DIRECTORY A-ZTIMEas much as 50% over and
above the CAT rate); how-
ever, sometimes local calls
are free or at standard rates.
Some guest houses will have
a mobile phone or landline
that customers can use for a
per-minute fee for overseas
calls.
There are also a variety
of public payphones that
use prepaid phonecards for
calls (both international and
domestic) and, less common,
coin-operated pay phones
for local calls. Using the
public phones can be a bit
of a pain: they are typically
placed beside busy thor-
oughfares where traffi c noise
is a problem.
Time
Thailand’s time zone is seven
hours ahead of GMT/UTC
(London). At government
offi ces and local cinemas,
times are often expressed ac-
cording to the 24-hour clock,
e.g. 11pm is written ‘23.00’.
Toilet s
Increasingly, the Asian-style
squat toilet is less of the
norm in Thailand. There are
still specimens in rural plac-
es, provincial bus stations,
older homes and modest
restaurants, but the Western-
style toilet is becoming
more prevalent and appears
wherever foreign tourists can
be found.
If you encounter a squat,
here’s what you should know.
You should straddle the two
footpads and face the door.
To fl ush use the plastic bowl
to scoop water out of the
adjacent basin and pour into
the toilet bowl. Some places
supply a small pack of toilet
paper at the entrance (5B),
otherwise bring your own
stash or wipe the old-fash-
ioned way with water.
Even in places where sit-
down toilets are installed, the
septic system may not be
designed to take toilet paper.
In such cases there will be a
waste basket where you’re
supposed to place used toilet
paper and feminine hygiene
products. Some modern
toilets also come with a small
spray hose – Thailand’s ver-
sion of the bidet.Tourist
Information
The government-operated
tourist information and
promotion service, Tourism
Authority of Thailand ( TAT;
http://www.tourismthailand.org), was
founded in 1960 and pro-
duces excellent pamphlets
on sightseeing, accommo-
dation and transport. TAT’s
head offi ce is in Bangkok
and there are 22 regional
offi ces throughout the coun-
try. Check the destination
chapters for the TAT offi ce
in the towns you’re planning
to visit.
The following are a few of
TAT’s overseas information
offi ces; check TAT’s website
for contact information inHong Kong, Taipei, Seoul,
Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka,
Stockholm and Rome.
Australia (%02 9247 7549;
http://www.thailand.net.au; Level 2, 75
Pitt St, Sydney, NSW 2000)
France (%01 53 53 47 00;
90 Ave des Champs Élysées,
75008 Paris)
Germany (%069 138 1390;
http://www.thailandtourismus.de;
Bethmannstrasse 58, D-60311,
Frankfurt/Main)
Malaysia (%603 216 23480;
http://www.thaitourism.com.my;
Suite 22.01, Level 22, Menara
Lion, 165 Jalan Ampang, Kuala
Lumpur, 50450)
Singapore (%65 6235 7901;
c/o Royal Thai Embassy, 370
Orchard Rd, 238870)
UK (%020 7925 2511; http://www.
tourismthailand.co.uk; 3rd fl,
Brook House, 98-99 Jermyn St,
London SW1Y 6EE)
USA (%323 461 9814; 1st fl,
611 North Larchmont Blvd, Los
Angeles, CA 90004)Travellers with
Disabilities
Thailand presents one large,
ongoing obstacle course for
the mobility impaired. With
its high curbs, uneven foot-
paths and nonstop traffi c,
Bangkok can be particularly
diffi cult. Many streets must
be crossed via pedestrian
bridges fl anked with steep
stairways, while buses and
boats don’t stop long enough
even for the fully abled.
Rarely are there any ramps
or other access points for
wheelchairs.
A number of more expen-
sive top-end hotels make
consistent design eff orts to
provide disabled access to
their properties. Other deluxe
hotels with high employee-
to-guest ratios are usually
good about accommodating
the mobility impaired by
providing staff help where
building design fails. For the
rest, you’re pretty much left
to your own resources.
Counter to the prevailing
trends, Worldwide Dive &3G HERE WE COME, MAYBE?Thailand’s telecommunications companies and state-
owned agencies have been wrangling over the 3G (mo-
bile broadband platform) for so many years that the
new-generation technology has since been surpassed
by 4G. Thailand is the only Asean country not to have
the service despite a huge number of smartphone us-
ers. In 2010 and 2011, contracts to operate the services
were awarded and then suspended by the courts, ap-
proval to import equipment has been delayed and now
it looks like 2012 might be the year of 3G, maybe.