When I am solo traveling I make sure I have the ticket, passport, Hotel booking and money. If you have these things in place you can more or less get away with anything. Here are some more solo traveling packing tips.
Do have a credit card and an ATM card. Make sure your ATM cards’ international usage have been activated. Inform your bank about the dates when you are going because as soon you use your ATM card abroad, the bank will call you to confirm and if you don’t answer that call, chances are they will block your card. However, on the other hand, credit card companies will only send you a text.
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Activate your international roaming from your service provider. It takes 12-24 hours for them to activate international roaming. Choose the best package and spend some time with the Tele caller and understand the cost. Especially with the net usage. They may charge you on per KB basis; one check in at a restaurant on Facebook can cost you more than Rs.300/-. You cannot disconnect a call you have to let it ring; if you disconnect a call that too is chargeable. However incoming messages are not.
You need to take US Dollars with you. Once you have exchanged your money do take the receipt with you. You might be asked by the immigration officers from where have you got those dollars. In Pattaya, there are plenty of exchange kiosks where you can change money into Baht. These kiosks are open from 9 AM to 10 PM.
Carry some Baht from India itself. I would suggest you carry minimum 3000 Baht with you. 1000 Baht you will require as visa fee. Rest are for taxi fare as in the mornings you don’t want to look for money exchange. I have also noted that at the airport the exchange rates are less. When in Pattaya, don’t convert more than 200-300 Dollars in a day, as it is risky to carry more money. Three hundred dollars with today’s exchange rate will fetch you 10,500 Baht.
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A 100-dollar bill will give you better exchange rate than 30, 50 or 70 dollars in change.
For the first and second trips, I went backpacking. 2 pairs of shorts, 5 T-shirts, undergarments and the jeans and T-shirt I was wearing. Flip Flops to roam on the beach, I bought from Pattaya itself. They are very cheap there. The third trip, I did take a check-in luggage and I regretted it.
Not because it was heavy, but because I did not wear anything out of it. I bought a lot of clothes in Bangkok. I would recommend that if you have a stay in Bangkok, you should travel with few clothes and buy clothes in Bangkok.
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Always carry/wear walking shoes. Whether you are sightseeing or you are exploring malls you would be walking a lot. The malls are HUGE.
If you have taken the above advice, you are ready to land in Bangkok. What to do when you land, read my blog – Bangkok to Pattaya from Suvarnabhumi Airport or Don Mueang Airport.
Eccentric Blogger, Traveler and Consultant.
