So you’re thinking of going to Thailand and want the low down?  You are in for a rare treat to be able to experience the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of this exotic culture first hand.  Whether for business or pleasure, long stay or short visit, you will not want to leave Thailand when the time comes.  You will have memories for a lifetime and will always have a longing to return.

The most prevalent language spoken in Thailand is Thai.  This is another of the tonal languages from which many other languages of adjoining areas have been derived.  Just as the English language has many variations (dialects), so has the Thai language.

Written Thai is based on an alphabet adopted from the Cambodian Khmers and is thought to have been standardized during the Sukhothai period.  The Thai alphabet consists of 44 consonants, 18 vowels, and 4 diphthong (tonal) notations.

The differences often are word usages, pronunciation, intonation and/or enunciation.  The Lao, Isan, Cambodian and Khmer languages have much in common so when you learn Thai, you will be able to easily adapt to other dialects and many other Asiatic languages. Because of the differences in the alphabet, Thai will be a different learning experience, but definitely worth the time and effort.

Though many Thai natives speak English and many visitors manage well without speaking Thai, it is so much more enjoyable if you learn (at a minimum) some basic Thai before going.  For one thing, you can understand what the natives are saying (about you?) and that can be very helpful sometimes, especially in an uncomfortable situation.  You will be able to explore and shop on your own without the cost and bother of a guide.  And besides, you will be the visitor – it is only reasonable that you try to speak their language as a courtesy to them.  Even if you don’t do it well, they will appreciate your efforts and show you respect in return.

You might be apprehensive about trying to learn a new language, or think it is too expensive, or too time consuming.  But surprisingly enough, learning a language has become much easier over the past few years. This is due mainly to the internet and interactive learning. As speed learning has increased, cost has decreased so now you can go online an hour or so a night (at minimal cost) and before you know it you will be speaking like a native. If you’re unsure if this is the right way for you to learn a new language, not to worry. Transparent language offers free language software for you to download! Give it a whirl, and see if it’s right for you.

There are other reasons for learning a new language as well.  Think about the following points:

Brain Stimulation and Life Skills Improvement:

The brain is stimulated by learning a new language and cognitive/life skills are increased as well.  The old phrase “Use It or Lose It” is actually true when it comes to brain power.  As we age we must constantly challenge our brain with new thoughts and activities.  And this challenge has to begin early in life and continue as we age.

Simplify Your Life:

Learning the language of your host country makes your day to day life much easier.  You will not need a guide everywhere you go, you will be able to avoid the hassles of shopping for the best buys, you will be able to merge into the ebb and flow of native life without feeling like a stand-out, and you will become a part of the local landscape.  Imagine yourself in the crowd at an impromptu performance of native theater or dancing – you won’t have to wonder what the narrator is saying or when to applaud/cry/cheer, etc.  You will have an enhanced appreciation of everything Thai.

Communicate Directly With The Locals:

You will be able to learn first hand the Thai culture, habits, values and religion if you speak with them in their own language.  You will be able to better appreciate their attitudes and attributes.  You will be able to explain your own position on issues; remember what the people think of you is what they will think of all people of your country.

Improve Business Possibilities:

If you can speak the language, business can be transacted faster and without all the bother of translators. Business will increase and be more profitable when you are able to negotiate on your own, face to face.

Be Appreciated By The Locals:

Native people will appreciate the fact that you have made the effort to learn their language.  Whether you have mastered it or not, the effort you made to try will be noticed as it means you have a respect for the Thai people. Respect is very important to the Thai, both in public and in private life. If you respect them, they will respect you.

In conclusion, you are going to have a wonderful visit to Thailand.  Their relatively conservative values, their love of family, their exotic music and colors, their tolerance of religions, their industrious nature and their partiality to the tourism industry will all impress you. You will want to return again and again.  Your knowledge of their language will indeed serve you well and will have been worth the time it took to learn it.

1. I Have Forgotten About Time

Somehow I manage to run an online business, but half of the time (okay, maybe 75% or more), I have no clue what day it is or what time it is. My personal assistant, who lives in the Philippines, is constantly reminding me what day it is and what needs to be done. Time is just a dimension that isn’t quite as substantial here, and for me that works (albeit, it doesn’t exactly work for everyone I do business with).

I eat when I’m hungry. I eat when I’m tired. I go when I want to go. And that’s oh so Thai.

2. My Need for Solitude Nearly Vanished

I’ve always been an extreme independent. I always had lots of friends, but I was the kind of person who really needed to get my alone time, where I would read books, write, or just reflect on life. That part of me still exists a little bit, and I’d like to cultivate it more again, but in many ways I’ve finally become used to always having people at my side.

Like many of the Thais, everywhere I go I am with my friends until I make my way to my room at night, and I imagine it will take some getting used to the silence again.

3. You’d Have to Try to Run Me Over With a Car to Upset Me

Actually, come to think of it, I’ve been hit by a car twice on my motorbike and neither time did I get angry, so I suppose you’d have to intend to run me over with a car to upset me.

It’s really hard for me to get irritated or mad now. Minor inconveniences, like my internet going down for a day or the shop being a few days late on the promised date for a fixed motorbike, would be HIGHLY unlikely to shake me. I’ve really taken to the “mai bpen rai” attitude of the Thais, and although this cultural trait has at times been accused of being the reason many social injustices are allowed to go on, I feel it is an improvement in my case.

I still stand up for my beliefs when the time is right, but the things I cannot change are unlikely to upset my day.

4. I’m No Longer as Ambitious About Travel

Interestingly enough, my wanderlust has largely faded. This has been the biggest shock of all. I’ve always been the type who wanted to see as many countries and beautiful places on this planet as possible. Now, I have to scrape up the ambition to even leave town. It’s an odd feeling for someone who always felt they needed to leave when they were back home—always restless—but I can’t help feel it’s just out of sheer comfort.

I still plan to see many other places, and I’m hoping getting some miles under my feet will reawaken my thirst for travel—because there are certainly many places in this world well worth seeing. But here in Thailand it’s as if I’m in my own little bubble.

Time still ticks out there in the rest of the world. History continues to unfold and my family and friends go on living life without me. It’s not necessarily a good thing, but I’ve reached a point in my life where that’s out there and this is here…this is my life.

Such is Thailand, I suppose.

This might be for a few innocent days, which is not the end of the world, but in the case of longer-term expats, it may end up becoming months or even years.

In the case of just a few days, you can usually settle up on your visa by going to the immigration office in whatever city you live in and paying a small fine—I believe it is about 500 baht per day. In fact, an even better idea is to get over there before your visa expires and pay for a one week extension. The fine will buy you a few days to get to the board and get a proper visa renewal—and
no problems.

Even the long-term overstays can just show up at the airport when they are ready to go, with a ticket in hand. In these cases, the ultimate maximum fine they can be subjected to is 20,000 baht—which for many people is worth just overstaying rather than constantly going on visa runs. In the great majority of cases, they have no problems just paying the fine, getting on the plane, and leaving the country.

But if the immigration officer is having a bad day, it can be worse. They have the right to arrest you and force you to go before a court, which means a couple days in jail. Even then, you will likely be forced to pay only 20,000 baht, but be aware that in these long over-stay cases, another option within the law is 2 years in jail.

This very rarely happens, and for that reason, many foreigners choose not to renew their visa and gladly pay their fine on the way out.

But the problem arises if you get stopped by the police before you turn yourself in and get busted for having an expired visa without turning yourself in. In these scenarios, even if it’s just a day or two, you will most likely be arrested, deported back to your home country, and it is possible to even be blacklisted—though this isn’t likely to happen for such a small overstay.

To make matters worse, and this isn’t confirmed yet, recent reports have surfaced of immigration announcing that the policy has changed and that anyone overstaying 42 days or more will not be let onto the plane when leaving. Rather, they will be put in jail and made to see a judge to have their case considered.

This announcement has caused an uproar online and many are saying a month warning would have given for over-stayers a chance to get out of the country due to the new policy. Now, other reports are now saying the first report was false to begin with. The matter has still not been cleared up as of writing this article.

So why have I mentioned it here at all?

The reason is that I want you to be aware of the danger of taking advantage of loopholes in countries you don’t necessarily understand. The best policy is to stay current on your visa at all times.

In fact, make sure you renew EARLY every time, and here’s a tip, set your date calendar in your cell phone so that you get reminded. Don’t have a cell phone while traveling? Use a Gmail account as your email and you can use Google Calendars to have an email sent warning you in advance.

If anything else, just watch the date like a hawk and don’t put yourself at risk.

You’ve been warned, and I’ll post in the comments when I get to the bottom of the truth with the recent overstay situation.

UPDATE: Before I even had the chance to post this, it was announced by one member on a forum that he left Thailand after the initial report that started the scare mentioned above. With a 7 month overstay, he was not only allowed to leave by simply paying a fine but came back that same evening and was stamped back in. I’m leaving the article as is to stress once again–because of the possible volatility of the situation, DO NOT ever overstay your visa.

But just getting on the road is not always enough—sometimes we have to think about the way we are going to travel before we actually go—because if we do not, we risk making big backpacker blunders that rob us of experience, even if we never realize our mistake.

Since I love preaching to other travelers and pretending I’ve got it all figured out, let me slap you with a few of these now and save you the trouble.

1. Sticking to Tourist Centers

Easily, the biggest travel mistake I see newbie travelers, backpackers and tourists alike, is not getting out of the tourist ghettos. This is such an obvious experiential blunder, it hardly needs explaining. While these places can be fun and they offer a taste of a country that is evolving—after all, the realities caused by a tourist industry are no less reality—it is a shame to stay in a country and never get out to see what truly makes it different.

2. “Marrying” Yourself With Other Backpackers

In a similar fashion, many who brave out into unexplored territories drag a group of like-minded backpackers with them. That’s great you’re getting out into the thick of it, and a lot of backpackers are amazing people that are well worth knowing, but when you travel with a group of other foreigners—no matter how adventurous and enlightened—your experience is somewhat soiled.

Not only are you distracted from true appreciation of the experience by the vibe in your group, but you are much more likely to cling to the perspective, attitudes and behaviors of your home cultures. You won’t mingle as much with people from the country you’re visiting, and often, even if you do, they will be intimidated by the rapport and boisterous aura of the group.

Going it alone or in a pair can be the best decision when traveling, even if only on occasion.

3. Party, Party, Party

If you read any of my posts, you’ve probably picked up the idea that I like to savor the flavor of all kinds of alcohols when abroad (or at home for that matter) and embrace partying as a reality of intercultural communication. That said, it’s easy to get caught up in the party mode to a point where it becomes unhealthy very quickly, especially if spending a long time on the road.

Every country and city has it’s party scene and most have a lot to offer. Pace yourself, learn when it’s time too mellow out, and never forget that the world is rich with experiences that don’t need a good buzz to enjoy.

4. Shying Away from Local Cuisines

This is another common mistake I see that I’m probably less patient with than I should be, and while most of us at least try a dish or two, many backpackers cling to Western food establishments and avoid anything strange like it’s going to kill them (most times it won’t). In my own opinion, exotic foods are one of the best things about a new country, but even if you don’t share that perspective, you must admit that cruising to Thailand to eat hamburgers that are half as good as back home doesn’t make much sense.

You’re here for new experiences—the worst thing you can do is shy away from just that.

5. Moving Too Quickly

Finally, a horrible sin I see from the vast majority of the travel circuit is the smorgasbord trip—where they try to sample as many countries as they can in one month. Bad move. I did this myself on my very first trip to Europe, and I got home feeling like I needed to sleep for a month. Many cities I only saw for a day or two—just long enough to get a room, figure out where the restaurants were, and maybe spend a day cramming local sights that weren’t too far away.

Consider, instead, to travel like Tim Ferris in the Four Hour Workweek. Pick one location for a month or even up to a year. Get a part-time job, work online, volunteer, or study. Really get to know the place—the language, the sights, the culture, the food. Trust me, you will likely get more out of 6 months in one location than any trigger-happy traveler could get from a year traveling the world.

Any seasoned backpacker will tell you the same thing; pick a few key places and focus on them. This is advice that is well worth taking to heart. There are so many factors that you just don’t think about, or just wouldn’t know about until you have actually gone backpacking. Here’s a few things to deeply consider before you pick how many places you will be visiting.

1.Transportation- You may have everything strategically planned out, but things don’t always go as planned. Maybe it’s just my bad luck but about half of the flights I book end up being delayed in some way, or weather prevents things from going as planned. In some cases this might tack on an extra day to your travel time. Availability can be another hurdle. If you are taking boats, trains, or buses there will be times when they are booked up and you just can’t get on on your desired dates. This often leads to another extra day to your travel time. I’d say adding an extra day of transportation hiccups per week would be realistic. On a 6 week trip that would be nearly an extra week that you should allocate just for bumps in the road.

2.Lost luggage- Every travellers nightmare with this one. You get to point B an your bags are not there. I will tell you from experience this does not just happen on air travel. I have had bags lost while taking ferries and minibuses as well. Now if you weren’t planning to be in point B for more than a day or two before you move on then you can expect that there may be times when you will just have to wait till your luggage arrives. This happens with the most reputable of companies, and most don’t guarantee that all your shit will end up where you are. Just look at the lost baggage disclaimers. I once had my bags left on an island that I was leaving from and ended up having to travel all the way back to get it. Not a huge problem, unless there is only one ferry per day. That set me back a full day.

3.Falling in Love/Too much to see- Although you may have good intentions about spreading your time evenly throughout these equally deserving cities the truth is you just might end up loving one more than the other. It happens all the time, you get to a place that you just seem to click with, meet a great bunch of people and become attached. Now you’ve decided to cut out a couple cities completely. Once this happens you realize you are willing to sacrifice quantity of locations for higher quality experiences. On the flip side some cities just simply have more things to see. There may be more attractions and activities, or be a lot more highlights to check out in surrounding areas.

4.Unexpected illness- Bacteria, viruses, food born illnesses do not realize that you are on vacation and you have a timeline to adhere to. Unfortunate, but people get sick, that’s life. And it may slow your life down a day or two.

5.Theft/Loss of items- We all try to be careful and cautious while traveling but criminals have a way of getting around this. Petty theft and pickpocketing is a problem no matter where you go. If it’s the case where you lost your passport this can be a huge set back. Usually you can get an emergency temporary passport issues, but in some cases it may take weeks to replace it.

6.Have a drink on me- Even if you’re not a big drinker you gotta understand that getting sauced is a huge part of the backpacking culture and chances are you will be partaking in the night to night festivities. There will be times when you plan to go and have a big night on the town, and there will also be times that it just creeps up on you. A couple drinks in the afternoon with lunch turns into a marathon. Result, a unrelenting hangover that destroys your ability to function the next day. Now if that next day happens to be a day you were supposed to be in transit,  it might just cost you another day.

Your best option is to choose a few places that are at the top of your list and stick with those. If you have some extra time to explore a few other cities then great, but don’t get your heart set on doing everything in one shot. I would suggest a week at each major city. Personally I don’t like to go to any country for less than a month, but if you have a shorter time frame a week at each major destination should do the trick.

That said, I love that kind of thing—which is why I should probably pack my bags and head back to America before I get myself seriously hurt. Well, that’s not really my style, so here’s 5 favorite Thailand experiences in case you decide you want to push the envelope too.

1. Driving a Tuk Tuk

Ah, the tuk tuk. Everyone loves a creaking, exhaust-spewing, noise-polluting tuk tuk. But how many visiting foreigners have actually driven one?

Well, I’m just gonna come out and brag and say I’ve driven two. The first was a drunken night in Bangkok, where a trusting tuk tuk driver agreed to let me drive his tuk tuk down the last street on the way to the bar. Let’s just say that he and the crowd standing outside looked pretty relieved when I climbed out of the driver’s seat.

My second tuk tuk experience was more like driving a big Hog with a wagon attached to it. A fellow traveler from Canada and I were making our way to the Laos border one morning when I got the driver to agree to this one, and I spent 20 minutes driving this bad machine across town. I almost killed us at one particular stoplight, but hey, who’s keeping track, right?

2. Driving a Longtail Boat

You want to see a crowd of conservative Thais pretend they’re not about to have a heart attack? Put a farang in the driver’s seat of their longtail boat on the way back from their peaceful lake holiday. I’ll tell you one thing, the longtail boat is not the most stable contraption on Earth—it’s a good thing the driver was sitting there giving me hell every time I started getting ambitious with the throttle or who knows what would have happened that day.

3. Sleeping on Top of a Boat

This was a pretty low key one compared to the rest. I took an overnight boat from Koh Tao to the mainland once and instead of staying down in my bed with all the other tourists, I climbed up top and sat by myself on the top of the boat. Watched the stars and look out over the moonlit water.

After a while, the Burmese boat workers came up and joined me—I guess I was sitting in their bedroom—nd they gave me a blanket. They didn’t speak much Thai—and no English either—but we managed some laughs before I crashed out.

4. Driving With 3 People on a Motorbike

Three people on a motorbike. There’s nothing like it. You’ll see families of Thai people driving like this all the time—you’ve got a dog, a wife, a husband, and a kid or two. Then someone’s holding a baby and the driver is on a cell phone. Haven’t tried that one yet, but I have been through a few motorbike-pool (as opposed to carpool) experiences in my time. Interesting to say the least.

5. Getting a Ride on a Motorbike Taxi in Bangkok

Finally, I recommend the motorbike taxis in Bangkok for a real thrill. Not only is it the fastest mission across town in that deadlocked grid they call streets, but it’s an amusement ride in its’ own right. Prepare to see some flashes from your life en route. For some, it’s a one-time-only kind of thing, but you gotta at least do it that once.

So that’s some of my experiences defying death in Thailand. Not for every Western stomach, but for me it’s been nothing but fun. Just to be sure, if you try any of these, you’re putting your life at risk, so you’re on your own there. That means I’ll sleep just fine if you don’t make it, knowing I told you so. So you can try it all you want, but take responsibility of your own decisions, folks.

Carpe diem.

For those who are struggling to live in Thailand without a retirement visa, things may have just gotten a little bit more difficult. People like us, with no business or wife or job in Thailand, had a good thing going called the back to back tourist visa. I explained this in my last post about visas.

Basically, you’d get a two month double entry visa and use a couple one month extensions to turn it into six months in paradise. Please see the original post for more details on how this worked.

Before, Thai embassies, especially the embassy in Vientiane, were allowing people to keep getting this same “tourist” visa. People have been living here for years simply by going back to Vientiane and getting a new visa again and again.

Suddenly, a wrench has been thrown in that carnival ride.

Thai embassies and consulates issued a statement in September of this year (2009) stating that they were going to get a lot more strict about enforcing the rules against back to back visas because they claim people are illegally working in Thailand and using the Thai tourist visa to do it.

And rightly so—that’s exactly what people are doing.

Not everyone qualifies for a resident visa, and this is their way of getting around the law.

So now people who are applying for the tourist visa are facing much more scrutiny. The point is to find out what their real motives are for being here, and 8 or 9 consecutive tourist visas is a pretty good indication that they’re not just passing through.

While it still seems a bit vague as to what qualifies as too many back to back tourist visas, embassy officials are now using a red stamp in the passport, which basically says the applicant has stayed too many times on a back to back tourist visa and that next time their application must be refused.

Please note that this is not an all-out rejection as first implied would happen by Immigration Bureau. Rather, it is a simple red stamp that directs no more back to back visas to be issued. It is also important to note this is more than fair warning to the traveler, who would then have 6 months to figure something else out.

But even if the red stamp warning is more than fair enough, I’m still not too happy about this change at all. It really doesn’t make sense to me why Thai officials would make it harder to stay here. I understand they want their laws to be followed and they want money to be taxed if people live in Thailand, but if they don’t have a realistic way for this to happen, as in easier ways to get a resident or working visa, then long-term travelers are simply going to find a new paradise to live in where they are more welcome. In the end, Thailand loses.

With the political tensions, more concerns about personal safety in Thailand, and continue increases in the barriers to living here, it seems like they seem set on making it difficult to stay, even though the expat population, legal or illegal, forms a significant chunk of economic activity. Thailand needs more money coming in right now, and I don’t think the answer is to push people away.

Well—enough whining. It’s their country, after all, and this is part of international living. What does it mean to you?

Well, if you are here for less than 6 months or even less than a year—probably nothing. And even us long-term expats can find ways around this.

You could always marry a Thai—that seems to be all the rave these days.

But if you’re not quite ready to make a lifelong vow with a woman you just met at the local pub for a piece of paper that lets you stay in Thailand, all hope is not lost. The most obvious loophole at the moment is the Education visa. Enroll in a couple classes at the university—particularly language classes—and you simply have to check in with Immigration every 3 months and do a visa run once a year.

The good thing about this is that it is actually a better option than the old visa a run scenario. Another benefit is that it might produce a lot more expats who speak the language—that’s something this country really could use. A lot of expats already use this loophole by signing up for classes and never attending, which does make me worry about this change ruining the opportunities for language study.

I recently signed up for Thai classes myself, simply because I actually want to learn, and it would be a shame to see officials make it more difficult to do that once people start taking more advantage of the loophole.

Honestly, I don’t see this new change lasting long, but I’m no expert—that’s really just my uneducated speculation. I think it is in Thailand’s best interests to think up a different solution. But until then, us perpetual travelers do what we can to keep the dream alive. And there’s always another uncovered loophole to find.

It’s not over yet; I’m willing to bet on it.

Motorcycles are free like no package tour could be, and this form of transportation offers a unique way to see the beautiful country of Thailand. The wind in your hair, coastal palm trees swaying in the breeze, and rice paddies stretching into the distance—no matter what region of the country you are touring, soaking it all up from your motorcycle is breathtaking! Visiting remote villages, especially, without the burn of hiking for days, is life at its best! Motorcycles can truly be the best way to see the seldom touched parts of Thailand.

In most cities, a motorbike runs about 150-250 baht per day or 2000 baht per month. What’s even better is that a license is absolutely unnecessary, especially for a short-term stay. Even if the police catch you with no helmet, no license, and no insurance, they send you to the police station to pay a measly fine of 300 baht and then let you ride off on your bike just as illegal as they found you!

In most cases you can settle it then and there by slipping them about half the fine amount. Sure, it is due to corruption when you get down to the root of it, but it’s a hard temptation to pass up when the alternative is a visit to the police station in a country with languages and customs you don’t understand.

There are a few concerns to keep in mind when you choose motorcycles as your transportation mode of choice. For one, there are many shops who try to extort foreigners out of cash, and most are getting away with it. Many foreigners have found out that their bike was less than well running only to return it and be charged hundreds of US dollars for supposed damage that was already there.

Usually, when you rent a motorbike in Thailand, your passport is your guarantee, but I advise you to find any way around this that you can manage. Sometimes you can say you don’t have your passport for visa purposes or any other reason, and just give them a copy of your passport instead of the real thing. In other cases, I’ve left them 5000 baht.

Now, this isn’t going to save you if you go back and they are trying to charge you something you didn’t pay for—but at least you know they don’t have the fact that they’ve got your treasured passport hanging over your head.

The best thing to do is fully inspect the bike when you go to pick it up. Look for and note any noticeable damages or malfunctioning equipment. Write it on a list and have you and the operator sign it—or even consider taking some photographs. This gives you a lot of leeway if something happens, and you can always contact the authorities if they are obviously in the wrong.

Another way to avoid getting ripped by a motorbike scam is simply to pop into an obvious expat hangout and ask for a referral. The long-term guys keep close tabs on who can be trusted and who can’t—and they love divulging their expat wisdom on naïve travelers.

Use this resource for what its worth, even if it means an hour of listening to different versions of the same stories you heard in the last town you passed through. These guys will have a lot of great advice for you.

Another thing to keep in mind when renting a motorbike in Thailand is your own safety. More visitors die in Thailand on motorcycles than any other cause of death. The roads are dangerous, the traffic is chaos, and the tourists are often drunk. Mix that in with stray dogs like nowhere you’ve ever seen, patches of sand along the coasts, inexperienced riders, and frequent rains—you’ve got a recipe for disaster upon disaster.

I’ve been hit by a vehicle twice on my motorbike in Thailand—one a head-on collision and the other being t-boned by a truck. Don’t ask me how I walked away from those accidents—and I’m still out there driving like an idiot—but I do realize not everyone gets so lucky.

Consider taking a motorcycle safety course before you come to Thailand if you don’t have a lot of experience. Who knows—you might even want to keep riding after you return from vacation. The motorcycle safety courses in the States are typically high quality info that will save your life, and even experience riders who take them for some driving infraction say they learn things in the course they never figured out on their own.

And as tempting as it is—please DO NOT drink and ride a motorcycle. This is obviously far more dangerous than drinking and driving in a car, and it has been proven that your driving suffers far more from even one drink when on a bike.

Thailand is like a modern wild west in some ways, and you get this feeling of freedom here. The cops aren’t even enforcing the drunk driving rules, and everyone seems to be taking their bikes to the bar. A bad habit to get into! Get the tuk tuk and lock your bike up. It’s worth it!

Otherwise you can be one of the hundreds of foreigners who wake up in hospitals or dead. Not a good end to your vacation.

I also recommend spending the extra money for insurance, just in
case anything goes wrong. Traffic accidents are extremely frequent here. You can minimize the risk of injury by driving
slow—traffic is typically slow-paced anyhow—but a solid impact can really wrack up some fees when you bring the bike back.

Also, theft can be a problem, and many bike shops have insurance that covers this as well. It’s only about 50 baht more, and its worth it. I’ve had my motorbike stolen before and had to come up with 30,000 baht to pay for a new one. Not pleasant. At the very least, get a chain and lock your bike up at night when you’re not there to keep an eye on it.

There is so much to do and see all across this beautiful nation, and there is nothing like a motorcycle to set you free to explore. Find out new adventures for yourself from remote villages to Buddhist forest monasteries to beautiful hot springs to out-of-this-world waterfalls. Your adventures are just beginning! Just be sure to always fill your tank, otherwise you can join the many coasters and pushers searching for the local whisky bottle of fuel.

And remember to keep your legs away from the exhaust, but of course this is how you can become more Thai, with a real Thai Tattoo!

Be safe—but let the good times roll!

The best thing you can do to secure your stay in this country is to get a visa before you even leave your home country. If you are going to be here for a while, plan ahead. Consider taking language classes or enrolling some other kind of school so you take advantage of the freedom of an education visa.

Because what happens is people come here without having a proper visa and then they have to run to the border on a regular basis getting their passport stamped. What is even worse news is that while 30 day entries are given when flying in, Thailand no longer gives the 30 day entry at their land crossings—now they give only 15 days and if you’re not leaving by that point or change your mind at the last minute, it’s a quick dash back out of the country to get your paperwork sorted.

What’s the answer? Thai consulates outside the country. The best one to go to is Vientiane. The capital of Laos, Vientiane is perhaps the smallest capital city I have ever been to, and on my last trip, I had a drunken walk with a Swedish friend down the middle of one of the main streets on our way to another pub. Try that in Washington D.C.

Trips to Vientiane can be a nice break from chaotic Thailand, and if like me you never eat farang food, this is the place to catch up on your Italian style pizza and pasta as well as other culinary delights. Vientiane has a strong French colonial influence, and the Western food is probably the best I’ve had in Thailand. Not to mention the cheap Beer Lao!

What makes Vientiane the ideal place is they are giving out visas like its going out of style. Thai law says you can only stay for 90 consecutive days at one time, but the Laos embassy doesn’t seem to have caught wind of this rule. The best way to do it is ask for a 2 month double-entry visa. By playing the ropes correctly, 2 months can become six. Here is how it works.

Live out the first 2 months of your double-entry visa playing your usual Thailand games. At the end of the first 2 months, you need to go to the Thai embassy in the closest city and apply for a one month extension. After that is up, you will have to go to the border, but it isn’t the 2 or 3 day affair of going to a Thai consulate, it is that old school dash to a border entry, whether it be Cambodia, Myanmar, or Burma. Just step across the border and then step back into Thailand.

At that point, your second 2 month stay has begun. After 2 more months, extend again for a month, and then your six months are spent. This is the best way to do it unless you are eligible for a non immigrant visa, a work visa, or an education visa. For most of us, those don’t apply.

Sure, it’s a headache, even on the six month plan. Visa fees add up, and even though right now they are free at Thai consulates until December 2010, the expense of heading out to Vientiane can really add up. But if the other visas don’t apply to you, unless you know the right person to slip an envelope of money to it’s yet another necessary burden when living or staying long-term in Thailand.

It’s fairly easy to arrange a trip to the border. Do some online research if you want to attempt to make the trip on your own—the cheapest way is by train or public bus. But there are also hoards of travel agencies sprinkled throughout the tourist destinations that are sending out comfortable buses and vans on a daily basis.

If you are in northern Thailand, have a look at www.chiangmaivisarun.com, a company who is breaking out the concept of the luxury visa run, a streamline trip in a comfortable van complete with English speaking guides, a flat screen TV playing movies, and cold refreshments served on the way.

The longer you stay, the more this process becomes second nature, and sometimes its easy to get too comfortable in Thailand and never even leave the city limits—it’s a hypnotic lifestyle—so the obligation to get off your butt and go somewhere else can be a welcome break from routine.

Take advantage of it. Go tour Angkor Wat. Go rock-climbing in Laos. Go scuba-diving in Malaysia. You’re not just in Thailand—you’re in Southeast Asia, and there is no limit to the amazing things to see and do.

Bangkok Taxi Cabs are Easy to Use

Taxicabs are ubiquitous in Bangkok and readily recognizable by their bright colors. Rarely all yellow like their Western counterparts, Thai cabs are usually red and blue or green and yellow. Almost all cabs in the city use meters, however you may on occasion come across someone charging a flat rate. If you decide to ride without a meter be sure to determine the cost before getting in. Also try to carry small bills on you, as making change can sometimes be difficult. Not all cab drivers speak English so be sure to know where you’re going or have the destination written down in Thai for you.

Thailand’s Tuk-tuks – An Exciting Ride

Tuk-tuks are open aired three wheeled motorized vehicles that can fit roughly three people in its back. They are sometimes faster than taxicabs as they weave in and out of traffic to get ahead. Tuk-tuks do not have meters so you must decide on the price before getting in. Bargaining is encouraged, as drivers will often name a high price to start off with. Tuk-tuks are popular among tourists and locals but are best used for short rides.

Motorcycle Taxis For Quick Transportation

Groups of motorcycle taxi drivers can often be seen on street corners waiting for a fare. They can be found at the entrances to long sois – the small roads branching off a main road – or near department stores and Skytrain stations. Mainly used by locals, they are fast and cheap to use. Again, make sure to determine the fare ahead of time. If you’re a woman, consider riding like a local – sidesaddle with both legs demurely onto one side.

Travel About on the Skytrain and Subway

Bangkok’s Skytrain and subway are clean, efficient, and modern. The Skytrain has been in operation since 1999 and is excellent for traveling around downtown Bangkok. There are stops to Siam Square, Chatuchak, Lumpini Park, and the Saphan Taksin bridge just to name a few. Using the Skytrain and subway is easy for visitors as the maps at the stations are in English. The maps will say how much the fare is and tickets can be bought from vending machines at the station. The vending machines only take coins – if you find you need to trade in your bills there is an attendant at the station booth to help.

Traveling Around Bangkok by River

Bangkok was once called the “Venice of the East” because of the many canals winding through the city. Before highways and traffic jams, boats were a major form of transportation and are still used to a lesser extant today. Many of the pickup points within the city are unmarked and hard to find, but a visitor can still get a taste of Bangkok’s boat transportation by visiting a pier along the Chao Phraya River. The easiest one to get to is near the Saphan Taksin Skytrain station.