Travel to Thailand from India: Tips for Indian tourist & travellers


Following is the tips for Indians traveling to Thailand. This travel Guide include tips related to currency exchange, withdrawing money from the ATM, SIM card information, staying options, Thai food, drinks, beer, indigestion, spicy food, laundry, bike renting etc.
Thailand Traveling tips for Indians

Currency exchange and cash:

I thought a lot over this. Then I came to a conclusion that If I have to finally pay the currency conversion charges for all the foreign currency then why shall I buy Thai Baht. Anyway the charges would be the same on my rupees. So, I coverted all my rupees to US Dollars in India and then when I arrived in Thailand, I converted the US dollars to Thai Baht.

I did so because US dollars are easy to carry around than a lot of Thai Baht. Please note that when you buy US dollars in India, you will have to pay the money conversion charges which is around 10%. But when you sell those dollars in Thailand, you don’t have to pay the charges. So, I converted sufficient amount of rupees into dollars at once in India.

Another advantage of buying US Dollars is if you think that the US Dollars will grow strong in coming days then you can get more Thai Baht per dollars. When I arrived in Bangkok, the currency rate was 35.2 Baht per Dollar and after a week it was 36.2 Baht per dollar. So I had another advantage. Always exchange the money from an authorized counter like at airport or western Union. Keep the exchange bill with you, in case.

Withdrawing money from the ATM in Thailand:

First thing you need to know is your nationalized ATM would not work here. You need to inform your bank that you will use the debit card on particular duration outside the country. If you fail to do so, they might block your card.

Some of the banks like HDFC Bank offer the online netbanking facilities to able your card for the international uses. However, most of the Indian credit cards are by default enabled for the international transactions. Still, you should double check that.

If you intend to use card not the cash, try to get more money at once from the ATM. Because each time you withdraw money, you will be levied charges from the Indian bank and Thai bank as well as. So, try to withdraw bigger amount at once, not the smaller amount.

Hotel/ bungalows/ stay:

If you are on some island and not traveling the city, try to make a stay at beaches. Read about the clean beaches of an island. You can also stay in cottages or if you are in group of friends, you can rent a whole house. Sunset are really beautiful. You can also look for the hotel over different sites like booking.com etc.

Thai SIM Card:

SIM card are easily available at the airport and seven-eleven shop. You ask anyone and they will tell you about 7-11 shop easily. They are almost everywhere and even on the islands. SIM card activates instantly and some SIM card like TrueH provides you Initial balance as well.

With the new SIM Card, you also get instructions of recharging the number, making national and international calls and sending national and international SMS. Just for the guidance, if you want to recharge a SIM, go to a 7-11 shop, most of the times, they will recharge it. Just tell your number and they will give you print out for them. The print out will have a recharge code. You need to dial *123*code# to recharge your number.

Thai Food:

Thailand is a heaven for fish eaters and nonvegetarian. You can get chicken, pork, beef, squid, shrimps, crab, lobsters etc. at almost all the restaurants. Notice that you will have to explicitely say for the chicken. Sometimes saying meat isnot enough. Because meat is considered as beef here. So on a menu, if you see meat but not chicken or pork or beef wrote explicitely, you should ask about that before ordering.

The best way to taste thai food is on the streets. They are cheap and much hygenic than in India. But its not like that vegetarian do not have any option. If you order something, just ask them “without meat or chicken”. Few of the dishes that you should taste in Thailand is sea food, coconut milk curry, pad thai (fried noodles with veg/ non veg), coconut shake, pancake etc.

Food in the restaurants will cost you around 150 THB. Most of the curries are served with a portion of rice. Rice and the curry would cost you around 150 THB in restaurants. If you are a foodie then you can also try barbecue fish like red snapper or white snapper. They taste really good.

Drinks in Thailand:

In the hot and tropical climate of Thailand, beer is one of the most consumed drinks. There are mainly three beer brands here: Chang, leo and Singha. They all cost around the same. In a restaurant, they might cost you around 100 THB but at 7-11 they cost around 60 THB for a large 500 ml. Note that unlike India, here beer comes in two

Note that unlike India, here beer comes in two kind of bottles: 500 ml and 330 ml. like in Europe. You won’t get 650 ml bottle. Other drinks you might try is the coconut shake, coconut water, papaya shake, orange shake or any other shake.

Indigestion, heat stroke, gas and belly pain:

Please have some light food when you board the plane and also some liquid. Try to totally take on the Thai food on the first day of arrival. For example in chicken soup, they serve much more than we Indian have seen in the chicken soup. If you have the capacity to digest much chicken, you can go on but I will advice you to begin slowly.
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Our stomach needs some times to adjust to the new food habits. Try not to have spicy or heavy food on first day. Begin with light food. And then you can keep on trying more and more. If you had too much of spicy food, do not drink beer too much after that. Your stomach turns acidic. If you face gas, indigestion or stomach ache, eat porridge or fruit salad. They are available almost everywhere.

Our stomach needs some times to adjust to the new food habits. Try not to have spicy or heavy food on first day. Begin with light food. And then you can keep on trying more and more. If you had too much of spicy food, do not drink beer too much after that. Your stomach turns acidic. If you face gas, indigestion or stomach ache, eat porridge or fruit salad. They are available almost everywhere.

Clothings:

Cotton clothing is best suited here. You won’t be able to wear jeans or full shirt through out the day. The best would be to wear a comfortable pant and t shirt. I would advice you not to bring many Tshirt from India. You can buy nice Tshirts in Thailand for 200 THB or like upto 400 rupees. They come with you as memoir as well. Trt not to come in heavy boots or heavy leather shoes. The climate does not support those. You might come on light sports shoe or even sandle.

They come with you as memoir as well. Trt not to come in heavy boots or heavy leather shoes. The climate does not support those. You might come on light sports shoe or even sandle.

Laundry:

Washing cloth is not a problem in Thailand. You will see laundry board almost in every street and charges for laundry are around 40 THB per one kg of clothings. You can give every clothing for the laundry from panty to bra strip to underwears and socks.

Renting a bike:

Ask for the group discount or other discounts if you are renting for more number of days. The renting charges depends on the CC of the bike and sometimes brands also. Usually its around 200 THB per day. Look for the dents, scratches, broken lights, on-blinking lights before you hire them. You can also take all around picture of the bike before you hire them for the proof. Most of the times, you need to submit your passport for renting the bike. In a group, just one passport does work. Bike renting shops are very very frequent everywhere in Thailand.

You can also take all around picture of the bike before you hire them for the proof. Most of the times, you need to submit your passport for renting the bike. In a group, just one passport does work. Bike renting shops are very very frequent everywhere in Thailand.

You can also take all around picture of the bike before you hire them for the proof. Most of the times, you need to submit your passport for renting the bike. In a group, just one passport does work. Bike renting shops are very very frequent everywhere in Thailand.

Thai Massage:

Many Indians come to Thailand with a big dream. Be careful about it. Your thai massage could really into rip off sometimes. The dream of ending on the bed might end with blow with the hand, if you know what I mean. If you are really looking for what you came to Thailand for, take a roam around the pubs and bars in the city, you will find your target.

But we also aware that many girl-like looking people could be a boy as well. They look like a girl but they are a male so be careful before chosing someone.Coming over to massage, Thai massage is really very intensive massage.

Coming over to massage, Thai massage is really very intensive massage. Its more like stretching of your body. I preferred oil massage. Its easier and soothing. My advice is to take massage at some professional place. One hour massage should cost around 300-400 THB.

Taxi and transport:

Show your route or tell him the landmark of the place where you want to go. If not, they might rob you off. There is little accent difference. Indians and Thai have different accent. So first make sure before you start the taxi. Always go on meter. Taxi is mostly very costly in Thailand. So try to take tuk tuk or some other transport vehicle like open jeep van etc.

Thai Language:

It feels nice to hear our native language from a foreigner, is not it? For them, its the same. Try to learn a few Thai words in advance like kapun kap mean thank you, pee kap mean excuse me, kap means respect, sabai sabai means easy easy. Always greet with both palms together like we do namaste in India.

Other cultural value:

While Thailand is country of dreams, drinks, clubbing, party on one side, it’s also a country of high cultural value on the other side. So inside a monastery or personal restaurant, act appropriate. Almost everywhere you will asked to take out the footwear before entering inside. Like spa, massage, restaurants, shop etc. So its advisable to roam around in flip flops or chappal.

I am  a very light weight traveller. I always have a pity on people whom I see struggling with lots of luggages. Just because either they were not so calculative or they decided to carry everything from the beginning and did not believe that those items could also be found in Thailand.

Thailand Traveling tips for Indians

Here are the lists of items, I recommend for an indian travelling to Thailand from India:

35 litre backpack:

Most of us, Indians, come to Thailand for around one to two week of vacation. And even if you are coming for longer times, I think a thirty five litre backpack is more than sufficient for you to travel around for even one month.

Sandles/ shoes/ slippers?

Before you decide to chose, you should know about Thailand. You must take out your footwear at almost every shop, restaurants etc. That means if you are wearing a shoe, you will have to do this activity throughout the day. Second thing is Thailand is humid and hot. That means you do not want to wear something all day long which might make your feet stinky. And third and most important is sea beaches. Looking at these conditions, I would say a nice slippers or flip flops or a good light weight sandle is better. There is no actual need of shoe just to wear until the Bangkok airport or your first check in and then keep on lifting your shoes in the bag whereever you go. So avoid shoes.

That means you do not want to wear something all day long which might make your feet stinky. And third and most important is sea beaches. Looking at these conditions, I would say a nice slippers or flip flops or a good light weight sandle is better. There is no actual need of shoe just to wear until the Bangkok airport or your first check in and then keep on lifting your shoes in the bag whereever you go. So avoid shoes.

Jeans/ pant?

If you ask my theory. I just brought two half pants for 15 days. One is of sports material like from Adidas or Reebok, wuick to dry, no smell, light weight. Another is of cotton which looks nice over any kind of shirt. The reasons behind these  half pants are unique. I always used the sports pant to go inside the sea.

Those are quick to dry; they fit over any Tshirt. I used the white cotton pants for restaurants or while driving motorbike or going somewhere.
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Sometimes when I had both of the pants wet, I used my boxer to roam around. But yeah I also brought a jeans for me to roam around in Bangkok market and for shopping. Also if your pants have pockets like six pockets or something, it will easier for you to carry purse and small camera around.

TShirt/ shirt?

I brought two cotton Tshirts. They were light and red in colour. Nothing takes more than 4-5 hours to dry under the strong sun of Thailand. However, you can add one extra Tshirt just in case. And also keep a Nice shirt for traveling from one city to another.

Note: Do not worry about the dirty clothes. In Thailand, you will find laundry services almost in every street. Still you feel, you need more clothes, you can take a look around in the market and buy them.

Knick-knacks/ Toiletries/ Personal stuffs/ Medicines:

When I arrived in Thailand, I faced food indigestion. I do not want you to face the same. So bring some medicines for pain, fever, indigestion, gas, Diahrroea etc. Another thing I would like to bring in your notice is tongue-cleaner, fevi quick, toothpaste, nail clipper and trimmer if you use one. By bringing trimmer and nail clipper, I saved around 1000 Baht i.e. almost 2000 rupees on haircut, manicure and padicure.

Electronics:

If you are planning to bring a laptop, may be in a group you can just bring one laptop. I know we Indians love internet and facebook. You can update the status from anywhere anytime. Because you get wifi in all the hotels and I never saw a power cut in 15 days of my stay until now even in a remote place of Thailand or even on islands.

Note: If you have an underwater camera like Gopro or even a waterproof mobile phone on the tour, you are at an advantageous side. Because on islands like Ko tao or koh phangan, there are lot of marine life to see while snorkling and you are really make good underwater videos and take photos as well. I missed that a lot. And if you know good amount of swimming, you are the perfect Indian to travel to Thailand.

Also, if you carry a small waterproof bag with you to pack your valuable items like purse, camera, mobile phones, passport while you are traveling would be good. It also helps in going nearer to the beach when you leave behind your luggage inside the hotel.

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8 Replies to “Travel to Thailand from India: Tips for Indian tourist & travellers”

  1. Raj

    Hi, thanks for a nice write up and has helped me in getting a perspective about my travel. I just wanted to ask if Indian driving licence is valid in Thailand to drive a car/ bike/ scooter. Are there any special tips if i wish to self drive?
    Thanks

    • trekkerp Post author

      Indian driving license is fine…. No special tips… Indian license is fine. They might keep your passport as a token of guarantee. If you are renting the bikes in a group then only one person’s passport is enough.

  2. bharath

    I am planning to book hotel in koh samui , and when i book from online using my debit card will i be charged conversion rate from bank???

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