the five major Buddhist holy days and on election days, and the calendar pages on this site mark those dates.
Emergencies
Police on 191, ambulance on 1669, and the Tourist Police on 1155, who are used to helping visitors. Private hospitals in the cities are excellent and used to travellers; travel insurance that covers medical care and activities (motorbike hire above all) is the one piece of paperwork worth arranging properly. Motorbike rental is the single biggest source of visitor injuries: if your licence does not cover the bike at home, it does not cover it here, and insurers will say so.