In Thailand is a hostel and guesthouse for book: Facts on Thailand and Bangkok Thailand Climate: The Thais often say: We have only two seasons, hot and hotter. This is true as far as it's never cold in Thailand. Officially however there are three seasons: Cool (from November to February) with temperatures in the mid twenties to thirties (Celsius). Hot (from March to May) with temperatures always above 30 and often around 40. Rainy (from June to October) with temperatures in the mid twenties and regular tropical rain and thunder showers. In Bangkok and the South of Thailand it is never cold but in the North temperatures can reach almost 0 during the night in the cool season. Thailand Money: Thailand uses the Bath as it's currency, each is divided into 100 satang but since 1 bath is just 2 cents (dollar and euro) the satang is rarely used, you might receive 25 or 50 satang coins in the supermarket. For the Bath there are three different coins: the 1 bath coin, the 5 bath coin and the 10 bath coin and 5 different bank notes: the 20 Bath note (Green), 50 Bath (Light Blue), 100 Bath (Light Red), 500 Bath (Purple) and 1000 Bath (Gray/Brown). The most important thing you have to remember in Thailand is that most shops or taxi drivers do not have change for 500 or 1000 Bath notes. Make sure you always have change in the form of 20 and 100 Bath notes, a good place to obtain your change is to buy something at a 7-Eleven or Family Mart, shops that are open 24 hours a day. ATM machines are widely available and they accept most cards, this is also the best way to change your money, bring your local bank card and get the money in Thailand from an ATM (don't change at your hotel). Credit cards are also widely accepted in larger stores. Thailand: Tipping is not standard so there is no need to add a percentage to every bill you receive. Pay attention as sometimes they include a service charge on the bill, in this case no extra tip is needed. If this is not the case you can leave a small tip if you want but it's not necessary. In a taxi it usually enough to round the amount to an amount with a 5 or 0 at the end, if the meter says 63 Bath a 65 bath pay is sufficient. Remember never ever to throw money around, the banknotes have an image of the King on them so this is regarded as extremely offending. Thailand Government and Economy: Thailand is a constitutional monarchy with similarities to the British model, it has not been as stable in the past resulting in military coups and other questionable practices. The current Prime Minister is Mr. Thaksin, head of the Thai Rak Thai party (Thai love Thai), he got reelected in 2005 with an overwhelming majority. He is one of the richest people in Thailand and a true business tycoon (it is generally accepted that he has a stake in 50 percent of the economy) Therefore his practices are often watched critically outside Thailand. He either has a direct influence on companies (simply because he owns them) or through one of his many friends. Press freedom is often an issue in Thailand, in the past he has shut down a few radio station that were critical about his decisions and recently on of his close friends at Grammy bought a large share in the Bangkok Post (English newspaper in Thailand). Although officially the Royal family has no decision making power they are often influential as they receive great respect from the people. A plan from the government without the blessing of the King is rare. The King cares deeply about the Thai people and often puts in personal money to help them, he therefore is a good regulating person for the government. Thailand is the largest rice exporter in the world and other exports consist of mostly food related products. At the moment the economy is booming again after a disastrous crash in 1997 when high debts resulted is a severe recession. The booming economy combined with soaring gas prices is leading to high inflation at the moment. Especially since the government is subsidizing gas prices in order to make it available to all Thais. Nevertheless Thailand in still a relatively cheap country compared to other countries in the region such as Singapore and Hongkong. Thailand Media: English TV channels are available in all hotels and apartments, UBC is the provider of packages that include channels like CNN, BBC World, HBO, Star Movies and sport channels like ESPN. Some radio stations are in English but they are more rare, 107 FM is a station that offers English music and news. There are three English newspapers in Thailand, the most popular is the Bangkok Post. The other two are The Nation and The Business Day. These newspapers offer quality information on general news but news that makes headlines in the Thai newspapers is often omitted (crimes by Thai nationals against Thai nationals) Almost all English magazines and books are available in the better bookshops like Asia Books with several branches throughout Bangkok, note that prices are high since the magazines are imported. Thailand Communication and Internet: Making a phone call back home is easy with many phone boots through Bangkok with instructions in English. The mobile phone networks are good as well, however trying to make a phone call during peak hours in Bangkok can be difficult. Currently there are three major networks: AIS GSM : The biggest network owned by PM Thaksin with the best coverage throughout Thailand. Their prepaid package is named One2Call and cards can be purchased virtually everywhere. Prices vary from month to month as people can choose their own promotion. A recent price battle between the three networks has brought prices down considerably and calling inside Thailand is now around 1 to 4 Bath a minute depending on the package. DTAC : The second largest provider with a very good network as well, they tend to be a bit cheaper than One2Call with their Happy DTAC prepaid package. Orange : Orange is relatively new to the Thai market but is the cheapest provider around, they were the ones who unleashed the price battle in 2005 with their Just Talk package. However since they are new they often have capacity problems and coverage outside of Bangkok is not as good as the other two networks. If you come to Thailand it is a good idea to buy a prepaid card (prices around 200 Bath), not only to make phone calls inside the country but international calls as well. Dial 009 before your international number and most Western countries can be reached for only 10 Bath a minute (check prices beforehand though). The Thai postal service is reliable and not too expensive, a package (CD for example) is around 100 Bath with delivery times between 1 and two weeks, make sure you tell them to send it by airmail since boats are a lot slower. Thailand Internet is also widely available with internet cafes throughout Bangkok and other cities. All main tourist islands also have enough internet facilities. Most hotels and apartments have Wifi (Wireless internet) for their customers and Starbucks is always nearby. Dial up cards can be purchased from the 7-Eleven, for around 200 bath you get 30 hours of internet with JI Net for example. Instructions are included with the package but don't expect the connection to be fast (28k8 seems to be the norm). Also be aware that broadband is relatively new so service could be interrupted from time to time but the situation is improving every day. Getting Around. Getting around Bangkok is easy and cheap and there are several ways to get you from one place to another. Thailand Taxis: Taxis in Bangkok are very colorful so you wont have trouble recognizing them. The majority of cabs is either blue with red or yellow with green (like the one in the picture) and they all have a sign on the roof that says: Taxi Meter. You can tell that a cab is available by the red light behind their windshield, just stick out your hand and he will stop to give you a ride. Once you get in there might be some problems explaining...

classified adds, advertisement, advertisment, free adds, free advertisment, post your adds for free, free adds posting, message board, guestbook, guest book, email list, listing, communication, bangkok coalition, bangkok connection, world music, third world, third world music, world music venue, ROOTS, REGGAE PUB, ROOTS REGGAE PUB, African Beats, JAMAICAN BAR AND RESTAURANT, REGGAE AND DUB, DUB, RASTA CLUB THAILAND, BANGKOK ROOTS, Reggae, Dancehall, Thailand Reggae club, The fia manuvaz in da best roots fiya, Bangkok night-life, Reggae coalition, soundcheck at ROOTS, hip-hop, trip-hop, party, drum and bass, bangkok dj, djs, djs bangkok, bangkok djs, hip hop, hip hop bangkok, bangkok hip hop, hiphop, hiphop bangkok, bangkok hiphop, hip hop dj, bangkok hip hop dj, dj hip hop bangkok, party, hip hop party, reggae party, hip hop party bangkok, drum bass, drum n' bass, drum bass party, drum n' bass party, entertainment, bangkok entertainment, roots entertainment, drum bass party bangkok, drum n' bass party bangkok, bangkok drum bass party, bangkok drum n' bass party, dj ofay, dj budda Q, dj Q, freedom factory, japanese reggae, French connection Bangkok, Reggae Thailand, dancehall, dance bangkok, reggae thailand, ska bangkok, bangkok ska, chillout bangkok, bangkok chill'out, louge bangkok, bangkok lounge, music cafe, music cafe bangkok, emporium, sukhumvit, bar sukhumvit, pub sukhumvit, club sukhumvit, sukhumvit, bar, club, pub, cafe, venue, nightlife, nightlife bangkok, thailand nightlife, bangkok nightlife, girls, girls bangkok, pussy, pussy bangkok, dating, bangkok dating, dating bangkok, night, bangkok night, night bangkok, bangkok by night, bangkok restaurant, bangkok food, food bangkok restaurant bangkok, sukhumvit restaurant, restaurant sukhumvit, nightlife venue, venue nightlife, undergroud, bangkok underground, underground bangkok, underground scene, underground coalition, out, outing, bangkok outing, bangkok bbq, bbq bangkok, music, music bangkok, reggae bangkok, bangkok reggae, bangkok music, live, stay bangkok, bangkok, thailand, Bangkok, bar Bangkok, Bangkok nightlife, pub Bangkok, club bkk, Bangkok club, bkk reggae, reggae bkk, regggae picture, reggae pic, reggae picture, pic reggae, picture reggae, reggae, dub, ska, dancehall, raga, ragga, ragamuffine, raggamuffine, bangkok dancehall, bangkok raga, bangkok ragga, bangkok ragamuffine, bangkok raggamuffine, bangkok dancehall, axxionpack, russian reggae, japanese food, jon raf, dj jon raf, steely, dj steely, architek, dj architek, katsuji, dj katsuji, phive, dj phive, tapas, bee, dj bee, mee, dj mee, mea, dj mea, meah, dj meah, gasor, gazor, dj gazor, dj gasor, bed, dj bed supperclub, g gazor, g gasor, dj g gazor, dj g gasor, hip hop dj bangkok, dj party bangkok, turntable party, turntable dj, vynil party, hip hop vynil, hip hop vynil party, turntable party bangkok, turntable dj bangkok, vynil party bangkok, hip hop vynil bangkok, hip hop vynil party bangkok, bangkok turntable party, hip hop world music fusion, bangkok turntable dj, bangkok vynil party, bangkok hip hop vynil, bangkok hip hop vynil party, artists biography, pictures, pic, reggae images, sex on the beach, classified, free advertisement, announcement, guest book, email list, African hip hop, Senegal, cocktail recipe, alfa blondi, alpha blondie, lucky dube, majek fashek, beenie man, ninjaman, capleton, the general, sizzla, sean paul, abbysinians, culture, the lion of juda, selassie, gladiators, embassadors, u-roy, u roy, i roy, king tubby, lee perry, lee scratch perry, yellowman, michael rose, agustus pablo, bob marley, wailers, peter tosh, bunny wailer, pablo moses, don carlos, morgan heritage, antony b, luciano, cecile, elephant man, norris man, sister carol, missy elliot, missy eliot, missy eliott, dj xela, third world, pictures biography, articles, review, program, programme, reggae links, asia, reggae asia, hip hop asia, asian hip hop, thai hip hop, thai reggae, african food, thai food, zanzibar food, zanzibar restaurant, matthieu lagier, wisebwoy, da wisebwoy, wise boy, wiseboy, WISEBWOY, connection, connecta, connekta, sex, sexy, boobs, butt, party, chicks, hoe's, hoe, bitch, horny, bangkok girls, mc, mc b king, pee hang, plinn records, screwed out party, tequila hoe's party, plinn hip hop concert, gangcore club, gangkore club, spydermonkee, spydamonkee, spank da monkee, spank the monkee, joey boy, da jim, suka crew, suca crew, south crew bangkok, pattaya music festival, ko lanta, ko samui, ko pangan, ko tao, ko chang, ko phi phi, ko phuket, koh lanta, koh samui, koh pangan, koh tao, koh chang, koh phi phi, koh phuket, thailand tourisme, unseen in thailand, tourism, thailande, what to do in thailand, what to do in bangkok, things to do, things to see, music, beat, sound, noise, tunes, track, mix, scratch, dj lessons, bike for sell, rent, borrow, auction, chat, it is raining cats and dogs, blr, black liberty records, killa fonz, shepard the leppard, shepard the leopard, peace, no war, babylone, jesus, god, jah, ethiopia, senegal, gambia, ivory coast, morocco, south africa, zimbabwe, swaziland, swasiland, egypt, vibes, good vibes, irie vibes, dreadlocks the time is now, qbar, bed supperclub, bed supper club, bed super club, bedsupperclub, ministry of sound, narcissus, disco, discotheque, dancing, shake, shaking, shake ur boobies, booty call, cm2, siam square, nation of siam, history, historic facts, nation of Islam, black panthers, marvin gaye, jimmy cliff, lat dior, marcus garvey, world, worldwide, around the world, universe, universal, global, earth, the whole earth