Thailand where to go for the first time. First time in Pattaya! Review of a tourist about Pattaya. What to get for your money

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Hundreds of thousands visit Thailand every year Russian tourists. Many people go to this country not for the first time. But there are always those for whom this is not only the first trip to Thailand, but also the first trip abroad.

There are several options for visiting the Kingdom of a Million Smiles, as Thailand is commonly called. You can go on an independent trip or use the services of a travel agency. What's better? It all depends on the preparedness of the traveler.

Holidays in Thailand: on your own, on a tour. Where to stay

One of the conditions for independent travel- knowledge of English. However, in the resort areas of the country you can do without it. In hotels in Thailand, where Russian tourists usually stay, the staff speaks at least a little Russian. Often, many Thais associated with the tourism business know a few necessary Russian words. But still, if the trip is the first, it is better not to rely on own forces and knowledge. This is usually what they do, choosing the simplest option - a trip on a tourist package.

Most Popular resort areas Thailand is a city and an island. Which one to choose? It depends on the interests of the traveler. If he prefers a beach holiday in Thailand, then an island is chosen. Distinctive features Phuket - clear sea, great beaches, excursions, the main purpose of which is exciting vacation in Thailand.

A beach holiday in Thailand is also possible in Pattaya. True, most of the beaches in the city are narrow strips of sand. Yes and sea ​​water the coast is not clean. But having chosen a city, it is easier to get acquainted with the peculiarities of the country. Along with excursions similar to those in Phuket, there are many that are educational in nature. Moreover, getting to interesting places from Pattaya is easier and faster. Concerning beach holiday, then near the city there is good beaches. You can easily get to them. A trip to the island of Koh Lan, which is also in close proximity, is also possible.

Quite often, Russian tourists, going to Thailand and choosing the resort town of Pattaya, stop in its southern part. The fact is that it is here that Thais working in the tourist industry are better prepared to communicate with Russians. Going on your first trip, it is better to choose a hotel located on the first line. In the southern part of the city (Jomtien district), only a street separates such hotels from the sea. To be on the beach, just cross the roadway.

Another convenience - here along the beach is constantly moving public transport. Thai minibuses, called Tuk Tuks, are quite comfortable. They stop on demand. The fare in the southern part of the city is ten baht. When traveling to the center after the overpass (it is the only one in the city), the cost is twenty baht.

What currency to travel with

Get ready for the road experienced travelers not difficult. Sometimes going on vacation in Thailand is not the first time just waiting last days before departure. Usually at this time, travel agencies reduce prices. In addition, there may be "hot trips". The cost of the ticket is also reduced for early bookings.

The vast majority of tourists go abroad together. In this case, the costs for each are significantly reduced. If the tourist is alone, then he tries to find a fellow traveler. It is not difficult to do this if you take care of it in advance. Going on your first trip, if possible, it is better to choose someone who has already been to Thailand as a travel companion.

Sometimes, going on the road, beginners try to take more clothes with them. You don't have to do that. According to the rules, if available return ticket, an air passenger can carry twenty kilograms of cargo in baggage free of charge and five kilograms in hand luggage. Outerwear, ladies' and men's handbags, cameras, laptops are not weighed.

Extra items of clothing taken to Tai will not be needed. They are just additional, albeit insignificant, weight. But you always want to bring home as many fruits and souvenirs as possible. And you never know what else you want to buy in Thailand.

A few more words about luggage. A large beautiful suitcase is, of course, good. But his own weight can be five kilograms. That is, the payload (souvenirs, fruits, something else) is only fifteen kilograms. Instead of suitcases, many tourists use large bags or suitcases. The latter, having a large capacity, are equipped with wheels and a retractable handle. The weight of such bags does not exceed two kilograms. Of course, a gain of three kilograms can be called insignificant, but it allows you to bring home more cargo.

As for the currency, opinions about it are different. Of course, getting more than three thousand baht for a hundred dollar bill in a Thai street exchange is much better than (at today's exchange rate) having less than five hundred baht for a thousand rubles. But before buying dollars in Russia, it is advisable to make simple calculations. As a result, it turns out that exchanging rubles for baht in Thailand is a little more profitable than making a double exchange: ruble - dollar - baht. In addition, if dollars are not bought in advance, visiting a bank to purchase them is additional expenses time.

As for the amount that you should take with you, it all depends on your own capabilities. With some savings, 20-25 thousand rubles per person will be enough. In this case, the main part will be spent on excursions.

Arrival in Thailand and check-in at the hotel

Planes with Russian tourists traveling to Pattaya land either in capital airport Suvarnabhumi or located much closer to the resort town of U Tapao. In the first case, the trip to the resort takes about two hours, in the second, forty minutes.

The capital airport in terms of passenger comfort is significantly superior to U Tapao. There are almost no delays at the points passport control. Although the terminal building is simply huge, it is difficult to get lost in it. In addition, those who have flown here for the first time have a reliable reference point - fellow travelers who know where to go.

The disadvantage of this airport is that quite often you have to wait a long time for luggage. It happens that he appears on the conveyor only an hour after passing through passport control.

As for the duration of the trip from Bangkok to Pattaya, in two hours tourists receive more than full information. In addition, there are stops along the way.

If the plane lands in U Tapao, then passengers usually get out of the terminal building faster. Although passport control and other procedures are slower here, luggage appears on the conveyor almost without delay.

Each bus that brings travelers to the city has two guides - a Russian and a Thai. However, the latter usually only counts passengers, since he does not know the Russian language to the proper extent.

It happens that almost all the tourists on the bus go to different hotels. In this case, some travelers are transferred to a minivan, and then they are accompanied by a Thai guide.

Guides are also involved in paperwork when checking into hotels. So there are no difficulties for Russian tourists who came to Thailand for the first time. The only inconvenience is the check-in time. It is good if travelers get to the hotel after twelve o'clock. If this happens in the morning, then they have to wait. True, many people prefer to spend this time with benefit. Leaving the luggage in the place indicated by the hotel staff, they go either to the nearest cafe or to the sea.

My sister came to visit us last week. For the first time I got out alone in Thailand on a tour. Due to the fact that she is flying to Asia for the first time, she had many organizational issues that most tourists who travel to Thailand for the first time have. For many beginners who are going on vacation in Tai, this information may be useful.

PREPARATION

WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO KNOW ABOUT THAILAND

What a tourist needs to know about Thailand and always remember so as not to get into trouble. Travel agencies do not talk about it, unfortunately. The Thai sun is relaxing, but never forget these simple tips:

• In Thailand, the king and his family are revered. Avoid any discussion of the king, including on the Internet. Cases of imprisonment for 20-30 years simply for saying a bad word or a joke about the royal family are real and happen regularly.
• For drugs imprisonment for decades. Yes, it's true, many foreigners are imprisoned every year for drug use and trafficking. Have you seen the movie "Ruined Palace" or "Bangkok Hilton"? If you are going to Tai, in no case should there be anything narcotic. Forget weed. Do not agree to carry anything in your luggage if strangers ask you to.
• Thailand bans e-cigarettes and hookahs. You can not bring and vape vapes with you. Problems with the police are guaranteed.
• Smoking is prohibited on the beaches. You can get a very large fine if you smoke on the beach.
• Don't feed the fish in the sea. On excursions, do not throw anything into the sea for the fish. This threatens imprisonment or a fine of several thousand dollars.
• Quadcopters (drones) are prohibited. Huge fines or imprisonment for using drones without registering each device with the police. It’s easier not to take and do without a video from a height than to fool around with it.
• Standard insurance does not apply if you rent a bike. Even if they were sober. For the insurance to work, you need to: a) enable this additional option, b) have category A rights. So, take the bike at your own peril and risk, if something happens, the insurance company will not pay for the treatment.
• Insurance is not valid if you drink alcohol. In the event that injuries are received in a state of intoxication, even if they drank a can of beer, that's it, there will be a refusal. More information on insurance
• Do not try Jackfruit (breadfruit). It causes severe allergic reactions in many people.
• When renting a bike, do not leave your passport as a deposit. It often happens that your passport is taken hostage and then they demand money to repair the bike on which you allegedly had an accident.
• Divorces when renting housing from Russians and Europeans. Do not send money to anyone who offers to help you book accommodation on the Internet. There are normal people, of course, but most of these pseudo-realtors from the Internet are scammers. A lot of divorces according to this scenario take place when the money was sent, they arrived and it turned out that there was no housing, no money, and there was no trace of the assistant. Do not succumb to any persuasion, even if he sends you a scan of your passport.

What to take with you to Thailand

Take the minimum of everything with you, especially clothes. For the first day, 2-3 T-shirts, 1 shorts, 1 skirt will suffice. Do not buy anything in Moscow, here it all costs a penny - 200-400 rubles for one thing. In any case, you will start shopping here, seeing what bright and cheap clothes are here, so take a minimum of things.

Shoes are also very cheap. All you need from shoes is flip flops, which cost 100 rubles here, if you don’t have your own. Sneakers and shoes are not required, only extra weight and luggage space.

Do not buy a swimsuit in Moscow either - in Thailand it is really possible to buy a normal swimsuit for 500-800 rubles (and in Moscow for 3000). It’s just that when you find out how much it all really costs, you won’t be able to overpay in Moscow.

Sun protection in Moscow costs a fortune. Here we take Nivea 50 sunblock for 199 baht (400 rubles). I think even with this course it will be cheaper to buy a cream in Thailand.

Fashionable shorts for 129 baht (260 rubles). And how much do these cost in Russia? From 1,500 rubles for a noname to 8,000 rubles for a "brand" ...

What not to take

100% no evening dresses, high heel shoes, sneakers, jeans, trousers, long-sleeve sweaters, windbreakers are required ... Jeans and trousers are hot even at night. Sneakers don't really fit. Unless you are going to climb mountains or ride a motorcycle.

Do not take any technology, except for a phone / tablet and camera.

Don't bring a towel with you. Even the cheapest hotels always have towels that are changed every day.

Shampoos, soaps, shower gels, toothpaste also do not need to be carried with you, in any 7-Eleven all this is sold in small jars of 20 baht. Also, the hotel often puts free shampoos and soaps during cleaning.

In no case should you take hookahs, vapes and other electronic cigarettes with you! Prohibited by law throughout the country.

What money to take to Thailand and how much?

Take as much money as possible with you to Thailand. There will be a lot of temptations, since everything is very cheap and you really want to buy it. It depends on what requests, but on average $ 1000 for two for a vacation is definitely enough. If there is not much money, then $500 will be enough, but you will have to save money, do not take a taxi, do not eat in expensive cafes for tourists, but eat at markets, at 7-Eleven or at, reduce the number of excursions. But it's better to take more money and then save money in Moscow.

What kind of currency to take? Dollars or Euros? Dollars. Maybe the euro. If you have cash euros, take them. If available in rubles, then change to dollars. Ask in the exchanger only large bills of 50 and 100 bucks— on them the course is higher than on small ones. Change all rubles to dollars, the more you take, the better.

FLIGHT

Do not take any liquids, scissors, spray deodorants with you to the cabin of the aircraft (suddenly you don’t know). It seems that liquids can be up to 100 ml, that is, nail polish will most likely be missed, but you will have to buy water after all the shmons. You can take water on the plane, which you can buy in duty free. Can you take perfume on a plane? If less than 100 ml, then you can take it with you in hand luggage.

Manicure scissors, nail files, a spray gun are definitely not allowed. Even lighters are often pulled out.

Do not put anything valuable in your luggage - money, documents, equipment with you to the cabin in a backpack.

What weight of luggage is allowed - usually up to 20 kg per person. Can you pack your luggage in 2 bags if you are flying alone? No, only 1 piece of luggage per person.

Life hack: a suitcase can be wrapped with ordinary cling film for 50 rubles. Wrapping luggage at the airport costs 500 rubles.

If you get motion sickness in transport, drink dramin before the flight (this is from motion sickness pills)

Another tip is to take something to eat with you. Sandwiches, chips, peanuts - something like that. Because you really want to eat, and there will be a feeder only an hour after departure. At the airport, the prices are the most severe, for example, a small peanut is 100 rubles. In duty free with the current rate, now everything has also become very expensive.

FOREIGN AIRPORT

How to navigate at the airport abroad? There is no need to worry, everything is logically clear usually. You will most likely not have to speak English with anyone, but understanding the language will come in handy in order to find a transporter from your flight.

Just follow the signs there:

• arrival - arrival
• passport control - here you will need to fill out a card, everything is simple there, last name, first name, hotel
• baggage or luggage - transporters
• flight N — number of the flight from which the luggage

At the airport, take a cart and throw chumadans on it so as not to drag it in your hands.

Do not change money at the airport, there is the lowest exchange rate. 10-20 dollars can be exchanged in case of some water to buy or a snack.

At the airport, they can give out local SIM cards, take them for yourself. WITH Russian number do not call, very expensive, more than 150 rubles per minute, in extreme cases, SMS - 20 rubles.

Where do you go after getting your luggage? With luggage you go towards the exit. A person from a travel agency (Russian) will meet you near the exit or on the street. At the exit, look for the tour operator's sign. It is the operator, Pegasus, Corel, Anex, or whoever will be there, and not the site on which I bought it. A person from the company can even stand on the street, where there is a taxi.

TRANSFER

The tour includes a transfer to the hotel. At the airport, a guide from a travel agency will meet you and take you by the hand to the desired bus. The bus will bring you directly to the door of the hotel. There, at the reception with a passport and a voucher, you will be settled. On the bus in Russian they will say something interesting about the country, the guide usually always meets Russian.

If you don’t want to travel by bus with all the tourists, refuse it at the travel agency and book a private transfer.

CHECK IN HOTEL

To check in at the reception, you need to give your passport and voucher. Some hotels may require you to pay a deposit, which is returned upon check-out.

There may be a so-called "mini-bar" in the room. Usually this is a small refrigerator in which there are several cans of beer, cola, soda, there can also be chips, nuts, chocolate. All this is paid, moreover, 2 times more expensive than in the store. There are usually 2 bottles of water for free. Payment for the minibar upon check-out. You can check at the reception what is paid there, what is not.

Life hack: if you really want to drink something from the minibar, you can drink it, and in the morning before cleaning, run to the store and buy exactly the same bottle at a normal price and put it in the bar.

If the bed is dirty or there is not enough towels, contact the reception, they will change everything (just don’t need to “download rights”, but calmly explain the situation with a friendly smile).

THE LANGUAGE BARRIER

Do not be shy about your English, as the locals do not ideally know it either, many are much worse than you. Pronunciation? Grammar? Time? No, we haven't heard. In practice, everything is simpler, and no one pays attention to grammar.

If you are flying on a package tour, in principle, you may not know the language at all in this case. We often see our aunts here, who rub something in Russian to the Thais. And they don’t understand a word, then the aunts begin to speak in syllables or raise their voices. The main rule of communication is to smile, be calm, do not raise your voice. If something cannot be explained in words, show it with gestures.

INFORMATION MEETING WITH A GUIDE

Meeting with a guide is a waste of time, as the guide will give a minimum of information, and most meetings will sell overpriced excursions. So, it is not necessary to come to the meeting at all. Especially if the bus starts to intimidate that at the meeting with the guide you need to fill out a registration card for the tourist police or activate insurance or something like that. This is a 100% scam, there are no cards for the police, there is no need to activate insurance and air tickets, all this does not concern the guide at all. The main task of the hotel guide is to promote you on excursions.

HOTEL GUIDE STORIES

For some reason, many guides try to intimidate package tourists. I don’t know why, maybe so that there were fewer adventures and he was not disturbed once again. Or to sell their excursions, and people should be afraid of everything else. In general, here are the most popular guide intimidations:

• In Thailand, there are poisonous snakes under every bush…….. In a year and a half of our life in Thailand (Pattaya, Krabi, Phuket), we saw snakes probably 2-3 times. What is the probability that you will see a snake in 10 days of vacation?
• Thailand is very dangerous. Do not go anywhere yourself, only the hotel and the beach……. Well, no comment here. Complete nonsense. It is safer to go somewhere on your own in Tai than in Russia. Well, maybe you shouldn’t walk along the dark streets at night, lighting the way with your iPad, you shouldn’t climb into the jungle or swim in stinky rivers.
• You must definitely come to information meeting with a guide. If you don’t come, your insurance, air tickets will not be activated, you will be taken to the police, as you will need to fill out a registration card……… Also, complete nonsense, the guide does not affect either air tickets or insurance in any way, they are “activated” from the date of purchase tour. There is no need to take any cards to the police. All this just so that you buy tours from him.
• Do not buy excursions in street travel agencies, your insurance does not work there ... ... ... Nonsense, insurance is valid everywhere and it does not depend on your guide. Does not apply if the insured event occurred while in a state of intoxication. Read more.
• All Thais want to deceive you……… In fact, there is some truth, tourists in the market are often trying to breed for more high prices, But hotel guide deceives you much more, telling all these horror stories, and then offers excursions that will cost 2-3 times more than the real cost.
• You can’t put money in your back pocket, you can’t put money on the table, only give it to your hands, etc……. All these are myths. What really cannot be done with Thai money is not to paint the faces depicted on them.

EXCURSIONS

You can take excursions both from a guide from a travel agency, and from street agencies (cheaper), as well as from online services. Insurance will be the same both there and there, despite the guide's assurances that insurance is not paid in a street travel agency. The guide has nothing to do with insurance really. Insurance is not paid if the injuries are received while intoxicated or while driving a motorbike.

In fact, everything will be simple. Traveling on a package tour for the first time in Thailand is not at all annoying. At independent travel Tai has a lot more nuances.

Dear readers, if you have experience of traveling to Tai, write in the comments what other helpful tips useful on vacation and what you need to know about Thailand for tourists who are going to Asia for the first time.

First. Where to begin?
Start by applying for a passport. It will take a month or two, and during this time you will have time to decide - where are you want to to go and where to go allow Your savings. First, decide with whom you will spend your vacation. If you want to completely relax and get new information to the extent that you like, leave the children at home with their grandmother. If you can not afford it - issue passports for children. Two nuances - firstly, it is easier to apply via the Internet on the website of public services, and there is no need to run and immediately pay money for a passport photo. The photo that you attach to the application form will not be pasted into your passport - the Migration Service will take a picture of you themselves. So take a picture of yourself and your loved ones on an ordinary soap dish, hanging a white sheet behind your back, edit the size in the photo editor so that the photo can be inserted into the questionnaire, and that will be enough. Second - be sure to check the correctness of filling in the column "FLOOR". I didn't know this, but my travel agent checked it for me several times. It turns out that the most common reason not to let you or your child out when going through passport control is an incorrectly filled in the Gender column.
Second. We decide on the direction of travel and the choice of a tour operator.
I didn’t have to choose a direction for a long time, since I got a vacation in November. I did not want to freeze, but I wanted to enjoy the warmth and the sea. Therefore, where it is now warm and worth going to. By and large, the choice was between Thailand and Vietnam. But since my temperament does not correspond to a purely "mattress" pastime, I decided to go to Pattaya - and the sea of ​​\u200b\u200bexcursions and the sea, as such, is available.
Then it was necessary to understand where and when to buy tickets. In Barnaul, we most often buy vouchers from Pegas Touristik, Anex, Biblio-Globus. I just went to their websites, compared prices, departure times, living conditions. I took a ticket not from a tour operator, but from a travel agency. Same price. Only the tour operator will give you a discount right away (Pegasus 7, Anex 3-4 percent), and the travel agency will say that only for you and only now they provide this same discount as a great gift. It does not change the essence of the matter. I chose the Tabio travel agency. Simply because it is near my house, and I know people who have already taken successful trips there. As a result, I went from the Anex tour, simply because it was the beginning of the season and under the same conditions Anes had five thousand cheaper, and since I went with my husband, the savings of ten thousand per family seemed to me significant.
Third. IN choose a hotel.
Well, here all means are good. The first means is to communicate with those who have already been there and lived somewhere. Second - go to different travel agencies and talk with travel agents who sell tours. For them, the tour operator organizes tours where they spend every night in new hotel, so they most often have experience, I was really dissuaded from several hotels.
What I paid attention to was that there was not an ancient hotel, but a relatively new one, that it was not far from the sea, and the sea was always on the beach, and not only at high tide, so that there were no demonstrations from drunken Russians and Chinese on the street every evening. So that the hotel has a swimming pool, and in the room there is an air conditioner, a refrigerator and hot water. In principle, there was also a TV, but I watched it only on the day of my arrival for 10 minutes and did not turn it on anymore.

As a result, I went to Sea Hotel Breeze on Jomtien. It's far from the center, where there is shopping, and partying, and a pier, but at the end of the trip I so famously learned how to use a tuk-tuk, where the fare is only 10 baht per person, so the remoteness from the center did not bother me at all. Three star hotel. But not very new - built in 2007-2008. In general, I got the impression that everything shines with the Thais from afar, and everything is close to small Kotska and imperfections. Yes, there is air conditioning, but it leaked profusely on the last day, and there is a bath with a shower, but it leaks from below, so after washing the floor is sea. Yes, the sink is beautiful, but there is rust around it, and there is a pool, but it is forbidden to swim after eight in the evening (but if it is done slowly, then you can). Wi-Fi in the hotel is paid 50 baht per hour. This hour can be extended over several days.
If it's important for you to feel like kings in a luxury hotel - choose the one with more stars, if the little things don't annoy you, then 3 stars good option. There are a lot of hotels, but look at the map how far it is from the sea - the hotels are in the center of city life, the sidewalks are narrow, the constant crush can ruin evening walks. But walking along the embankment is a pleasure. But again, this is for a lover to walk, not hang out. If you are a fan of nightclubs and the embankment is not interesting to you, then in the center of Pattaya you can choose very a budget option.
Fourth.When to buy a ticket.
Everyone advises that the sooner the better. I took four months. The risk of force majeure is high. We are all human, we can get sick or something. If you are afraid, then you can take out insurance against non-departure, this is about a thousand for two. In principle, I tracked the sites of tour operators, prices do not change much over time. the closer to the New Year, the more expensive. But it is more expensive in July and November if you buy a ticket for December. The only thing I noticed is that the earlier you buy a ticket, the more hotels to choose from. My fellow travelers on the plane took a ticket in August and also wanted to Seabreeze but they didn't get a ticket.
Fifth. Departure, or what to do at airports.
Let me remind you that this was my first trip abroad. I flew on an airplane last time in high school in some sort of unconscious state. The only thing I remember from that flight is that I want to sleep, and my head falls off somewhere all the time, and the words of the class teacher who was sitting in front of me - "How did you gouge my back with your knees!"
Therefore, I bought inflatable neck pillows so that my head would be supported, and secondly, I needed places where my knees would not poke into other people's backs. And not only mine, because my husband is two meters tall and his knees are generally a separate story.
Therefore, my task was to grab just such places at the stage of issuing boarding passes. It turned out that this can be done.
I knew on which plane I would fly, so I found a picture with a diagram on the Internet seats. At the check-in stage, we arrived at the airport early to be at the front of the queue. Then I simply ASKED for seats at the exit of the plane. And they just gave me. On the way back at the Bangkok airport, I showed the diagram, jabbed my finger at it, and in broken English also simply asked, and again they GAVE me what I wanted. One remark - emergency exit it’s blowing, so take a blanket from the stewardess right away, or you can take woolen socks from home.
As for the passport and customs control- just follow the crowd, don't rush anywhere. Everything you have been given boarding pass- They won't leave without you.
Another question is how to secure luggage. We just bought a lock for the mailbox, threaded it through the lugs of the runners on the suitcase and it began to lock. We also used this at the hotel, leaving equipment, a tablet and cosmetics in a locked suitcase so that no one would smear it in my absence. They wrapped it with cling film at home, put it cling film and tape and inside the suitcase. On the way back, you can wrap your bags and suitcases yourself at the hotel, which will save you up to a thousand rubles.
Upon arrival in Bangkok, do not be afraid that a person with a sign of your tour operator will not rush to meet you at the entrance. They are not allowed there. Just follow the crowd, even if it goes the wrong way, the Thai airport employee, looking at your ticket, will show with a gesture where to move and where to go through passport control, such a disgrace as in our Barnaul airport will not be there. There will be a lot of tails at the queues, they will move quickly, and the luggage will already be waiting for you on the tape. In any case, that's exactly what happened to us. On the plane, they will give you to fill out a migration card, so fill it out, otherwise you will have to give it in line on your knee. The name of the hotel must also be written. Then move behind the crowd and find a person (and in our case, a chain of several people) with the desired sign. Follow the chain to the bus. on the way, go to the toilet at the airport and calmly replace jeans with shorts, and put warm clothes in a large bag taken from home. They won't leave without you, don't rush.
A few words about what to carry in your suitcase. Clothing - swimsuits and bandanas. (A hat can be bought for 100 - 200 baht in each store) One T-shirt, because immediately buy yourself an elephant or "I love Pattaya" t-shirt for 100-300 baht depending on the size. Flip flops for the beach and strappy sandals for excursions. Linen, hair dryer, some cosmetics, medicines, photo and video equipment. chargers for it, flash drives, additional batteries. It's all about clothes. I was in vain carrying high-heeled shoes, a shiny dress and white trousers with me. You can easily do without all this. Paphos, as in Turkey, in Thailand is not in sight! A sundress, a tunic, a pareo for 150-300 baht will be bought by any Russian woman on the street, and a Russian woman with a size of no more than 46 will buy a lot of other junk. But when you are going home, extra clothes will really interfere with you, because no one has canceled the baggage allowance, and you will have to pay for the excess from your own pocket.
Sixth. Money.
How much to take and where to change. In principle, the rule "When you go to Thailand, take as much as you paid for the tours, and to Europe twice as much as you gave for the tours" is valid. I took one and a half times more and did not save on entertainment and food. If you want jewelry, latex pillows, crocodile bags, then take more money. Take dollars, they have a better exchange rate than rubles. Change little and often. It's easier than running around to change or spend baht at the end of the trip if you have a lot of them left. Exchangers on every corner, you can't miss. The Visa Classik card also works in Thai stores, I do not advise you to withdraw money from ATMs - pay an extra commission. If you are going to use the card, go to the bank in your neighborhood - they will explain what needs to be done so that after the first purchase your card is not blocked. Since Thailand is considered by our banks to be an unreliable country in terms of possible fraud. And make a photocopy of the card just in case.
I did all these procedures myself, but I never used the card there - I had enough cash. You can keep money (and passports) in a safe (someone has it right in the room, we have it on the first floor of the hotel), I didn’t make an inventory, but nothing was missing from the safe.
seventh Check in hotel.
Perhaps now, in someone's opinion, I will write nonsense, but for me these things turned out to be unexpected and if someone warned me about them, I would be grateful, because I would not have to be nervous.
Transfer to the hotel. The hotel website always says how much money you need to leave as a deposit. If you did not use the mini-bar and did not break anything, this money will be returned to you. I knew that my hotel would ask for 1000 baht. But I thought that dollars would suit them too.
No, they did not, and I had to run around the hotel and urgently change dollars. Fortunately the exchanger is very close.
The second - check-in began at 14-00. It turns out that this is the generally accepted check-in time at the hotel. We arrived at 10 am and had to wait. Fortunately, we were offered to put our luggage in a special room, and we could take a walk. (Once again I will say thanks to the people who advised me to change clothes at the airport, in jeans and sneakers I would just cook).
When we were given a key with a huge rectangular keychain and we opened the door of the room, we did not know that the keychain was not for beauty. It must be inserted into a plastic pocket at the entrance to the room and then electricity, light bulbs, air conditioning will work. And we had to go down and find out why we have "no electricity"? And yet, we only found out on the third day that the light bulb in the table lamp did not burn out, but simply the switch was not on the wall, but on the cord, since it was very carefully disguised under the table.

Seventh. Communication.

What language to communicate with local population? Here we were in for a surprise. We speak the same English with them! That is, such stupidity as the correct construction English phrases, you can generally neglect. "Here is the price" or "how much" is enough for any seller to understand you, take out a calculator and write down a figure. With the help of fingers and the same calculators, you can further bargain. I bargained like this - I have a crowd of relatives who wanted T-shirts with elephants, so I didn’t take anything one by one, and for wholesale (and 2-3 pieces is already wholesale), Thais always reduce the price. Everyone is pleased - and I do not look like a miser, and the merchant is pleased. Moreover, if there is no right size, they can run for you, find out, and show the shop where it is.
Eighth. Excursions.
On the first day, your tour operator's guide will come to you and offer you excursions. Immediately agree to a free review, and about the rest, find out the details and prices and say that you will think it over. Then decide where you are still going, and go for a walk. On the way you will be invited by local tour agencies. Come in, don't be afraid. I used the services of "Coconut Travel" and "Watermelon", I know from the reviews that "Captain Vrungel" is well served. You can contact Kokos from home via the Internet, and they will send you a price list, and upon arrival, call and they will send a car for you to take you to their office. They will take money in both dollars and baht, but in baht it is more profitable for you, since they underestimate the exchange rate compared to the exchanger. Some plan their holidays in advance, scheduling every day, and buying excursions from one tour desk. I didn't do that. You can buy at least every day. If you have time to call before six in the evening, you can book an excursion and pay in the morning directly with the driver or guide. Once they came for us at eight, and we did not have time to change dollars for baht, so they took money from us after the tour, when we were able to pay off.
Concerning own experience, then the quality of services of the street bureau and your tour operator will be approximately the same. On a trip to the River Kwai from Cocos, we stayed in the rooms of the same hotel as Pegasovtsy, but the rooms were right by the pool, and they were on the outskirts. We ate in the same restaurants, visited the same objects, the buses were the same in terms of comfort. But we sailed along the river at seven in the evening, after excursions and in the heat, and they were at eight in the morning in the cool and after breakfast. So we got a lot more for a lot less. (And boldly divide the prices of tour operators by two - get the price of a street bureau).

You can turn out of the tour in two days with the loss of money. So I'm glad I didn't buy a tour of the islands because on the way to Kwai I tripped and flayed my finger. I could walk, but I was afraid to swim with an open wound. So I would lie on the shore for two days, sadly envying those who swim in the sea. (A small observation - a Thai bandage cannot be torn by hand, like our domestic one. Only cut!)

But in reality, instead of the islands, I just went to Mini Siam and the Gallery of 3D paintings. I advise you to go to Mini Siam in the evening, when the right lighting makes this little world magical (although with good morning lighting and no crowds, the pictures also turned out great), and to the Gallery in the morning, by ten o'clock, and on your own, and not as part of an excursion, then calmly take a picture without having to wait for your turn.

Of the distant excursions, I was only on the River Kwai and I was so tired of the five-hour return journey on the bus that I no longer left the outskirts of Pattaya. I'll leave it for my next trip.
And another note. Sometimes it is even cheaper to go as part of an excursion than on your own, because the bureau has discounts on tickets, but you do not. So I went to the dolphinarium. Taxi 200 baht, two tickets 500 baht and taxi back 200 baht. And in the bureau I would pay for all 800 baht. I won’t write more about excursions, just carefully read what is included in it. So you won't be surprised that after crocodile farm You will find yourself in a jewelry factory and will yourself look for a free shuttle to take you to the hotel.

Ninth Shopping.

I combined it with excursions. Excursion in the morning, shopping in the evening. From shops I choose Central Festival and Tuk Kom. In the first, I bought bags, in the second, phones. Everything else, including souvenirs (and by and large, bags and phones) can be bought on the street. We were near the hotel night market, but in general there are a lot of them in Pattaya. He worked from four to ten in the evening. There prices are lower than during the day. As for the prices for equipment, they are many times lower. Specially compared.
Tablet samsung tab 3, we have 18500, in Tuk Kom 14500. I also visited shops oriented towards Thais, not tourists, for example, BIG C, Franchship mo., Nothing that I could not buy at the night bazaar, not saw. As for the shops where they offer a free shuttle (take at the counters free cards Pattaya and you will know the right phone number), then the feeling is twofold. Prices are inflated somewhere at times, somewhere a little, it is impossible to bargain in most cases. But if you want to choose something thoughtfully, without crowding, then you can use it. I bought souvenirs, wallets, T-shirts in Otope. Then in the bazaar the same thing is cheaper, but not by much.
Take latex pillows - carry them in your hand luggage, it is not weighed, and pillows weigh a lot. Two pillows and a mattress - 20 kilograms. I bought at Central Festival. Three times cheaper than in the factory. There was a certificate for the pillow. But I will not campaign - the worm of doubt about its authenticity remains.
Eleventh. Crime.
They scare with motorists who rip off bags. Therefore, documents in a safe, a bag over the shoulder, orienting it in the opposite direction from the roadway. No one has ever demanded documents from me, no one has bothered me, no one has made dubious offers. Perhaps because I was always accompanied by my husband, two meters tall, over a hundred kilos in weight.
She tried not to throw garbage on the ground, although it is doubtful that anyone would be fined for this. With the great love of Thais to buy food on the street in disposable containers, and then throw it at the place of the meal, all the roadsides are covered with a thick layer of plastic and paper waste. This is depressing. But for some reason there are no flies, or a little, which is surprising.

Twelve. Home.
This turned out to be the easiest. There were scales in the hotel. 10 baht coin - and in 15 seconds you have time to weigh 4 bags. We were scared by the guide that the suitcase and bag each should be no more than 15 kilos. That's how it is, and people at the airport paid for the excess, but if there are two of you, they will weigh 2 suitcases at once, so 10 in one and 20 kilos in the second is also an acceptable option. Hand luggage was not weighed, so in vain I left all the pills in the room, antibacterial wipes and advertising brochures. People carried fruits in baskets in hand luggage, and in Barnaul no one took them away at the airport. Although in Krasnoyarsk, according to reviews, they were taken away.
Alcohol - no more than 3 liters per person. Here they followed it clearly - customs officers in Barnaul confiscated it in my presence. Liquids in unpackaged containers were confiscated at the Bangkok airport in front of my eyes. No one was detained, no one was fined, they just let go further in peace.
To find out the departure time and what time the bus would pick us up, we had to do it ourselves by looking at the hotel's anex folder. But there was no information in the folder. Then I started calling our guide, but he only promised to call me back. Then my phone ran out of money - I went to replenish the balance and met people about whom I knew for sure that they were returning on the same plane to Barnaul. They found out that the guide who knows about the flight is sitting on the couch in a nearby hotel. We ran there, and the guide said that he had already cut off my phone. At the same time, he dialed the number with me - and only then did I hear the incoming call. I still don't know - glitch local communications and Russian gouging made me worry. But the guide said that even if she hadn’t called, she would have come to our room herself to provide information. By the way, at one in the morning she called and said that the flight was being postponed.
And on the bus, we had to wait for three more tourists, who spent three hours at the hotel, waiting for the bus that did not pick them up. Then someone in the annex checked the lists and remembered them. Why people did not call anyone and meekly waited - remained a mystery to me. There were people on our charter flight, which did not fly from the annex, so they were brought to the airport 10 hours before departure. This is where they really screwed up.
At the airport, after check-in, luggage check-in, passport control (where it turned out that the migration card must be filled out on both sides), we ended up in the Duty Free zone. Shops nemeryanno, do not rush into the first one, they are repeated. I can’t compare prices, I’m only sure that the goods are not fake, so we bought perfume and alcohol. By the way, Thai balm can be bought in a beautiful package, so if you take it as a gift, buy it there, and not in a pharmacy or in a bazaar.
The last test - the airport in Barnaul. I don’t remember such a feeling of being a herd of animals waiting to be slaughtered since Soviet times. Hello Motherland!

All tour operators have different prices, so you need to make your own choice, or use the level.travel tour aggregator. They often come across tours at very attractive prices.

The most popular is Pattaya. There is a wide range of hotels good vacation economy class, a lot of entertainment for every taste. You yourself determine the area of ​​\u200b\u200bits relaxation depending on your preferences. For families with children, I would recommend Jomtien (south, cleaner sea) or Naklua (north). For young people - the center of Pattaya (the most famous street is Walking street).

Thailand is a visa-free Kingdom for citizens of 26 countries of the world, including Russians, but only for a visit that does not exceed 30 days. If you want to stay longer than the specified period, you will have to apply for a visa, which you need to pay. In the case of a visit for the purpose of tourism and for a period not exceeding 15 days, citizens of Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan can receive a visa stamp upon arrival at the airport. The residents of Belarus were the least lucky, they need to obtain a visa to the country of smiles in advance.

After choosing a resort, you will have a long flight to this magical Kingdom. On the plane, you will be given a migration card (consisting of two parts), which you will need to fill out in advance. It turned out that there were not enough migration cards and we had to fill them out at the airport. But this should not bother you, because in front of the border control there are tables with filling samples, including in Russian. Some used the services of airport staff and for $ 5 they filled out cards.

It must be filled in English language. When approaching border control you must give the migration card and passport to the border guard. After verifying the identity, the migration service officer will stamp the border crossing passport and collect the right side of the migration card. The left side of the card is attached to your passport, as you will need it when you leave.

Thailand has import restrictions alcoholic products(1 liter per person), tobacco products (250 grams of smoking tobacco or up to 200 cigarettes), photo and video equipment (1 photo and video camera). And, of course, a reasonable amount of personal items.

IN Lately I read about the selective requirements of border guards for tourists to present cash sufficient for a holiday in Thailand. Minimum amount is $600 in cash! I myself have not encountered this, but be prepared for this.

All calculations are made in local currency- "bat". Basically, euros and dollars are accepted for exchange, although it is possible to exchange other currencies, including rubles. If you have dollars, it is more profitable to change banknotes of 100 and 50 denominations, the exchange rate is higher for them. Therefore, it is better to stock up on them before leaving Russia. You can exchange currency at the airport, but the rate there is much lower.

Never change the entire amount at once. Keep money, passports, valuables in a safe. As a rule, every hotel has safes. In the hotel where we stayed, the safe was at the reception.

Thailand is called the land of smiles because the Thais are welcoming, friendly and smile a lot. All this seems to be in their blood. And that is why there should be reciprocity towards them.

If you smile back at them, the attitude towards you is more loyal. Thais love white people. They consider them beautiful. And, if on the beach or on the street they ask you to take a picture with them, you should not refuse.

We were in Thailand in February. There was no trace of the last summer's tan, so we felt beautiful. We noticed one more feature: while you are not yet tanned, when buying, sellers do good discounts and the original price of the item is not too high.

After a week's stay, when the tan has already set on the skin, it becomes more difficult to bargain and the initial price of the goods is quite high. But in any case, you need to bargain and at the same time you should not forget about a smile. After all, the more you smile at them, the more discount they can make. And most importantly - approach all this with pleasure. I wish you a successful trip to Thailand.