Would like to visit Thailand can I?

[Fondoo]

    I have never traveled to another country so any info about getting a passport would be helpfull. I have been searching around and it looks like there are no restrictions for me to take a trip over,am I right?

[komnaes]

Yup.. and if you're from the US, Canada or any number of European countries you don't need to apply for a visa. Just go with your passport and there's no restriction for entrance.

[joemutt]

Like Komnaes said. If you arrive without visa you can stay for up to 30 days.

However if you'd like to stay longer the single entry tourist visa allows you to stay 60 days extendable once in Thailand with 30 days for a total of 90 days. The double entry tourist visa would allow you to stay 60 + 30 extended, exit, 60 + 30 extended for a total of 180 days. Good news is that until 31 March 2011 these visa are free. You can get them through the mail. (see website thai embassy washington, see also thaivisa.com)

[emeraldize]

So, how did you come to choose Thailand as your first trip destination outside your home country?

[sharkdiver]

    You should have a USA passport anyways. 

And of course you can visit Thailand (just avoid the tuk tuk drivers ..lol).

[Jeff G]

    You should have a USA passport anyways. 

And of course you can visit Thailand (just avoid the tuk tuk drivers ..lol).

I liked the tuc tuc rides , its an adventure in itself LOL  ... and the locals kept us cool in April when the water festival was going on .

[sharkdiver]

I liked the tuc tuc rides , its an adventure in itself LOL  ... and the locals kept us cool in April when the water festival was going on .

one word....DEATHTRAPS!

oh and forget about the "Ping Pong Show"    go for the "Banana Show"

[Ann]

My bf has gone to Thailand on holiday twice in the past two years and never had a problem taking his meds with him.

One word of advice though - make sure you get travel health insurance. It can be difficult to come by for people with hiv though. There is a company here in the UK that accepts people with pre-existing conditions including hiv. They ask you if you are on meds and what your CD4 count is. As long as it's over 200, they don't charge you any more money than they charge someone without any health conditions. I know this first hand because when my neg ex-partner and I used them, his premium was the same as mine. Their prices are VERY reasonable.

http://www.freedominsure.co.uk/

It's very good insurance and covers just about everything, including theft, damage to property, cancelled flights etc, not just health. I'm not sure if they will issue insurance to people who are not living in the UK, but they may have an American sister company or know of an American company who also accepts people with pre-existing conditions.

You may also need a vaccination or two. CDC traveller's information for Thailand.

As for how to get your passport, check this website out... http://www.americanpassport.com/

 

[Fondoo]

So, how did you come to choose Thailand as your first trip destination outside your home country?

 
     Some of my favorite Buddhist Monks have studied there so I would love to see the temples and get a feel of a Buddhist society.Also I am self employed and need some major dental work and I hear it's like 1/3 the price there.This trip is diffidently still in the fantasy stage but I'm stoked can at least entertain the thought.
    Thank you for the helpfull links Ann you rock
      Namaste

[emeraldize]

Their healthcare, in Bangkok, is phenomenal and the temples incredible. The people, quite special.

[Zohar]

I've been to Thailand many times and it really is a wonderful country. Bangkok is frenetic, but addictive, and the people are generally very welcoming. Ignore warnings about tuk tuk 'death traps'- they are great fun, cheap, and very much a part of the experience.

[emeraldize]

I agree about the tuk tuks. Just keep your arms/hands inside. Traffic is so intense in Bangkok, it's quite exhilarating to be in it, exposed to the open air. What you'll find amazing are the motorcyclists, men and women, and the transporting of toddlers, groceries and more, on them. They take many risks in traffic and sadly, there are many fatalities in Bangkok per year due to motorcycle crashes.

[Jeff G]

while in Bangkok I really enjoyed taking a river tour on a long tail boat , its a great way to see some of the temples from the river . The best part of the river tour was back in the canals where the local people live .

[komnaes]

I don't find tuk tuk more convenient than a regular taxi. I hate to have to bargain as well because as tourists we always get overcharged.

I have to admit though I used the motorbike taxis very often when I was there for holidays.. it's much quicker than any other means of transportation for short trips (say no more than a few blocks) and I would pick it if I knew I would not be going on traffic-heavy roads, though one time I got really freaked out when my driver was speeding up and trying to go through between two buses!

[sharkdiver]

I've been to Thailand many times and it really is a wonderful country. Bangkok is frenetic, but addictive, and the people are generally very welcoming. Ignore warnings about tuk tuk 'death traps'- they are great fun, cheap, and very much a part of the experience.

uh whatever


edited to add.   Try going up to Chiang Mai, I enjoyed it much better than the very busy Bangkok.  I volunteered at the Elephant Nature Park for bit which was amazing (a rescue and sanctuary rather than the awful and abusive elephant trekking camps)

[heartforyou]

It is a wonderful country. I have visited it quite some times and spent 1 month over there in 2008.

ANd of course the friendly beautiful people and the spirituality are grat ... and fo course THAI FOOD

Namaste

Herman

[Ann]

uh whatever


edited to add.   Try going up to Chiang Mai, I enjoyed it much better than the very busy Bangkok.  I volunteered at the Elephant Nature Park for bit which was amazing (a rescue and sanctuary rather than the awful and abusive elephant trekking camps)

My bf goes to a small fishing village about an hour north of Bangkok and absolutely loves it. There are some tourist, but not enough to make the place nuts. I don't think he'd bother staying in Bangkok these days.

[Jeff G]

My bf goes to a small fishing village about an hour north of Bangkok and absolutely loves it. There are some tourist, but not enough to make the place nuts. I don't think he'd bother staying in Bangkok these days.

I stayed only a few days in Bangkok both times I visited . I was there to scuba dive and island hop down south . Though I must say the Oriental Hotel in Bangkok was a real treat , the spa on the Japanese side of the hotel was incredible , thank god it was all comped or I would have been staying else where .  

Thialand and its people are an exquisite thing to visit . I had no idea about the sex industry or the exploitation of the very young that goes on there and when confronted in taxicabs with menus of young women to choose from it brought tears to my eyes that later turned to anger .

As for my high moral stance after a month there and few cocktails my boyfriend and I did end up paying to see a woman perform a neat trick with a gold fish but only because the woman with a bird had gone home . It was performance art not sex after all

[Ann]

Menus of girls (or boys) proffered from the backseats of taxis would make me cry too. I'll never understand how people can treat children like that.