Daily Life: Phones, Driving, Transport and Safety

Phone and internet

• Buy a SIM at an operator shop (AIS, True or dtac) with your passport. A live face check is required for new SIMs, and you have 7 days to verify.
• Tourist SIMs expire after 60 days and can't be extended. Switch to a long-term SIM in your own name once you have a visa.
• Home fibre starts around 499 THB a month.

Getting around

• Without a car: Bangkok's BTS and MRT, Grab and Bolt everywhere, songthaews in Pattaya and Chiang Mai. Bangkok is the easiest place to live car-free.
• Driving: Convert your home licence or an International Driving Permit at the Department of Land Transport. The first Thai licence lasts 2 years, then 5 years. A 5-year car licence costs 505 THB.
• Motorbikes: The most dangerous part of Thai life. Wear a helmet, get a motorbike licence, and check that your insurance covers you on two wheels.

Shopping and food

Tops, Big C, Lotus's, Makro and Villa Market cover most needs; Villa and Gourmet Market stock imported food. Halal food is easy in Bangkok and the south, Indian vegetarian food is strongest in Bangkok's Phahurat and Silom, and kosher food is available through Chabad houses. Grab Mart and Lineman deliver groceries in the cities.

Rules that surprise people

• Drinking age is 20 years. Shops sell alcohol 11:00-24:00 (continuous) since 29 May 2026; exemptions for airports, hotels, licensed entertainment venues and designated zones; sales still banned all day on major Buddhist holidays.
• Vapes and e-cigarettes are illegal, with prison terms up to 10 years.
• Criticising the monarchy is a serious crime (3-15 years per count). Avoid the subject in public and online.
• Mains power is 220 V, 50 Hz.

Scams that target retirees

• Calls claiming to be police, customs or your bank, saying your account is linked to a crime. Hang up and call your bank yourself.
• Romance and investment scams on dating sites and social media.
• 'Visa agents' who offer to arrange the bank money for you.

Report scams to 1441. In January 2025 alone there were 31,165 cases nationwide.

Emergency numbers

• Ambulance: 1669
• Police: 191
• Fire: 199
• Tourist Police (English, 24/7): 1155
• Disaster hotline: 1784