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In this article, we will list several moving companies for sending your goods to Thailand or Vietnam (if you are moving there) or from Thailand or Vietnam (if you are planning to leave the country).
Also, via the form below you will be able to get up to 5 free quotes from trusted moving companies chosen by our moving service partner.
In Thailand, as in Asia in general, it’s very easy to find counterfeits of name brand products. The largest Thai fake markets are in Bangkok, but you can find smaller ones in other cities like Pattaya, Phuket, and Chiang Mai.
Before starting, note that importing “fake” products protected by a trademark can be considered a crime, so only do so after evaluating the pros and cons at your own risk.
For a detailed explanation on the most famous shopping malls and markets in Bangkok, and how to get there, click here.
The choice of markets in the capital is quite varied, with the foremost being Chatuchak Market.
Also called the JJ Market, Chatuchak is one of the largest markets of all Southeast Asia. One of its distinctions is in its hours of operation: only Saturday and Sunday, from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Some of its parts, such as those dedicated to plants and flowers, are also open on Wednesday and Friday, with the same hours of operation on the weekend. Friday instead hosts an extraordinary opening of areas dedicated to bulk sales. [Read more…]
Traveling by bus in Thailand is very convenient, both in terms of savings and comfort. Bangkok represents the country’s major transportation center; in fact, from the capital it is possible to reach practically every city in Thailand, and even cities in neighboring countries, such as Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, and even Malaysia.
Besides cheap prices and excellent connections, traveling by bus in Thailand is a relatively comfortable experience. The vehicles used by various transportation companies are almost all new and equipped with every comfort.
Their are daily buses that offer services such as television, some snacks, and a few even have Wifi connections. Night buses will welcome you with reclining seats, covers and the classic midnight snack!
Buying tickets is simple and intuitive. You can show up in person at various bus stations, or buy them online and show your ticket directly from your smartphone. There are many websites where you can buy tickets and are often run by specific companies. [Read more…]
If you are going to travel to Southeast Asia need one or multiple visas, in this article, you will find some of the best agencies for applying for your visa easily and without worrying.
If you are traveling to Thailand for tourism, you don’t need a visa, depending on your country of origin, for stays less than 14, 30 or 90 days:
In this article I will talk about 8 of the most common scams going on in Thailand and how you can avoid them simply by being smart:
The most well-known scam, especially in Bangkok, undoubtedly has to do with Thailand’s notorious taxi drivers. Nobody is spared from this scam; whether you’re a tourist on your first vacation in Thailand or an expat who’s lived in the Kingdom of Siam for years, the battle against the taxi drivers will inevitably become part of your daily life.
As soon as you exit Suvarnabhumi Airport you’ll see many taxis waiting for travelers who have just landed looking to go into the city. There are two types of taxis that you’ll see – those with a regular license and those that are unauthorized. [Read more…]
This article is a complete guide with all the information necessary for you to enjoy your trip to Thailand.
In order to legally drive in Thailand, you need to have an international license recognized by the Geneva Convention of 1949, or convert your home country’s license so that you can drive in Thailand.
In fact, according to local laws, no foreign license can be recognized as a legal document in the Thai state, and driving with a foreign license is prohibited.
If you have already been to Thailand you probably know that most of the time when a local policeman stops a car or scooter driven by a local with a foreign license (not an international one!), they’re rarely given a ticket for not having an international or Thai license.
The same thing happens when you rent a scooter: you’ll almost never be required to show your license, and the few times that you are, they’ll even accept those from your home country.
This though doesn’t mean that it is recommended to drive with a foreign license, because if you get into an accident and don’t have an international or Thai license, your insurance won’t shell out a penny.
At this point, if you don’t have the money to cover the expenses, they might even throw you into jail.
Today I will explain how and where to book a hotel in Thailand. Note that if you’d like to book a hotel – or hostel – in a specific place, you can skip right to the last section of this article.
Despite the fact that there are lots of online portals for booking a hotel in the Land of Smiles, in my opinion the best are Agoda and Booking. [Read more…]
Deciding on the place that would become your new home in Thailand is an important and personal choice that can vary widely depending on many aspects such as age, the reason for moving, your budget, your monthly income and so on.
Nevertheless, to decide on a final destination, there are some questions that anyone who is planning on living in Thailand should consider before leaving:
What is the reason for your move? Are you looking to establish Thailand as your base of operations for traveling through Southeast Asia, or are you looking to work in the Land of Smiles?
Another still is: have you chosen this country as a retirement destination or do you still not have a well-defined plan and in the meantime are enrolling in a school to learn Thai?
An increasing number of people of all ages dream of going to live in a tropical paradise like Thailand. The Kingdom of Siam offers so much in human and landscape terms, as well as completely overturning your life (in a positive way). [Read more…]
Unlike Ratchathewi and Pathum Wan, the area called “Sukhumvit” (in Thai: สุขุมวิท) can’t be considered an actual neighborhood, but rather an area that includes several districts within it. Among the most well known are:
According to a report compiled by the Swiss agency Education First, Thailand places as one of the countries with the lowest level of English in Southeast Asia. Even on a worldwide level it’s position isn’t among the best: 64th on a list of 88 total countries analyzed.
Despite this, in the Land of Smiles it’s not hard to get around without knowing the local language. Paradoxically you can even live in Thailand for decades without speaking or understanding a word of Thai.
If however you plan on settling in the country and integrating with the local people, learning Thai is an added value and not so secret ingredient for better integrating with the community.
The complete name of Bangkok is composed of more than twenty words, which when translated mean “City of angels, the great city, the city of eternal joy, the impenetrable city of the god Indra, the magnificent capital of the world adorned in precious gems, the happy city that abounds in the colossal Royal Palace, which is like the divine home where the reincarnated gods reign, a city blessed by Indra and built for Vishnukam”.
Bangkok, the largest and most populated metropolis of Southeast Asia with its almost 10 million inhabitants, is climbing the toward the top of the list of the most extensive and busiest cities on the planet.
Located on the banks of the Chao Praya River, up until 1782 Bangkok was like any other town. Since then, thanks also to the fact that King Rama I made it the capital of Siam, it began its commercial, political and diplomatic climb.
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Opening a bank account in Thailand can be a quick and simple operation if you know how to do it, but it could also be a real nightmare due to local bureaucracy and the decisions that are often left to the discretion of the employee standing in front of you.
The two most curious things about opening a bank account in Thailand are:
In this guide I will try to clarify these points and explain what you’ll need to do in order to open a bank account in Thailand.
Located 700 kilometers from Bangkok, in the Gulf of Thailand, the island of Koh Samui is the country’s second largest in size after Phuket.
Koh Samui was “discovered” around 1850, when various Chinese merchants disembarked in search of business in the coconut and cotton sectors.
Up until the 70’s Koh Samui was sort of a backpacker paradise from around the world. With urban expansion and the construction of various resorts, tourism has become one of the island’s economic pillars along with the export of coconuts.
Koh Samui is in fact called “Coconut Island”, in view of the enormous number of coconuts that are transported and sold throughout Thailand each month.
In recent years, Koh Samui has also become a very interesting place for investors from Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Thanks to tourism, more and more Asian businessmen have decided to invest in the construction of luxury resorts for foreign tourists.
Today the island has about 63,000 inhabitants, and is part of the province of Surat Thani. The district of Koh Samui is divided into 7 sub-districts: Angthong, Bophut, Lipa Noi, Mae Nam, Maret, Namuang, and Taling Ngam.
The capital of Koh Samui is Nathon, where the island’s largest port is located and where ferries for Ko Phangan, Angthong, and Surat Thani depart. Nathon was chosen as the capital in 1905, when several administrative offices were installed.
Its characteristic little villages, dense tropical vegetation that’s mostly made up of coconut plantations, and white sand beaches make Koh Samui a tropical paradise for all types of travelers.
Thanks to its proximity to the Angh Tong Marine National Park and other popular places such as Koh Tao and Koh Phangan, the island of Samui is a sought-after destination for both international and Thai tourists.
In recent years it has also become one of the preferred islands for expats, where they can work and even open their own business like restaurants and diving schools.
[Read more…]
Chinatown in Bangkok is one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city. Founded in 1782 when Chinese merchants were moved off the lands where King Rama I wanted to build his palace, today Chinatown is located within the Samphanthawong District.
The first Chinese merchants had already arrived in Thailand by the 12th century. The Chinese community grew exponentially since the end of the 18th century, when the Thai government encouraged immigration, since they needed lots of people to rebuild the nation’s economy which was destroyed during the wars with surrounding countries.
The integration of Chinese people with the Thais grew toward the end of the 19th century when half of the population of Bangkok had Chinese blood in their veins.
Even though Chinatown is one of the smallest neighborhoods in the city, it’s also one of the most populated: almost 25 inhabitants per square meter. There’s also a high density of buildings in the area, and for this reason buying real estate in Chinatown is expensive, with prices second only to those of the central neighborhood of Pathum Wan.
The first impression you get when visiting this part of Bangkok is that of chaos and frenetic rhythm that revolves around the market, traditional Chinese pharmacies, stores where they buy and sell gold, all mixed with the calm offered by the oases of peace found inside the colorful Taoist temples.
Chinatown is an area that’s different compared to all the others; old and imposing buildings, colorfully bright neon signs, low houses, strong smells and typical restaurants are just a few of the characteristics that make this commercial area even more authentic and alive.
The Chinese community has also “imported” the entrepreneurial spirit: each house in fact has a family-run shop on the first floor, a so-called shop house, where they sell merchandise of all sorts at good prices. The Chinatown neighborhood is divided according to the type of shops; from jewels in gold to shop houses where they repair cars and motorbikes, up to the area that specializes in firearms. [Read more…]
In this guide we’ll discuss everything you need to know in order to plan your trip to Thailand: how to get a visa, why you need an insurance policy and which type you should choose, how to get to Thailand and move around the country, where to stay, what the internet situation is, how the ATMs work, and much more.
Khao San Road (ถนนข้าวสาร, in Thai) is a road that’s approximately 400 meters long in the Phra Nakhon district. Located in the western part of Bangkok, this neighborhood became famous for its Rattanakosin area, which the locals call “Rattanakosin Island”.
The name comes from the fact that the area has the shape of a small island: in the southwestern part it’s surrounded by the Chao Praya River while in the northeast two artificial canals have been built – Saphan Lek and Khlong Rop Krung.
The birth of Rattanakosin Island goes back to 1782, when King Rama I of the Kingdom of Siam decided to move his capital from the Thonburi area south of the river (where the famous Wat Arun Temple stands today), to the north at Rattanakosin. This era is considered to be the fourth after the kingdoms of Sukhothai, Ayutthaya, and Thonburi.
Besides changing the location of the capital, King Rama I (the first monarch of the Chakri Dynasty and once a war general) also had the artificial canals built so as to protect the entire area around the royal palace. As a result, the Chinese merchants that lived there were forced to move into the area that today is called “Chinatown”.
Thanks to its history, these days the area of Rattanakosin is what contains the highest number of tourist attractions in the city:
In the heart of the city center, bordering with Ratchathewi, is the Pathum Wan district. This neighborhood covers the entire area that goes from the BTS stop called National Stadium, up until Ploen Chit, going down south to also include Si Lom and the metro stations from Lumphini as far as Hua Lamphong.
The name “Pathum Wan”, instituted in 1914 by the monarch of the time, is derived both from the Buddhist temple Wat Pathum Wataram (which in Thai means temple of the lotus flower), as well as the lotus pond building, Sa Pathum.
The neighborhood has a smaller population than Ratchathewi. In fact there’s no more than 50 thousand inhabitants, spread across a total of a little more than 8 square kilometers.
Bangkok is divided into 50 districts called “khet”, which in turn are subdivided into subdivisions called “khwaeng”. The area of Pathum Wan is no exception; starting from the westernmost part, you can separate them into four sub-neighborhoods: [Read more…]
More than once you must have left for a trip or prepared to move abroad and asked yourself how you were going to get around in a given city, or where to stay, or even send money abroad.
In this article I will talk about the most useful applications that will make your life easier during your trip to Thailand.
All the applications you find in this article are available both for the Android operating system and iOS. I have also arranged them by category so that you can evaluate which is the most useful one for you.
One of the most stimulating areas of Bangkok is Victory Monument. As the name suggests, this area includes the area adjacent to the Victory Monument, which in Thai is called “Anu Saowari Chai Samoraphum”, and is located in the northern part of the city.
The Victory Monument rotunda has Italian origins. In the middle there’s an obelisk that was erected in 1941 and designed by the sculptor Corrado Feroci. During the 20’s, Feroci was invited to Bangkok to teach Western sculpture at the capital university. In 1944 he was even declared a Thai citizen, and from there he changed his name to “Silpa Bhirasri”.
Before the creation of the obelisk, Victory Monument was a simple rotonda with a lawn and Thai flags. The obelisk you can see today was built in the 40’s to celebrate the Thai army’s victory over French colonials and the later expansion of Thai rule into certain regions of Laos and Cambodia. After Thailand’s defeat in the Second World War, Victory Monument became a symbol of embarrassment for its people.
Today the area adjacent to the Victory Monument is considered one of the biggest transport hubs of the city. Besides the BTS line that connects the northern part of Sukhumvit to the southern part of the city, from Anu Saowari minivans also depart for nearby cities, such as Sukhothai, Ayutthaya, Pattaya, the islands of Koh Chang and Koh Samet, and also towards the floating markets of Amphawa and Damnoen Saduak.
On the two sides opposite the rotonda (the one near the shopping malls and the one near the hospital, to be clear), you can take local buses toward almost every district of the city. For a more detailed guide on how to get around by bus and minivan in Bangkok and Thailand in general, read here. [Read more…]