Please
enjoy your hire car in Thailand.
In
Thailand as a foreigner you will be called a Farang, (pronounced
Falang) and as a Farang any accident you are involved in,
will be viewed as your fault. If you are involved in an accident,
the other party will want the damage paid for, hospital bills
paid and compensation. If the police are called and you do
not have the money to pay, you can be arrested and your passport
held by the police until the debt is settled. If you are on
a 30 day visa and go over your 30 days because the police
are holding your passport, you will be in more trouble because
you did not leave the Kingdom on time.
ROADS:
There is a reasonable road network comprising many highways
and 52,000km (32,300 miles) of national and provincial roads.
All major roads are paved. Driving in Bangkok is far worse
than London or New York, if you want to get around Bangkok
easily try the BTS sky train, the new Underground rail system
or even the river taxi boats, you can use the metered taxis,
but you will take your life in your hands if you use the Tuk
Tuks.
Traffic
drives on the left.
MOTORCYCLES:
Motorcycle hire is readily available in all towns, and on
the larger islands, it is the main means of transport for
the Thai's, the motorcycles are mainly the 125cc, I have seen
5 people on one bike, and another delivering 11 cases of beer,
so do not be shocked with what you see. Most cars will drive
the same way along a one-way street, but please do not expect
motorcycles to do the same.
DRIVING
LICENSE: International Driving Permit required. IDPs are
valid for 3 months, after which a Thai driving licence is
required. In the UK you obtain your International Driving
license from either the AA at www.theaa.com or the RAC at
www.rac.co.uk or in the USA at www.international-license.com
MAPS: Maps of Bangkok are available, on arrival, from the
tourist office at Don Muang Airport. Road maps of the entire
country are readily available from book and magazine shops.
DRIVING:
At times you can be forgiven for thinking that there are no
rules of the road in Thailand, but there are, it is just that
nobody adheres to them, and they are not very often enforced,
unless it is a farang driving.
TRAVEL
TIMES: The following chart gives approximate travel times
by road (in hours and minutes) from Bangkok to other major
cities/towns in Thailand.
British Embassy 1031 Wireless Road, Lumpini, Pathumwan,
Bangkok 10330, Thailand Tel: (2) 305 8333. Fax: (2) 255 8619
(commercial section) or 6051 (consular section).
E-mail:
[email protected] or [email protected]
Website:
www.britishemb.or.th
Consulate in: Chiang Mai.
Canadian
Embassy 15th Floor, Abdulrahim Place, 990 Rama IV Road,
Bangkok 10500, Thailand Postal address: PO Box 2090, Bangkok
10501, Thailand Tel: (2) 636 0540. Fax: (2) 636 0565 (general
enquiries) or 0555 (consular section) or 0568 (trade section).
E-mail:
[email protected]
Website: www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/bangkok
Consulate in: Chiang Mai.
Embassy
of the United States of America 95 Wireless Road, Pathumwan
District, Lumpini Sub-district, Bangkok 10330, Thailand Tel:
(2) 205 4000. Fax: (2) 254 1171.
E-mail:
[email protected]@state.gov (consular).
Website: www.usa.or.th
Consulate in: Chiang Mai.
Royal
Thai Embassy 29-30 Queens Gate, London SW7 5JB, UK Tel:
(020) 7589 2944 (ext. 115/119). Fax: (020) 7823 7492 (visa
section).
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.thaiembassyuk.org.uk
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 0930-1230 (consular section);
Mon-Fri 1400-1700 (telephone enquiries).
Honorary Consulates in: Birmingham, Cardiff, Dublin,
Glasgow, Hull and Liverpool.
Royal
Thai Embassy 1024 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 401, NW, Washington,
DC 20007, USA Tel: (202) 944 3600 or 3608 (consular). Fax:
(202) 944 3611.
E-mail:
[email protected]@thaiembdc.org
Website: www.thaiembdc.org
Consulates in: Chicago, Los Angeles and New York.
Honorary Consulates in: Alabama, Colorado, Dallas,
Denver, Dominican Republic, El Paso, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii,
Honolulu, Houston, Louisiana, Missouri, Montgomery, Oklahoma,
Oregon and Puerto Rico.
Royal
Thai Consulate General 351 East 52nd Street, New York,
NY 10022, USA Tel: (212) 754 1770 or 2536-8 or 1896. Fax:
(212) 754 1907.
E-mail:
[email protected]
Website: www.thaiembdc.org
Offices also in: Chicago and Los Angeles.
Royal
Thai Embassy 180 Island Park Drive, Ottawa, Ontario K1Y
0A2, Canada Tel: (613) 722 4444. Fax: (613) 722 6624.
E-mail:
[email protected]
Website: www.magma.ca/~thaiott/mainpage.htm
Consulates General in: Calgary, Edmonton, Montr�al,
Toronto and Vancouver.
Tourism
Authority of Thailand 1600 New Phetburi Road, Makkasan,
Rajatevee, Bangkok 10310, Thailand Tel: (2) 2250 5500. Fax:
(2) 2250 5511.
E-mail:
[email protected]
Website: www.tourismthailand.org
Tourism
Authority of Thailand 3rd Floor, Brook House, 98-99 Jermyn
Street, London SW1Y 6EE, UK Tel: (09063) 640 666 (consumer
enquiries; calls cost 60p per minute) or (0870) 900 2007 (brochure
request line) or (020) 7925 2511 (trade enquiries). Fax: (020)
7925 2512.
E-mail:
[email protected]
Website: www.thaismile.co.uk
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 0930-1700 (personal callers).
Tourism
Authority of Thailand 61 Broadway, Suite 2810, New York,
NY 10006, USA Tel: (212) 432 0433. Fax: (212) 269 2588.
E-mail: [email protected]