Mai Pen Rai

What exactly does mai pen rai mean?

If you travel Thailand for any given amount of time, you will probably hear this expression many times….especially if something is going wrong or someone has lost their cool.

Mai Pen Rai sounds like “My pin rye”.This simple phrase sums up life in Thailand and the attitude there in general.

There are lots of different opinions on the direct translation, but it basically means “no worries” or “don’t worry about it“.

It was this attitude that helped Thailand to survive the emotional impact after the Tsunami.

This is ingrained into the very culture in Thailand and it is a great way to keep your head when things start going wrong.

If your bus breaks down, flip-flop breaks, or you miss your flight – don’t loose your cool, remember the “saving face” principle and just say “mai pen rai”!


Traveling in a Buddhist Country

Here are some general tips for traveling in Buddhist countries such as Thailand.  The Thai people are very lenient and know that you might not mean offense, but it is still best to travel educated.

  • The head is considered the most sacred part of a person’s body and you should never touch anyone else on the head (including messing up a little kid’s hair)
  • The feet are the opposite of the head and are considered dirty.  Never touch someone with your food, point the bottom of your feet at them while you are sitting, or step over top of someone (raising your foot above their head is an offense.)
  • Get into the habit of always taking your shoes off before going inside businesses and homes.  This includes shops and restaurants.  The is part to keep the dirt outside and is partly symbolic and an important part of Buddhist culture.
  • Some shops in tourist places will allow you to wear your shoes because they understand that not all Westerners know.  Its best to look at what the shopkeeper or other customers are doing first.
  • Buddhists are very conservative in general, be careful about touching members of the opposite sex, especially outside of big cities or tourist areas.
  • Get used to the concept of “Saving Face” in Asia.  This means never loosing your cool, shouting at someone, or making a scene that would make yourself or the other person look lower.  This is highly frowned upon.
  • Women should know never to touch a monk – it will require them to perform a long cleansing ceremony.  If you need to hand something to a monk you must hand it to a man first.

These simple tips will help you respect the local culture in Thailand while you travel.  Remember, you represent all budget travelers when interacting with locals and it only takes one or two bad transactions for a local to become jaded at our presence.

We are guests when traveling Thailand, make sure to act that way!

Thailand Money Tips

You may not be materialistic but money is the lifeblood of travel, it at least takes a little – so knowing how to save travel money is important.

Here are a few easy Thailand Money tips to help you keep a little more Baht in your pocket!

  • You can find ATM machines nearly everywhere in the tourist parts of Thailand.  This is usually the best way to get the local currency, just check with your bank on international exchange fees.
  • It is illegal (and very frowned upon) to damage Thailand money because it has a picture of the King on it.  Take care not to wad up notes unnecessarily.
  • Keep your larger baht notes (500’s and 1000’s) in your money belt so that vendors and others don’t see them in your wallet or money bag while you are trying to negotiate for better prices!
  • Never accept faded, worn out, or torn notes from taxi drivers or in shops – they are difficult to spend and people try to pawn them off to foreigners to get rid of them.
  • Taxi and tuk-tuk drivers in Thailand do not carry a lot of change or will claim that they do not have change in order to get a bigger tip.  Try to hold on to smaller denomination notes for paying these guys.
  • Large notes are very difficult to spend, so try entering in odd numbers at ATM machines to get smaller bills.  (ie… 1900 Baht instead of 2000 Baht)
  • If you have large notes to break, you can usually break them in one of the omnipresent 7-11 stores or McDonalds. Bars will also have change later into the evening.
  • In Thailand you can try to negotiate for nearly everything that isn’t a fixed price – saving a little here and there adds up at the end of a long trip!
  • Tipping isn’t really necessary but it is OK to let drivers keep the change, etc.
  • Don’t rely on the signs for money changers to find out the current exchange rate – take a look at www.xe.com instead.

Thailand money comes in several colorful notes – 1000, 500, 100, 50, 20 and 10 Baht coins make up the larger currencies.

ATM machines will typicall dispense 1000 and 500 Baht notes but sometimes you can find the very handy 100 Baht notes as well.

Thailand Vaccinations

First read this – I’m not a travel doctor, you can get the list of “official” recommended Thailand vaccinations on the government CDC website.

Most travel clinics will recommend a ridiculous list of needed vaccinations for Thailand, typically erring on the side of caution which does no favors for your bank account – some of the series of shots can be hundreds of dollars!

Don’t wait until the last minute to get your vaccinations, some need to be spaced apart for proper immunization.  Get to a travel clinic early!

There are some travel vaccinations that you should have in place anyway for any country – they can even help to protect you at home.

Hepatitis A and B

Attacks your liver and there is no cure.  You get Hepatitis A through feces contaminated water.  Even if you don’t plan to drink the local water, what are they washing your plates or silverware with?  Not expensive bottled water!

You contract Hepatitis B through blood or sexual contact and it is more dangerous than A.

You need 2 – 3 shots spaced over a month apart to cover these properly. If you do not have time to finish the course before your trip, it may be possible to be “mostly covered” and get the last shot when you return.  Some clinics offer a shot that combines the two and vaccinations usually provide immunization for 10 years.

Tetanus and Diphtheria

This will be handy at home, so get it anyway.  Only one vaccination is needed to protect you for 10 years. The two can be combined into one single vaccination.

Typhoid

Typhoid comes from contaminated water and will give you a deadly fever.  Many travelers skip this one but I was involved in a Typhoid outbreak in rural China in 2007 and was quite happy that I had my vaccination!

The good news is that you can opt to take a set of 3 pills as your typhoid vaccination and they last longer than the shot – about 5 years.

Japanese B Encephalitis

This mosquito carried virus will make your brain swell, which doesn’t sound very pleasant, but is not too common.  The 3 necessary vaccinations are very expensive and hard to find in the US – not worth it unless you plan to live in a very rural border area as a volunteer or farmer.

Rabies

For years travel clinics were recommending Rabies vaccinations for Thailand and Southeast Asia because of all the stray dogs, cats, and bats found in those countries.

Now there is quite a shortage of rabies vaccinations and they are very expensive. Not worth it unless you plan to work with animals or spend most of your time in caves.

Yellow Fever

Yellow Fever is given as a single shot but you do not really need this vaccination for Thailand.  If you are doing an around the world trip and are arriving in a country after being in a Yellow Fever area such as Africa or South America you may be asked to show proof of vaccination before being allowed in.

Thailand Vaccinations

In conclusion, pretty much every vaccination needed for Thailand will help you in every developing country that you travel, so it is a good idea to get the ones mentioned above months before your trip.

Some of these vaccinations will give you a fever or make you feel sick and tired, so don’t plan to do a whole lot the night that you get them!

Best time to visit Thailand

Climate in Thailand

The weather and climate in Thailand is fairly predictable, but there have been some affects of the changing global climate already.

In general, the rainy season stops around the end of October – making November to May the hottest, driest, and also most popular months to travel around Thailand. Many will argue that this is the best time to visit Thailand, however prices will be higher and there will be many more tourists.  At both ends of that season you have a higher likelihood of rain, as Mother Nature doesn’t always follow the calendar.

April and May are unbearably hot, however the Thai New Year celebration known as Songkran takes place every April to help cool things down by hosting a country-wide water fight for several days. The focus of Songkran is Chiang Mai and it is big…think “Mardis Gras” big, so plan your travel accordingly.

November, December, and January tend to be the most pleasant months and are pretty much the peak of the tourist season in Thailand.

Holidays in Thailand

Thailand is a huge tourist destination so prices and traffic will skyrocket during festivals and holidays.  Some to watch out for are:

  • Songkran  (middle of April – Chiang Mai is greatly affected)
  • King’s Birthday  (December 5th – Bangkok will be the most affected)
  • Chinese New Year (the date moves, usually Jan or Feb)
  • Christmas (December 25th)  – loads of Australians choose to spend the holiday here

Each month on the night of the full moon there is a huge party held on the island of Ko Phangan called the “Full Moon Party” with 15,000 or more people gathering there.  This even affects accommodation on the surrounding islands of Ko Samui and Ko Tao – so check the lunar calendar!

Any time of year is the best time to visit Thailand, if it is raining on one side of the country, rest assured that you can find interesting villages or islands that are drier on the other side.  In the rainy season prices are lower and negotiations are generally easier than when the high season is in full swing.