Thailand-Getting There, Visa & Formalities

Suvarnabhumi Airport Bangkok

Here goes the account the first of my travels after marriage. The year was 2015. This was the year that I got married. It had been a year and we had not taken a good long vacation after marriage. We had been to a few places in India but this time I wanted to go abroad. Thailand was chosen as it seemed the natural choice for first time foreign travelers due to their great tourism industry.
Then started our research phase which generally lasts for roughly a few months in which we find out every piece of information about the country or place we planning to visit which can be found out without actually visiting the place. Google Maps & Google Street View play and extremely important part in planning.

Getting There:

The best way to get value for for money flight tickets to Bangkok (Thai capital city) is to go to Kolkata and board a flight from there. This worked for me as I live in Allahabad and all metro cities are equally far from here and Allahabad did not have an airport at that time. There are regular flights to Bangkok from Mumbai, Delhi & Bengaluru but they are longer flights and much more expensive. If traveling to Kolkata doesn't work for you, you can board a flight from any of the metro cities.

Coming to the currency, Thai Currency is the Thai Baht (THB) and 1THB is around 1.9-2INR. It is standard currency pair with Indian Rupee so you can find at almost any Forex dealer in the country. I personally use Thomas Cook India for my Forex & Visa services as they charge a low currency conversion rate which is aroun 0.5-5% depending on Currency. I recommend that you buy enough Forex, around 10,000THB person or 20,000THB per family as it is required. Also, you can use your VISA or MasterCard Debit  card at any compatible ATM in Thailand to withdraw Thai Baht directly. But mind you, this ATM transaction will cost you 110Rs+18% GST as usage charges and 3.5% currency conversion charges on the amount withdrawn.
As usual, the documents required to buy Forex are

• a copy of your return tickets
• your Passport
• & PAN card(if you buy more than 50,000INR worth of Forex).

Once you do board a flight to Bangkok and land safely, I recommend that you get a Visa on arrival at the Suvarnabhumi Airport. It is simple process provided you are aware of it and all the documents that are required.
Requirements for Thai Visa on Arrival:

• Cash 10,000 THB per person/20,000THB per Family
• Bank Statement for last 6 Months (May or may not be required)
• Return Tickets
• Passport valid for at least 6 months
• 2000 THB VISA fees in cash.
• 2 Passport size photographs (3x5cm)

 The process of Visa on arrival is simple and you have to take a form from the counter, fill it up, and get in the Que. They shall take your passport, all original documents and 2000THb fees and shall give you2 copies of a receipt and a token no and then you have to wait for your turn in the waiting area. Once your turn arrives they will hand you your passport and a file with your documents and then you proceed to the immigration officer. The officer checks your documents ask for a copy of the receipt and you finally have your Visa for 15days stamped on your passport.

Survarnabhumi Airport Arrival

Please take both originals and photocopies of all your documents and once you get there taking a photocopy or a passport size photograph may cost you a bomb. After you clear immigration and customs and pass through the duty free section, you will get to the arrival hall. And as always I recommend that the moment you reach the arrival hall, you start looking out for a shop selling tourist SIM cards.

Tourist SIM cards in Thailand were the cheapest than any other country that I have traveled to. I recommend you head to the dtac counter in the arrival hall and ask for the Happy Tourist SIM card. It is valid or 8 days, has 3GB 4G data FUP. In Thailand 4G coverage was great even back in 2015 when there was barely 3G in India. I has a Galaxy Note 4 in those days and I found out it dies support 4G after reaching Thailand. It took 2-3 more years to get that quality of 4G back here in India. You will get full 4G coverage even on the remotest Thai islands. Trust me, it is awesome to post on social media from remote Thai island if are that kind of a connected person.







Now, for stay I always prefer a chain like hotel like Holiday Inn, Ibis or Best Western are you are sure of the quality of service. In Thailand, Holiday Inn has the best of locations so I would prefer that. And for transportation, never use the local taxi operators. Book a shared airport transfer from a website like Klook.com or isango.com for about 500-600INR. For local transportation within the city, just take a Tuk-Tuk and enjoy the vibes.



For more Travel logs on Thailand, Bangkok, Phuket & Krabi stay tuned.