TRAVEL
TIPS
| Driving |
U.S
Driving Permit accepted |
| Currency |
(THB)
Baht |
| Electrical |
220 Volts |
| Telephones |
Country
Code 66, City Code, Bangkok 2+7D, Ban Pong 32+6D, Central
Region 3+7D |
Electricity:
The electric system is 220 Volt AC, 50Hz. American and
European-style rounded and flat pin plugs can be used in sockets.
Travellers with shavers, tape recorders and other appliances will
require a plug-adapter kit, these can be bought in many supermarkets
here on Samui. Power failures are not uncommon on Samui especially
during the rainy season; so it's a good idea to keep a torch handy.
Local
Time: Thailand time is 7 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean
Time (GMT) and 6 hours ahead of British Summer Time (BST). It
is 12 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time (EST) and 15 hours
ahead of Pacific Standard Time (PST).
Water: Drink only bottled water, most hotels
will supply at least one or two bottles daily inside your room.
Bottled water is on sale in various sizes in all supermarkets.
Nearly all restaurants use clean factory-made ice cubes.
Language:
Thai is the national language. English is widely understood in
Samui. It is useful to learn a few simple Thai phrases as Thai's
will be delighted that you made the effort.
Business
Hours: Banking hours are Monday to Friday 8.30am-3.30pm,
exchange kiosks are open until 7pm in Nathon and 10pm in Chaweng
and Lamai. Shops and stores usually open seven days a week from
10am-6pm in Nathon and 10am-11pm in Chaweng and Lamai. Office
hours are usually Monday-Friday 9am-5pm.
Postal
Service: The main post office is in Nathon, there are
sub branches in Chaweng, Lamai and Maenam - all are located on
the main road. Opening hours are from 9am to 4pm, Monday - Saturday.
The Thai postal service is very reliable and airmail takes around
7 days to reach Europe. A postcard stamp costs 14 baht and goes
by airmail, stamps can be purchased in most hotels or supermakets.
Parcels can be sent by surface mail (cheapest) but takes about
3 months, or by air-mail parcel service which is almost 3 times
as expensive and takes about 1 week. A poste restante service
is operated in Nathon.
Telephone:
IDD (International Direct Dialing) is available from most hotels
and travel agents around the island. The outgoing international
code is 001 followed by the relevent country code. The cheapest
way is to phone from a post office or to buy a 500 baht international
phonecard. These cards can be used at public cardphones - usually
located outside the supermarket where you can buy a card. Recently
the telephone system on Samui has been upgraded and all local
numbers are now prefixed by 077.
