Land Mass
The kingdom of Thailand lies in the heart of Southeast Asia, making it a natural gateway to Indochina, Myanmar and Southern China. Its shape and geography divide into four natural regions : the mountains and forests of the North; the vast rice fields of the Central Plains; the semi-arid farm lands of the Northeast plateau; and the tropical islands and long coastline of the peninsula South. It has a total land mass of 513,115 sq. km

Capital Bangkok ( Krung Thep, meaning "city of angels")

Official Language Thai
Thai-English road and street signs are found nationwide.

Climate
Thailand enjoys a tropical climate with three distinct seasons-hot and dry from February to May (average temperature 34 degrees Celsius and 75% humidity); rainy with plenty of sunshine from June to October (average day temperature 29 degrees Celsius and 87% humidity); and cool from November to January (temperatures range from 32 degrees Celsius to below 20 degrees Celsius with a drop in humidity).

Much lower temperatures are experienced in the North and Northeast during night-time. The South has a tropical rainforest climate with temperatures averaging 28 degrees Celsius almost all year round.

Ememrgency numbers
191    Central Emergency: Police,
          Ambulance, Fire
1155  Tourist Police (English, French
          and German spoken)

Population
Approximately 62 million

Religion Buddhism (95%), Muslim (4%), others (1%)

Electricity
The electric current is 220 volt AC (50 cycles) throughout the country. Many different types of plugs and sockets are in use. Travellers with electric shavers, hair dryers, tape recorders and other appliances should carry a plug adapter kit. The better hotels will make available 110-volt transformers

Tipping
Tipping is not a usual practice in Thailand although it is becoming more common. Most hotels and restaurants add a 10% service charge to the bill. Taxi drivers do not require a tip, but the gesture is appreciated and 10-20 baht is acceptable for porters

Health Requirements
There are no special vaccinations required for visitors

Drinking water
Tap water is clean but drinking from it directly should be avoided. Bottled water is recommended

Currency
The thai unit of currency is the baht 1 baht is divided into 100 satang. Note are in denominations of 1,000 (brown), 500 (purple), 100 (red), 50 (blue), 20 (green) and 10 (brown) baht. Coins consist of 25 satang, 50 satang, 1 baht, 5 baht and 10 baht.

Major currency bills and travellers cheques are cashed easily at hotels, tourist shops, all provincial banks, shopping centres and money changers.Travellers cheques are best changed in banks (you will need your passport). Rates of exchange at banks or authorised money changers are better than those at hotels and department stores.

Any amount of foreign currency may be brought into the country. Visitors may take foreign currency out of Thailand, but no more than the amount stated in the customs declaration made on arrival. Travellers leaving Thailand may take out no more than 50,000 baht per person in Thai currency.

Passport and visa
http://www.mfa.go.th/web/12.php

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