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Morton
Joined: 06 Mar 2007
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 Posted: Mon Jul 28, 2008 2:41 pm Post subject: Thailand questions: visa/exchanging money/taxi fare |
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Do i pay for the visa at the airport? How much is the visa? Also do i need a passport sized photo.
Where is best to change my won into bhat? I bank with Nonghyup but have a voucher for 30% off commision at Shinan bank. I will be in Bangkok for 7 days, how much money should i take?
Finally, how much is a taxi from Bankok Suvarnabhumi airport to Sukhumvit road?
Thanks for your help. I tried a search but just got a white screen. |
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Drew345
Joined: 24 May 2005
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| Posted: Mon Jul 28, 2008 3:56 pm Post subject: |
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Many countries, including most English speaking countries, do not require a visa for Thailand for less than 30 days. The immigration officer will give you a 30 stamp "visa exempt" upon arrival at the airport. Only problem is if you are flying one-way into Thailand your airline may not let you board the plane. What country is your passport? If you have round trip ticket for less than 30 days, your are probably fine depending on your passport.
Won to Baht? Not sure, I always brought dollars. Someone else needs to chime in on that.
At Suvarnibhumi airport, follow signs to "public taxi queue". As you exit, it will probably be to your right side (always has been for me). It will be OUTSIDE. If anyone approaches you inside, give them the cold shoulder. Find the "public taxi queue" outside. Easy to recognize; line of taxis, line of people.
Price is meter + 50 bt (airport queue charge) + tollway + tip
meter will be about 200 - 250 Bt (I think fares just went up?)
tollway, not sure if it is required to go to sukumwit. If your driver gets on the tollway, give him 40 Bt (or 100 and get change) just before you enter the gate.
tip - if he is cool and used the meter no problem, a 30 or 40 bt tip is nice from the airport. These guys make very little, though I think meter fares did just go up.
Total is usually about 300 Bt but may be 400 Bt with new fares. |
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Morton
Joined: 06 Mar 2007
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| Posted: Mon Jul 28, 2008 4:58 pm Post subject: |
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| Thanks for your reply and help. I have a UK passport and am going for 7 days. I have a return ticket. Hopefully that means i don't have to pay for a visa. That would be cool. |
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Drew345
Joined: 24 May 2005
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| Posted: Mon Jul 28, 2008 5:06 pm Post subject: |
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Yes, you don't need to worry about a visa or paying anything. When you land, just go directly to the immigration line (with the form you filed out on the plane).
Before Immigration, you might see a big "Visa on Arrival" area. This is NOT for you. You (we) are "visa exempt". That "Visa on Arrival" seems to be for middle east countries mostly (judging from the crowd). Just go directly to the Immigration queue. |
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R-Seoul
Joined: 23 Aug 2006
Location: your place
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| Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2008 8:45 pm Post subject: |
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| Drew345 wrote: |
Many countries, including most English speaking countries, do not require a visa for Thailand for less than 30 days. The immigration officer will give you a 30 stamp "visa exempt" upon arrival at the airport. Only problem is if you are flying one-way into Thailand your airline may not let you board the plane. What country is your passport? If you have round trip ticket for less than 30 days, your are probably fine depending on your passport.
Won to Baht? Not sure, I always brought dollars. Someone else needs to chime in on that.
At Suvarnibhumi airport, follow signs to "public taxi queue". As you exit, it will probably be to your right side (always has been for me). It will be OUTSIDE. If anyone approaches you inside, give them the cold shoulder. Find the "public taxi queue" outside. Easy to recognize; line of taxis, line of people.
Price is meter + 50 bt (airport queue charge) + tollway + tip
meter will be about 200 - 250 Bt (I think fares just went up?)
tollway, not sure if it is required to go to sukumwit. If your driver gets on the tollway, give him 40 Bt (or 100 and get change) just before you enter the gate.
tip - if he is cool and used the meter no problem, a 30 or 40 bt tip is nice from the airport. These guys make very little, though I think meter fares did just go up.
Total is usually about 300 Bt but may be 400 Bt with new fares. |
I know you�re already in BKK Morton, but this is for other Newbies to BKK. Firstly, once you�ve gone past immigration take the escalator up 2 flights to arrivals there you will find a queue of taxis who you do not have to pay the Bt 50- airport fee to. Secondly, do not get let the taxi driver quote you a price, always insist on the meter. If they don�t want to, don�t bother arguing but take the next taxi. Thirdly, when you take the airport highway the fee is Bt 40 � and then Bt 25- for the next one. Do not take ur taxi drivers word on the fee, read it yourself off the electronic counter at the toll gate. Fourthly, and I cannot stress this strongly enough; do not tip the taxi driver anything! Neither for the toll or once at your destination, sure round it up a couple of baht but no more than that. Whilst this may sound incredibly tight fisted it is for the greater good of expats & tourists alike in BKK. Many taxi drivers, tuk tuk drivers, vendors etc. take the piss by overcharging by ridiculous amounts whenever they see a white face. They regularly take us for mugs and if nobody fights back and pays the proper prices we end up in a situation like the taxi mafia in phuket who charge 10x the normal rate to tourists. Another thing to bear in mind is Thai�s respect someone who is a good bargainer & think someone who doesn�t is a tool.
If a taxi driver quotes me a fixed fare in BKK I leave the back passenger seat door open, let the thieving bugger close it himself. |
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Rutherford
Joined: 31 Jul 2007
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| Posted: Tue Aug 12, 2008 7:06 am Post subject: |
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| Is it customary for Thais to tip taxi drivers? |
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spliff
Joined: 19 Jan 2004
Location: Khon Kaen, Thailand
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| Posted: Tue Aug 12, 2008 2:28 pm Post subject: |
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| No, don't tip...just pay the fare. |
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laconic2
Joined: 23 May 2005
Location: Wonderful World of ESL
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| Posted: Tue Aug 12, 2008 3:36 pm Post subject: |
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| Rutherford wrote: |
| Is it customary for Thais to tip taxi drivers? |
It is not uncommon for Thais not to tip taxi drivers.
Foreigners are expected to tip and not tipping doesn't help any foreigner who lives here and deals with taxi drivers on a daily basis.
If there is more than one foreigner involved in splitting the fare, my experience has been that the tip is always factored in. |
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Tobias
Joined: 02 Jun 2008
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| Posted: Tue Aug 12, 2008 7:17 pm Post subject: What time are you arriving? |
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This post is hitting the thread late. I assume you haven't gone on your trip.
If not....
What time will you arrive at the airport in the Kok? When I fly in, it's always like fucking midnight. If you're arriving at a decent hour, you can just take the shuttle bus into town. That's the cheapest way to go. I once needed to get from the Nana Skytrain stop to the airport at around 6 pm on a Friday. Tuk-Tuk was 1500 baht (roughly 50 bucks) (believe it). Taxi was 850 baht (around 28 bucks). Plain ol' bus was something like 60 cents US. Bus was nice and took only about 30 minutes to arrive at the front door. The driver even helped me take my heavy-ass suitcases (full of roll-on, socks, shampoo, et al) off the bus.
Forget the taxi. Forget the limo. Take the shuttle bus. The bus will take you to Nana, Sukhumvit, and even Victory Monument.
Last edited by Tobias on Wed Aug 13, 2008 1:18 am; edited 1 time in total |
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spliff
Joined: 19 Jan 2004
Location: Khon Kaen, Thailand
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| Posted: Tue Aug 12, 2008 9:02 pm Post subject: |
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| laconic2 wrote: |
| Rutherford wrote: |
| Is it customary for Thais to tip taxi drivers? |
It is not uncommon for Thais not to tip taxi drivers.
Foreigners are expected to tip and not tipping doesn't help any foreigner who lives here and deals with taxi drivers on a daily basis.
If there is more than one foreigner involved in splitting the fare, my experience has been that the tip is always factored in. |
Total BS.  |
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laconic2
Joined: 23 May 2005
Location: Wonderful World of ESL
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spliff
Joined: 19 Jan 2004
Location: Khon Kaen, Thailand
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| Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 4:45 am Post subject: |
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Ain't gonna bother w/ those links. Truth is this is Asia and in Asia people don't tip taxi drivers. If you do you are an idiot. Your idea that because you have white skin you should tip is just plain stupid on so many different levels. How long have you been in Asia? Tip away, dude...I'm sure the drivers will have a good laugh at the taxi stand! 
BTW, can you even speak Thai? |
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laconic2
Joined: 23 May 2005
Location: Wonderful World of ESL
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| Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 2:29 pm Post subject: |
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| spliff wrote: |
Ain't gonna bother w/ those links. Truth is this is Asia and in Asia people don't tip taxi drivers. If you do you are an idiot. Your idea that because you have white skin you should tip is just plain stupid on so many different levels. How long have you been in Asia? Tip away, dude...I'm sure the drivers will have a good laugh at the taxi stand!
BTW, can you even speak Thai? |
Your mates at ajarn.com would seem to disagree with you and tipping taxi drivers appears to be a regular event for them. 
http://www.ajarnforum.net/vb/practicalities-of-living-in-thailand/12064-tipping-who-how-much-how-often.html |
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spliff
Joined: 19 Jan 2004
Location: Khon Kaen, Thailand
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| Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 2:44 pm Post subject: |
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I give a tip at nice restaurants if the service was good. Not much, usually no more than 20 baht. And for taxis I round it up usually if it's like ten baht or so. But, I don't just give a 50 baht tip for a 200 baht taxi ride. Is that better?  |
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laconic2
Joined: 23 May 2005
Location: Wonderful World of ESL
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| Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 3:02 pm Post subject: |
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| spliff wrote: |
| I give a tip at nice restaurants if the service was good. Not much, usually no more than 20 baht. And for taxis I round it up usually if it's like ten baht or so. But, I don't just give a 50 baht tip for a 200 baht taxi ride. Is that better? |
Neither do I.
Have a nice day.  |
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