Bangkok (Lonely Planet) - Andrew Burke [212]
Heatstroke is more serious and requires more urgent action. Symptoms come on suddenly and include weakness, nausea, a hot, dry body with a temperature of more than 41°C, dizziness, confusion, loss of coordination, seizures and, eventually, collapse and loss of consciousness. Seek medical help and begin cooling by getting the victim out of the heat, removing their clothes, fanning them and applying cool, wet cloths or ice to their body, especially to the groin and armpits.
HIV & AIDS
In Thailand around 95% of HIV transmission occurs through sexual activity, and the remainder through natal transmission or through illicit intravenous drug use. HIV/AIDS can also be spread through infected blood transfusions, although this risk is virtually nil in Thailand due to rigorous blood-screening procedures. If you want to be pierced or tattooed, be sure to check that the needles are new.
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HOLIDAYS
Chinese New Year (which usually occurs in late February or early March) and Songkran (mid-April) are the two holiday periods that most affect Bangkok. For up to a week before and after these holidays public transport in or out of the city is extremely busy, although during the holidays themselves Bangkok tends to be quiet (except in Chinatown during Chinese New Year and Th Khao San during Songkran). Because it is peak season for foreign tourists visiting Thailand, the months of December and January can also be very tight.
See Click here for detailed information on individual festivals and holidays.
Public Holidays
Government offices and banks close their doors on the following public holidays. For the precise dates of lunar holidays, see the TAT website www.tourismthailand.org/travel-information.
New Year’s Day 1 January
Makha Bucha Day January/March (lunar)
Chakri Day 6 April (commemorates the founding of the royal Chakri dynasty)
Songkran 13 to 15 April (Thai New Year)
Labor Day 1 May
Coronation Day 5 May (commemorating the 1950 coronation of the current king and queen)
Visakha Bucha Day May/June (lunar)
Khao Phansa July/August (lunar; beginning of the Buddhist rains retreat, when monks refrain from travelling away from their monasteries)
Queen’s Birthday 12 August
King Chulalongkorn Day 23 October
Ok Phansa October/November (lunar; end of Buddhist rains retreat)
King’s Birthday 5 December
Constitution Day 10 December
New Year’s Eve 31 December
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INTERNET ACCESS
Bangkok is a very well-wired town. Internet cafes are scattered throughout the city, charging from about 40B per hour up to 120B. Th Khao San (Map) has the highest concentration of internet cafes, with dozens available. Other good areas include Th Silom (Map), Th Ploenchit and Siam Sq (Map). Additionally, the vast majority of Bangkok guesthouses and hotels offer internet access; look for the icon for places with their own net-connected computers, or for places with wi-fi.
With so much free internet available, and so many net cafes, paying for a temporary dial-up internet account barely seems worth it. If you think it is, find a 7-Eleven and buy a prepaid card for a couple of hundred baht.
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LEGAL MATTERS
Thailand’s police don’t enjoy a squeaky clean reputation but as a foreigner, and especially a tourist, you probably won’t have much to do with them. While some expats will talk of being targeted for fines while driving, most anecdotal evidence suggests the men in tight (we’re talking spray-on) brown shirts and dark aviators will usually go out of their way not to arrest a foreigner breaking minor laws.
The big exception is drug laws. Most Thai police view drug-takers as a social scourge and consequently see it as their duty to enforce the letter of the law; for others it’s an opportunity to make untaxed income via bribes. Which direction they’ll go often depends on drug quantities; small-time offenders are sometimes offered the chance to pay their way out of an arrest, while traffickers usually go to