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When you are a first time visitor you will have a lot of questions concerning the place you are visiting, here are some of the more common.

WHAT YOU NEED TO TAKE
Thailand is hot and sometimes very humid so light cotton clothing is the best. A hat is a must as the sun can be very strong. For golf bring your clubs, some airlines still allow sports equipment to travel free of your baggage allowance

VISA REQUIREMENTS
For 30 days or less no visa is required. You will be required to fill in an immigration form and your passport will be stamped on arrival. For more than 30 days you will require a visa issued in your country of origin, for the UK check out the Thai consulate in hull, they have a website and you can obtain your visa by post.
www.thaiconsul-uk.com

CURRENCY
All hard currency is acceptable including the euro !!. For the best rate of exchange use Stirling denominated travellers cheques. Don’t obtain Thai Baht in the UK the banks rob you on the exchange rate. All credit cards are acceptable in the ATM machines and there are exchange booths all over town generally open to 8 pm. The local currency is the BAHT pronounced "bar"

MEDICAL & INSURANCE
There is no NHS in Thailand, all medical treatment is paid for by you. For this reason you must have health insurance before you come. The hospitals are first class and the local doctors and clinics good for minor problems. If you are on medication bring it with you, all drugs are sold over the counter but the availability of your particular medication is not guaranteed. For PATTAYA inoculations are not required but if you are going "up country" consult your quack before you leave.

GETTING ABOUT
PATTAYA is probably the easiest place on the planet for getting about. The local taxi is a 1 ton pickup with seats in the back, you just flag one down and pile in with the rest of the tourists. The cost is controlled by city hall but in reality any trip within the city limits is 20 baht (15 pence) per person per trip. If you want to go anywhere special flag one down and negotiate the price before boarding. Motorcycle taxis exist all over town, they are reasonably safe the Thai’s use them all the time. If you require a meter cab of minibus your hotel will arrange it for you.

ELECTRICAL
Thailand is 220 VAC using the continental plug system. Adaptors can be purchased at the airport.

SAFETY
Unlikely as it may seem PATTAYA is probably one of the safest places you will ever visit. Discourse is disliked by the Thais, it’s a cultural thing, and you will invariably be greeted with a smile wherever you go. Any problems are usually caused by intoxicated foreigners and even that is rare. Use commonsense, leave your valuables in your safe, take out only enough money for your needs. The local tourist police are there to help you and are generally on your side.

TIPPING
Tipping is a way of life throughout the far east. Your waitress, the girls in the bar, your caddie all rely on tips for a substantial part of their income. A good rule of thumb is 5 - 10% of your bill. As for your caddie a reasonable tip is 100 - 200 baht.

WEATHER
November to April is the dry season, hardly any rain at all. May - June gets very hot, July to October is the rainy season. During the rainy season the rain tends to be heavy but short lived. The golf is rarely affected by the weather, in fact golf is very good in the rainy reason as the greens are holding and the Asian tourists are absent.

HOLIDAY SEASON
The season is from mid December to March when the city is packed with Asian tourists. For the golfer the best time is any time other than the above as the courses are empty and the course management make special offers to encourage golfers onto their courses.

EATING OUT
Due to its international client base PATTAYA is a Mecca for the gastronome. The range is vast and the prices unbelievably cheap so much so that it is quite unnecessary for you to subscribe to a vacation with food included. As it is a beach resort the seafood is particularly good with tiger prawns a must. Drinking water is purchased in bottles.

SHOPPING
Most of the clothes you purchase in the UK are made in the Far East the only difference is the price. Your local football shirt can be had for a song here. Hand made suites and shoes, CD and DVD recordings, leather gear, designer clothes you name it, its here. The local markets are the place to shop as the stores tend to be more expensive. Negotiating the price is expected with some big reductions to be had if business is slow.

OTHER SPORTS
If you get fed up with golf!! you may want to try your hand at bowls, bowling, scuba diving, deep-sea or fresh water fishing, sky diving, elephant or horse riding, wind sailing its all here for your enjoyment. Other more sedately sports exist, pool, snooker etc, you can watch your favourite team in most bars live, you get more live premiership football here than in the UK.

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