Page 10 - Thailand Destination Guide - Alluring Asia

COMMUNICATIONS WHAT TO PACK Telephone Dress is normally casual in Thailand and light ETIQUETTE Country code: 66. Public telephones are available in clothing is advisable. Halter tops and shorts are The Nepalese are very polite people. Handshaking is customary for both men and women post offices, hotels and shops displaying a telephone frowned upon in most places except around sports upon introduction and smiling is definitely a national tradition. There are a few taboos - The unit sign and at roadside kiosks. To call Thailand from and beach areas. When visiting a place of worship it use of the left hand to give and receive as well as crooking your finger to call someone are the USA/Canada dial 011 + 66 + Area Code + Phone is advisable for ladies to wear long sleeves and loose considered impolite. Improper dressing is probably the most significant and visible faux pas Number. pants or long skirts. committed by visitors. Modesty applies to men as well as women, but women should be especially careful to cover the upper arms and legs and avoid tight or revealing clothing. Mobile Telephone Due to restricted weight limits on the Domestic flights (20kg or 44 pounds) it is recommended to When entering homes, shoes are usually left at the door. The same applies to temples and Roaming agreements exist with most major monasteries, especially if the shoes are leather ones. Watch what others do. Children can travel light especially to the jungle areas. international mobile phone companies. Coverage is become veritable pests in their desire to pose for photography, but it's polite to seek permission good in towns and cities throughout the country, with before photographing an adult: by smile and gesture, if not verbally. sporadic coverage in rural areas. HEALTH No inoculations or vaccinations are required unless Don't sit or stand on statues, chortens, chaityas, prayer walls or any vaguely religious object. Internet you are coming from or passing through Buddhism maters here and pervades every aspect of daily life. When visiting a temple always contaminated areas. Yellow fever certificates are walk clockwise around Buddhist stupas, chortens or mani walls. Always remove your shoes Internet is available in many areas of Thailand; there before entering a Buddhist or Hindu temple or sanctuary. There are many rules, but they are required for those who are coming from one of the are Internet cafes in many main towns and cities and constantly repeated, so you won't make any mistakes. If you do, the Bhutanese will forgive 14 following countries: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Internet access is commonplace in most major hotels you if they see you are trying to be reverent. Peru, Angola, Barkina Faso, Gambia, Ghana, throughout Thailand. Guinea, Mauritania, Mali, Nigeria, Sudan and Zaire. It's the custom to give a white scarf of khata to a Buddhist abbot when you are introduced. Please check the latest regulations with your local Post Health Office. You may be subjected to a rapid barrage of questions on personal subjects. This is not Thailand's Postal service is state run but it is reliable considered rude, but if you feel it is you can change the subject, or start questioning the and efficient. The postal service uses both railway and DRUGS questioner. air mail. Most post offices have telephone and fax In Thailand, the answer is simple - don't. Drug services and telegrams can be sent at any time of the Among Hindu castes, cooked food is a primary vehicle for ritual contamination. Any food or trafficking caries a mandatory death penalty. Under utensil that touches the lips is juto, ritually impure, and should not be given to anyone else. day or night. Most provincial post offices sell do-it- Thailand law all drug offenders are considered Empty glasses and dishes should be placed on the ground, away from cooked food. yourself packing boxes and they provide tape and equal, and being a foreigner will not save you from string at no charge. Hours of most major post offices the gallows. Drinking chang or butter tea in a Sherpa home is a ritual in which a quest's glass is refilled (or are 8:00am-4:30pm. at least topped up) at least three times in the course of the first few minutes. Pace yourself and allow the server to do his or her duty. Media Body language can be confusing. Bobbing the head from side to side signals agreement, not Thailand's media is well developed especially 'no' and when a Nepali waves 'come' it looks as if he saying 'go'. Pointing with the finger is compared to other southeast Asian countries and has impolite; villagers use their chins to point. historically been relatively free, although the government has always exercised considerable control, Physical contact between the sexes, even hand-holding, is frowned upon in public, but it's especially over broadcast media. Newspapers and print perfectly all right for members of the same sex. media in Thailand are not subjected to close government supervision. As in most of Asia, time is a malleable concept and promptness is a relative thing. If it does not happen today it may happen tomorrow. This charmingly, relaxed approach can be infuriating if you are waiting for something urgent. ELECTRICITY 220 Voltage, 50 cycles. A converter is necessary to pack It's good to donate a few rupees to genuine beggars, religion mendicants, wandering minstrels or the blind, crippled or ill. Beggars who harass are a different category, as are begging children. Many are quite well off, and play 'one rupee, one pen, on chocolate as a game. Confrontation and aggression are avoided at all costs, and people will go to great lengths to save face and not push an issue or person to the wall. Polite persistence may calmly make it clear you're not interested in the object they're shoving in your face.