General information about Thailand

Electricity in Thailand:

220 volts AC, 50Hz. Both flat and round two-pin plugs are used.

The Time in Thailand:

GMT +7 and only one time zone.

Money in Thailand:

The currency of Thailand is the “Baht” .One Baht is divisible into 100 Satang

Major credit cards, american express, Visa and mastercard are accepted by hotels, shopping malls, farrang (forreigner) restaurants and other large shops, but as else where “hard cash” is the preferred way almost everywhere. Travelers checks are not widely accepted outside of hotels or tourist places, so change them for cash at a bank exchange, fond in any and every tourist destination.

The most common coins come in one, two, five and ten Baht pieces. The one, two and five Baht coins are silver, while the ten-Baht coin consists of a silver ring around a brass center. The 10 baht coin looks like a 1 euro coin..don’t get them mixed up.

Bills vary in size and color according to the value: 20 Baht is green,and the smallest, 50 Baht is blue, and slightl y bigger, the 100 Baht is red-ish, the 500 Baht is purple and of course the 1,000 Baht is brown/white and the largest bill.

All bills and all coins have a picture of His Majesty the King, and are therefore supposed to be shown some respect.

Doing Business in Thailand:

Thailand sees a lot of foreigners business travelers and tourists every year and although they are getting more and more used to Western practices it is still important to observe the Thai people’s cultural differences.

Shaking hands is not a popular form of greeting, although accepted in business meetings, and the ‘wai ‘(putting cupped hands in front of oneself and bowing slightly) is more acceptable.

Thais use first names or more popular nick names rather than surnames preceded by Kuhn for both men and women.

Wait to be introduced to others, as it is an indication of rank. Often the hierarchical structures , like else where in Asia, favor the elders, richest, most educated in a group and respect must be given accordingly. Formal, conservative attire is favored.

Business hours are usually 8am to 5pm Monday to Friday.

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