Bangkok

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For Visa application go to Sukhumvit soi 25, Glashaus Building,15th Floor, use photo machine on ground floor next to entrance. Visa application: from 09h-14h, Visa reception: 14h-17h

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Taiwan

Bangkok's premier city living magazine; a guide to the city's restaurants, nightlife, travel, arts and more. New additions release weekly and are distributed in selected venues.

One of the better English-language newspapers of the country, but also includes sections on travel, leisure, entertainment, life and classifieds in Bangkok.

Given its size, Bangkok is surprisingly safe, with violent crimes like mugging and robbery unusual. One of the biggest dangers are motorbikes who ride on pavements at speed, go through red lights, undertake buses as they stop to let passengers off and generally drive far too fast especially through stationary traffic. If you are going to hire a bike, make sure you have insurance in case you are injured. You may be the world's best driver but you'll meet many of the world's worst drivers in Thailand.

Bangkok does have more than its fair share of scams, and many individuals in the tourist business do not hesitate to overcharge unwary visitors. As a rule of thumb, it is wise to decline all offers made by someone who appears to be a friendly local giving a hapless tourist some local advice. Never get in a tuk-tuk if someone else is trying to get you into one. Most Bangkok locals do not approach foreigners without an ulterior motive.

internet

Internet cafés abound in Bangkok. You'll generally be looking at rates of around 30-60 baht per hour in tourist-laden districts like Khao San Road, 20-30 baht per hour in downtown the top floors of MBK for example, and 10-15 baht per hour if you would venture into residential areas where the speed generally is still high.

An increasing number of cafés and pubs offer free Wi-Fi to their customers, including the ubiquitous Coffee World chain in all of its branches ask for the password at the counter. TrueMove offers both free and paid Wi-Fi access. If you want to get online for free, you must register first, and both session and overall time is limited. Their network is accessible in many malls, including Siam Square, and sometimes can be available from your room if you stay in a nearby hot-spot — just look for the 'truewifi' network, you can register right there. Most hotels and guest houses provide at least some form of Internet. Some have Wi-Fi access inside the rooms — but inquire before booking.

There is not a lot of free Wi-Fi available in old districts like Rattanakosin or Yaowarat. Note that McDonald's and Starbucks do not provide free Wi-Fi. There's either no Wi-Fi at all or you'll have to pay for it.

mail

Bangkok's red mailboxes are found all over the city. There are also plenty of Thailand Post (http://www.thailandpost.com/) offices around for sending mail and packages. In tourist areas, there are post offices in the Khao San Road area in front of Wat Bowonniwet and at Sukhumvit Road between Soi 4 and 6.

If you're staying in Bangkok for a longer time, you might want to make use of poste restante; that way, other people can send you mail or parcels using a post office's address. Post offices keep the letters for two months. Letters sent via poste restante must have the receiver's name on it, with the family name in underlined capital letters. If you want to pick them up near Khao San Road, it must be addressed to c/o Poste Restante, Banglamphubon Post Office, Bangkok, 10203, Thailand. If you want to pick up your mail in the Sukhumvit area, make sure mail is addressed to c/o Poste Restante, Nana Post Office, Sukhumvit Road, Bangkok, 10112, Thailand.

immigration office

The Immigration Bureau, has moved from central Soi Suan Plu to far-away Government Building B in Chaeng Wattana Soi 7, ☎ +66 2 141-9889, (http://www.immigration.go.th), M-F 08:30-noon, 13:00-16:30). The centre is in the far north of Bangkok near the old Don Muang Airport. It is a spacious building with a ground floor café, restaurants and copy vendors. Visas, re-entry permits and many other immigration services are available. It is best to take the Skytrain to Mo Chit station and then hail a taxi to the government centre. Services for Myanmarese, Cambodian and Lao citizens remain at Soi Suan Plu.

telephone

The area code for Bangkok is 02. You only need to dial the 0 if you're calling from within Thailand. Pay phones are not commonplace, as most Thais have a mobile phone. If you want to avoid high roaming costs, you can buy a local SIM card for 100 baht at Suvarnabhumi Airport or other mobile phone stores throughout the city. The 100 baht is not just for the SIM card, but is immediately your first pre-paid amount. Topping it up is easy; just walk into a 7-Eleven convenience store and pick an amount you want to add. Making international calls is also cheaper this way.

animal abuse

Elephants are a large part of Thailand's tourist business, and the smuggling and mistreatment of elephants for tourist attractions is a widespread practice. Be aware that elephants are often separated from their mothers at a young age to be cruelly trained under captivity for the rest of their lives. It is advised to take an elephant ride only at animal friendly organisations.

A depressingly common sight on the congested streets of Bangkok is elephant begging. During night hours, mahouts trainers with lumbering elephants approach tourists to feed the creatures bananas or take a photo with them for a fee. The elephants are brought to the city to beg in this way because they are out of work and are mistreated and visibly distressed under the conditions of the city. Please avoid supporting this cruelty by rejecting the mahouts as they offer you bananas to feed the elephants. This is especially common in Silom and Sukhumvit.

Due to its location, lax laws, and resources, many illegal animal products come through Bangkok. Rare and endangered species are often sold at markets for pets especially at Chatuchak, and many other animal products are sold as luxury items. Avoid buying rare pets, leather, ivory, talons, dried sea creatures such as starfish, fur, feathers, teeth, wool, and other products since they are most likely the result of illegal poaching, and buying them contributes greatly to animal endangerment and abuse.

food and water

As elsewhere in Thailand, be careful with what you eat. Outside of major tourist hotels and resorts, stay away from raw leafy vegetables, egg-based dressings like mayonnaise, unpackaged ice cream and minced meat as hot weather tends to make food go bad faster. In short, stick to boiled, baked, fried, or peeled goods.

Tap water in Bangkok is said to be safe when it comes out the plant, but unfortunately the plumbing along the way often is not, so it's wise to avoid drinking the stuff, even in hotels. Any water served to you in good restaurants will at least be boiled, but it's better to order sealed bottles instead, which are available everywhere at low prices.

Take care with ice, which may be made with tap water of questionable potability as above. Some residents claim that ice with round holes is made by commercial ice makers who purify their water; others state that it is wise not to rely on that claim.

political unrest

In 2008, political unrest hit the headlines, with the yellow-shirted People's Alliance for Democracy PAD closing down both of Bangkok's airports for a week with several people killed in political violence. After the new prime minister was elected, things were more or less back to normal for a while, but the situation remained unstable. In 2010, new political unrest surfaced with red-shirted protesters from the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship UDD occupying much of downtown Bangkok. These protests turned violent when government troops tried to take back parts of central Bangkok that had been seized by protesters. Always follow the independent press for the newest political developments, stay away from demonstrations.

scams

You should always be on the look-out for scammers, especially in major tourist areas. There are dozens of scams in Bangkok, but by far the most widely practiced is the gem scam. Always beware of tuk-tuk drivers offering all-day tours for prices as low as 10 baht. You may indeed be taken on a full-day tour, but you will end up only visiting one gem and souvenir shop after another. Don't buy any products offered by pushy salesmen — the "gems" are pretty much always worthless pieces of cut glass and the suits are of deplorable quality. The tuk-tuk driver gets a commission if you buy something — and fuel coupons even if you don't. Unless the idea of travelling by tuk-tuk appeals to you, it's almost always cheaper, more comfortable and less hassle to take a metered taxi.

In general, never ask a taxi driver for a recommendation for something. They will very likely take you to a place where they get a commission, and be of dubious quality. In particular, do not ask a taxi driver for a restaurant recommendation. An infamous place taxi drivers take unsuspecting tourists is Somboon D which is a terrible seafood restaurant in a seedy area under the train tracks on Makkasan Road 02 6527 7667. A typical meal there costs 800 THB per person and it comes with little seafood, no service, and complaints are not taken by management. Instead of asking a taxi driver, search the web, ask a local on the street, or just walk around -- you will surprise yourself with what is around a corner in Bangkok.

Be highly skeptical when an English-speaking Thai at a popular tourist attraction approaches you out of the blue, telling that your intended destination is currently closed or offering discount admissions. Temples are almost always free the main exceptions are Wat Phra Kaew and Wat Pho and open just about every day of the year. Anyone telling you otherwise, even if they have an official-looking identification card, is most likely out to scam you, especially if they suggest a tuk-tuk ride to some alternate sights to see until the sight re-opens. At paid admission sites, verify the operating hours at the ticket window.

If you entered one of these tuk-tuks, touts often will drop you off at a certain place, such as a genuine Buddhist temple. Here you will find a man that claims to be an official, and he guides you in a certain direction. There you will find another "official" who also claims that a certain attraction is closed. This way, a tourist hears the same statement by multiple people, and is more eager to believe that his or her intended destination indeed is closed. Never get involved with these scammers or believe any of their statements.

When getting a taxi, it is a good idea to hail a moving taxi from the main road, or to walk a short distance out of a major tourist area before looking for one. This is no guarantee of honesty, but greatly increases your chances of finding an honest driver, of which there are plenty in Bangkok, even if it sometimes seems that every driver is on the make. Most of the untrustworthy drivers are the ones standing still in tourist areas. Another important rule of thumb is to insist on the meter for taxis and agree on a price in advance for tuk-tuks. If they refuse, or quote silly prices, just walk out and get a different one as they're rarely in short supply. The Thai phrase to ask a driver to use the meter is mee-TOE, khap if you're male and mee-TOE, kha if you're female.

Beware of tuk-tuk or taxi drivers who approach you speaking good English or with an "I ♥ farang" sign, especially those who mention or take you to a tailor shop or any kind of business. They are paid by inferior tailor shops to bring tourists there to be subjected to high pressure sales techniques. If at any point your transportation brings you somewhere you didn't intend or plan to go, walk away immediately, ignore any entreaties to the contrary, and find another taxi or tuk-tuk.

Beware of a very overweight Western woman who approaches you with a story about how her luggage has just been stolen and needs money to get home. For several years now, she has usually lurked around the tourist attractions in Bangkok looking for prey. The scam industry in Bangkok is large enough to employ farangs!

Also beware of private bus companies offering direct trips from Bangkok to other cities with "VIP" buses. There are a lot of scams performed by these private bus companies. The so-called direct VIP trips may end up changing three or four uncomfortable minibuses to the destination, and the 10-11 hour trip may well turn into 17-18 hours. Instead, try to book public BKS buses from the main bus terminals. It's worth the extra shoe-leather, as there have been reports of robberies on private buses as well.

go-go bars

Bangkok is known for its go-go bars and the prostitution that comes along with it. Technically, some aspects of prostitution are illegal eg. soliciting, pimping, but enforcement is rare, and brothels are common. It's not illegal to pay for sex or to pay a "barfine" a fee the bar collects if you want to take an employee away.

The age of consent in Thailand is 15, but a higher minimum age of 18 applies in the case of prostitutes. Penalties for sex with minors are harsh. All adult Thais must carry an identity card, which will state that they were born in 2534 or earlier if they were over the age of 18 on January 1, 2010 in the Thai calendar, 2010 is the year 2553. Many hotels retain the ID cards of prostitutes for the duration of their visit. Whilst most prostitutes are employed by bars or similar businesses, some are "freelancers". Petty theft and other problems are more common with these freelancers. HIV and AIDS awareness is better than it used to be, but infection statistics among entertainment industry workers remain high; freelancers are the highest risk group. Almost all girls insist on using condoms.

While walking in go-go bar areas is generally safe, you have to be cautious of touts who try to drag you into the Patpong upstairs bars with offers of ping-pong shows and 100-baht beer. The beer may well be 100 baht, but the "show" you'll be treated to will be 1,000 baht or more. The rule of thumb is that if you cannot see inside from street level, avoid the establishment.