Beginner Thailand Tips For First Timers

Many of these will be common sense. Several of them you’ll have thought of yourself already, or you will have watched other videos and discovered things for yourself. And I’m sure many of them you haven’t thought about. Hopefully you’ll take these tips onboard when you go to Thailand for the first time, and they’ll make your holiday your vacation a lot more enjoyable and safe.

So let’s kick off with the first one.

Tip 1: Add One-Third to Your Budget

Whatever you decide you’re going to take with you, whatever your budget you work it out, your food, your entertainment, your hotel, everything like that my tip to you is put one-third on top of that budget. If you’re taking $2,000, that’s your budget take $3,000. If you don’t spend it, you can always take it back to your own country. But I’m guessing you will spend at least some of it.

There’s nothing worse than going on a holiday to a great place like Thailand, you’re having a ball, and two days before you leave, you just haven’t got enough money. You’ve got enough of the essentials to eat and to get the taxi back to Bangkok, that sort of thing. So take one-third more money. There’s a lot more to spend your money on than you can imagine if you haven’t been there before, and once you start spending, it goes very, very fast.

Tip 2: Do Lots of Research

It’s common sense. I’ve just put down: do lots of research before you get out there. So don’t take everything literally that you read have it confirmed by two or three different people. There’s plenty of information out there on the internet now, and I’m sure nobody’s going to go to Thailand without researching anything at all. Do plenty of research before you head out there.

Tip 3: Book Your Hotel on Agoda

I was gonna suggest booking your hotel on Agoda, but that is obviously common sense. So the reason I said book your hotel on Agoda is it’s so much cheaper. When you go from your home country to arriving in Thailand, obviously nobody’s gonna arrive there without a hotel booking.

I’m thinking more specifically when you go from, say, you’re staying in Bangkok for a couple of nights and then you’re gonna head down to Pattaya. And you think, “Well, it’s local, I’ll just go down in a taxi. When I’m down there, there’s lots of hotels, I’ll just walk into reception.” It’s always cheaper on Agoda, guys. I don’t know why, but the walk-in rates in these hotels they won’t give you the same price as Agoda, even though it’s the same hotel and they’re selling the same room. So always use Agoda to save money.

Tip 4: Don’t Book Taxis from Your Home Country

Do not book any taxis from your home country. Now, if you haven’t been to Thailand before, obviously you’ll want to make sure everything’s tied up before you go, and that includes transfers from the airport or maybe Bangkok to Pattaya. Don’t do it, guys. You’re just wasting money.

I’ll tell you for why you’ll never, ever have a problem getting a taxi in Bangkok. There’s just thousands hundreds of thousands all over. It’s a lot cheaper if you negotiate with a taxi yourself. You’ll get a much better price. All these online booking companies, Agoda included, everybody puts their markup on it.

So it might make you feel safe, it will give you a comfort zone knowing your transportation is sorted before you head out there, but you really don’t need it, guys. I mean, when you arrive, there’s thousands of taxis at the airports, there’s thousands of taxis in Bangkok and Pattaya. Do your own deal. Just don’t book taxis from your home country waste of money.

Tip 5: Don’t Change Money at Home

Don’t change any of your money into Thai baht from your country. You’ll have a very bad rate. There’s some good rates in especially around Nana Plaza, Sukhumvit Soi 4, and your best rates you’ll get in Bangkok itself. If you’re gonna change $1,000 in your home country, you’re gonna lose a few hundred baht. And a few hundred baht is a nice dinner in Bangkok. So don’t do it.

When you get to the airport in Bangkok, you will want to change a little bit of money because you’ll need some Thai baht to pay the taxi driver. You might want to get a SIM card at the airport I would recommend actually getting it from the airport. You won’t have to do running around later. The last thing you want to do is waste half the day looking for a SIM card in town.

They have two mobile phone shops as soon as you get off the aircraft, where you pick up your suitcases a couple of mobile shops there. You can buy an internet/mobile phone package for about anywhere from 500 baht up to 1,000 baht that will last you two weeks very, very fast. And I’d recommend that.

So how much should you change at the airport? No more than 50 US dollars / 40 pounds. Just enough for your phone and your taxi you can calculate it. But then what you do is once you’re there, you head down to I’m sure you’re gonna be staying around Sukhumvit, if that’s what you’re going to Thailand for then what you’ll do is you’ll head down to one of these change booths in either Soi 4 or Soi 3.

There’s a good one at the entrance to Nana Plaza they give a very good rate. There’s one opposite it’s a little bit hidden theirs is slightly less than the one at Nana; it’s not the best rate. The best rate I’ve ever found around that area is across the road, Soi 3. If you go to the kind of Arab area, there’s a change booth down there, and they give the best rate even better than the one on Soi 4. But there’s not much in it if you’re changing that much. Just don’t change it in your own country.

Tip 6: Go to the Departures Level for Taxis

And this is quite a good tip for you. When you arrive at Bangkok Airport, it’s a very, very busy airport. Lots and lots of aircraft land at the same time. When you come out to get a taxi whether you’re just going into town or down to Pattaya or whatever there’s going to be queues. The taxi drivers can name their price. And you’ve got a lot of these taxi touts there you’ll be walking through the arrivals and they’re asking you, “Do you want a taxi?”

And you know, if you say yeah, they’ll give you a ticket, you’ll pay the lady there and then, and she’ll tell you “two minutes.” And in the old days, I’ve waited up to 45 minutes. I wouldn’t do it anymore.

The best tip I can give you is when you arrive, ignore all that. Come out into the arrivals hall. Look for the sign that says “Departures.” It’s up you go up one or two levels. There is an elevator there, or you can take the escalators. Just come through, grab your bags, come into arrivals, go up to the departure levels.

That way, all the taxis upstairs on the departures they’re dropping people off they’re empty. They’re gonna go back to town empty. And if you haggle with one of those guys hard I don’t mean physically, I mean verbally but if you do a good deal with him, I’ve got into Bangkok for 250 baht. You certainly won’t pay more than 500 baht. If you book it in arrivals, you’re looking at probably 800 to 1,000, even more. So when you get there, guys, go straight up to the departures level and get your taxi from there.

Tip 7: Use the Hotel Safe

Right, so you’re now in your room. You’ve got to your hotel, and all of the hotels now even the budget hotels have a safety deposit box in the room. They’re normally a keypad you can set your own four-digit password. My tip is don’t leave anything laying around. Put everything in that safe.

It’s a pun, but it is safe it really is. I’ve never, ever heard of anybody having their safe robbed, not from a hotel, even a budget hotel. Once you put things in there, the pilfering that tends to go on I mean, if you were to take a girl back (and we won’t get into this right now, I’ve mentioned in other videos) but if you were to take a girl back and she decided she was gonna pinch your wallet, or maybe take your watch and go out of the room while you’re in the shower it’s just things that are laying next to the bed or on the desk.

If it’s in the safe, there’s no access to it only you’ve got the password and it is totally safe (again, forgive the pun). So use the safe when you’re in the room.

Tip 8: Don’t Flash Your Cash

Once you’re ready to go out, you’re ready to hit the town, you’re finally in Bangkok or Pattaya after all the research and the traveling you’re dog tired but hey, you’re going out, you’re gonna have a good time. Don’t take out more money than you need.

If you’ve come with 3,000 baht holiday money for two weeks, don’t change up 1,000 dollars and then put that in your back pocket and try to be flash when you come out. You’ll make yourself a target, or a potential target. If you’ve got a wedge of 1,000-baht notes like that, somebody will know it’s sat there. And you might be going home after a few drinks a bit worse for wear, and you’re making yourself potentially a target.

You’re not gonna impress any of the girls in the bar if you think you’re gonna go out with a two-inch wedge of 1,000-baht notes and they’re gonna be impressed with you. They’re not. They’ll just look at you like a sucker. They’ll think you’re a sucker because you’ve got a lot of money, you’re flashing it about, and they’ll know you don’t have any experience in Thailand, and again, you’ll become a target.

What I tend to do when I’m there if I budget 4,000 baht for the night, I’ll take 6,000 baht, I’ll take 7,000 baht. I won’t take 20, 30,000 baht that’s just stupid.

So when you meet new friends and I think you know what I mean by “new friends” in the bars don’t try to impress them. Don’t tell them how much money you’ve got with you. Don’t tell them that you’ve come there with 3,000 US dollars. Don’t tell them how much you earn. Be humble. You’re a working man, you’ve saved up, and you don’t earn a lot of money. Because again, you’re only gonna make yourself a target.

And if somebody thinks you’ve got 60,000 bucks sitting in your safe that’s going to last you for three weeks you know, they’re connected to the hotel staff and you don’t know what’s gonna happen. It’s just better to be humble and don’t flash your cash, as it were. And you’re not going to impress any girls by telling them you earn so much money, or you’re rich. Because if you do that, you’re gonna have to back it up, and unless you want to give away thousands of baht, then they’ll look at you like you’re an idiot. You’ll be all mouth and you’re not backing it up with giving them money. So just don’t do it.

Tip 9: Don’t Tell Them You’re on Holiday

When you go to meet these girls, don’t tell them you’re on holiday. One of the first questions they’ll ask you if they haven’t seen you before they’ll ask you if you’re on holiday. And the reason for that, guys, is it tells them that you’re gullible. If they know you’ve just arrived, you’re on holiday, they know you’re gullible. They can tell you what they want, and you’re more than likely to believe it.

On the other hand, don’t tell a web of stupid lies you’ve been in Bangkok for 20 years, you know half the city because they’ll start speaking to you in Thai, and when you can’t speak Thai to them, you look really stupid, won’t you? And after 20 years, you’d be speaking Thai.

So you can come out with a story that you’re a regular visitor, you come for a week every month, or you spend half your time in Thailand and half the time in your own country, you work just nothing over the top. But just don’t say you’re on holiday and you’ve just arrived today, because again, you will become a target. They’ll just look at you like a walk-in ATM.

Tip 10: The Three-Day Rule

Now, this one is to do with relationships with the ladies. I’ve got it speaking around about way I always say that it’s YouTube and I can’t say anything too direct, so you’ll have to read between the lines, guys.

Now, if you hook up with these ladies, what you don’t want to do is really get into a relationship with one of these women working in the bars, because what will happen feelings come in. And once feelings come in, it’s very hard to tear yourself away from it. And what will happen you’ll end up losing financially. I don’t want to get into it too much here because I have actually dedicated videos to this subject.

But what I would say to you is go by the three-day rule at the very minimum. The three-day rule: if you find a girl and you like her, you take her out after three days, dump her. Because feelings will come in. And if you’re a sensitive guy and you can get attached to girls, before three days, make it single transactions, guys.

Because at the end of the day, we’ve all got feelings, we all get emotionally attached to people, and you don’t want to get emotionally attached to a women working in the bars. You’ll come unstuck. It’s just not something you want to do.

If you’re looking for a girlfriend if you want a proper, proper Thai girlfriend there are agencies in Thailand. I made a video just about that marriage agencies. You’re better off going down that route. They won’t speak English, and they’ll be a little bit more simple, but you’ve got more chances of finding a nice, good, respectful Thai lady. You’re not going to find that in the bar. So remember that three-day rule.

Tip 11: Safety First

I can’t really say a lot about it. All I’ll say is safety first in all aspects of everything you’re doing. Thailand safety first. Protect yourself.

And when I say protect yourself, I’m sure you know what I mean. Don’t take a chance, guys. Thailand thousands upon thousands of men visit these bars every year, not only from America or England, Australia they now come from India, Pakistan, China, Malaysia, the Philippines. They come from all over the world. So these girls are popular, and they’re passed around a lot. So as I say, safety first top tip there, guys.

Tip 12: Use a Temporary Number

It’s up to you, but I wouldn’t give any of the girls your real phone number, your real email address. I would suggest if you take a mobile there, get the app Line on it. All the Thais use Line. In the UK, we use we’re texting, we don’t use Line at all it’s weird. We use WhatsApp. Everybody’s got WhatsApp. They don’t seem to use it in Thailand they all use Line.

If you download Line onto your mobile phone and you want to keep in contact with a girl or you want to message her, then do it through Line. Don’t give her well, you can give her your temporary number if you’ve bought a SIM card at the airport that’s no problem, because as soon as you get on the plane, you’re gonna dump that SIM card.

But for God’s sake, don’t give her your home number, your real number when you get back to your country, or your real email address, because you’ll just get inundated with begging letters about sick buffaloes and people being sick. And she’ll just see you as a potential bank, and she’ll just keep constantly trying to extract money from you.

Tip 13: Never Leave the Girl Alone in Your Room

It might seem common sense, but these girls come across as very sincere, very honest, and you can get led into a false sense of security. So my next tip is never leave the girl alone in your room.

Now, scenario: you might be there you might have been with a lady for two days. She’s up there watching her favorite Thai soap opera, her favorite Thai program on TV. You’ve been on your laptop, and you suddenly remember you need to go down to reception only for half a minute because you need to ask them to order you a taxi the next day. You prefer to go down and ask them. You’re only gonna be gone for a minute.

So you think, “She’s into her TV, I’ll leave it there, I’ll pop outside.” Don’t do it, guys. You might come back in, and your very expensive laptop might be gone, along with anything else. And it’s just not worth the risk.

It’s unlikely I mean, a lot of these girls are pretty honest, really, especially the ones who work in the bars. They’re not generally thieves, they don’t generally steal. And they do what they do they’re trying to support their families, they take care of their families, babies, things like that. And most of all, they do what they do they’re actually quite nice girls, you know, they’ve got a nice character. And I don’t want to be derogatory they are nice.

But they are what they are, and you do get the occasional rogue element who would do something a little bit nasty. Not very often. Just make sure you’re not the guy who gets caught out.

Tip 14: Don’t Engage with Sob Stories

Don’t engage any ladies with any sob stories. What I mean by that is their number one mission in life is to extract as much cash as they can out of you. They’ll push the right buttons, they’ll pull the right levers, they’ll turn on the tears automatically they can make themselves cry at the drop of a dime. And they’ll get into some real sad stories.

And if you’ve never been there before, they’re very believable. And when she starts pouring her heart out that her mum’s sick and they haven’t got money for medicine, and 5,000 baht would save her it’s really hard if you haven’t been there before, if you haven’t got the experience. It’s a lot easier to just say, “Here’s 5,000 baht, go and take care of your mum.”

So what my tip to you is if they do start off on something like that, totally ignore it. Keep changing the subject. Go to the bathroom. And if she starts crying, give her a tissue and go to the bathroom. But do not engage her in these kinds of conversations.

Once she sees that you’re not interested you keep changing the subject she’ll get the message very quickly. They’re very clever, guys, and she’ll stop giving you these sob stories because she knows they’re not going to work.

Tip 15: Never Take a Girl Shopping

This is a great tip, and it might seem strange, but it’s one of my best tips. Never, and I mean never, ever take a girl shopping into a shopping mall.

Because what they’ll do if you ask her, “Where’d you want to go shopping?” she’ll choose a shopping mall where she knows there’s at least one gold shop. Because in Thailand, it’s only 24-carat gold. Gold is a commodity more so in Thailand than most other places. If you buy her gold, as soon as you get on the plane, she goes back to that same shop, she gives that gold back to the shop, and they give her money back, less a small percentage.

And even if it’s not gold if you’re walking around a shopping mall, you won’t get out without spending at least a few thousand baht. You’ll see a nice t-shirt, a nice pair of trainers that are real branded trainers, not copies. And if you go around the shopping mall and she’s asking for things, or she’s staring at a nice mobile phone it’s embarrassing.

I mean, to say no, I’m not gonna buy it for you, and then try to have this nice afternoon you go and have some ice cream, you’re walking around, you’re looking around, and she wants you to buy her a 3,000 baht mobile phone and you say no because you’re not stupid it just kind of makes the atmosphere not nice. It just kills the atmosphere.

So try to stay away from shopping malls. There’s nothing wrong with taking her to a restaurant to eat, or that kind of thing. But don’t go to any shopping malls, guys. You’ll be in a world of pain or at least your wallet will be.

Tip 16: Don’t Over-Tip

Don’t over-tip. What I mean by don’t over-tip they’re not going to appreciate it.

I once went to Thailand with a friend. He went for a massage, and at the end of it, he was so happy he gave the girl 1,000 baht. He came out with a big smile on his face and he said, “She’s really happy I gave her a 1,000 baht tip.” I nearly fell off my seat when he told me that.

But on the last day before we went back, he stayed in his room, watched TV. He said he didn’t feel like going out he had burnout, he wanted a rest. But the truth of that was he’d run out of money. I didn’t find this out till we were back in the UK I had to bail him out and bought him a few beers. So don’t over-tip.

We all like to leave a few baht we’re not cheap Charlies. Especially if you get good service, you like to tip. So an example: if I’m in a bar and I’ve had three or four Heinekens with a friend of mine, he’s had three or four drinks, and we leave my turn to pay the bill. I give her 1,000 baht. Three or four hundred baht comes back. I’ll give her 100 baht. That’s about two pound fifty, three dollars, something like that.

But if you left her 500 baht, yes, she’s gonna be all smiles, she’s gonna wai like this really for a long time, and she’s gonna call you a good man, and she might even call you a handsome man. But seriously, guys, they’re not going to appreciate you. They’ll appreciate it up to the point where they’ll think, “Oh, I got 500 baht, which is better than 100 baht.” But they’re not gonna look at you and say, “He’s a really good guy because he tipped me 500 baht.” You’re just wasting your money.

Give them 100 baht they’ll be happy with that. Next time you go back in that bar, you’ll get the service. So don’t over-tip.

Tip 17: Handle Drinks You Buy the Right Way

I made a post about this which featured a lot about the drinks you buy, so I don’t want to get into it too deeply. It’s very hard to say no sometimes.

Scenario: you go into a bar, a lady starts speaking to you. She asks you for a drink. You like her “Okay, I’m on holiday, I’ll buy her a drink.” Then what happens? A couple of her friends come by, and they do this gesture they look at the empty glass and go, you know, because they want a drink. It’s really hard to say no. And you just met this girl, and you’re trying to be nice, and you want her to like you, and you’re telling her friends they can’t have a drink it’s really difficult. We’ve all been there.

You gotta stand your ground. Honestly, just saying “maybe later” they know what you mean by that. So you bought the girl a drink. Two friends come across and they say, “You gonna buy me a drink?” You just say “maybe later” and smile. It’s the easiest way to get out of a situation. It’s not too embarrassing, they don’t lose face.

The girl you’re sitting with she knows the game, she knows you know, she knows what you’re playing at, and she knows you’ve handled it well. So she’ll be more impressed with you because you handled it the right way. So don’t get into that thing with the drinks for girls in the bars.

Tip 18: Fantasy vs. Reality

We’ve got two left now, and these two are quite important. I want to talk about fantasy and reality and not mixing the two.

Now, when you go to somewhere like Pattaya or Bangkok’s entertainment areas, it’s a fantasy. You can be sixty years of age. You can go into these venues, you can talk to a girl of twenty-two. She’ll sit with you, she’ll tell you you’re a handsome man, you’re virile, you’re funny, you dress well, you’re sophisticated. She’ll push all the buttons. She’ll tell you what you want to hear. It’s a fantasy, guys.

And if you get back on the plane and you try to take that fantasy back to your own country you go again, you’re gonna be in a world of pain. Because what’s going to happen you’ll take her number, you’ll go back to your country.

I recently had a guy write to me I’m not gonna mention any names but he said to me, “I’m 50, when I go out, these girls are 26, 24, 22 even it’s like being a teenager again.” His exact phrase was, “Man, it feels good.” And I know where he’s coming from, because it does make you feel good. If I walk into a bar and someone says I dress nice, then of course I’m gonna feel good.

But what I’m saying, guys, is just try to remember it is a fantasy land. It is a fantasy. Reality is your home getting up in the morning, going to work, paying your taxes, paying the rest of your bills. That is life. That is reality.

When you go to Thailand, it’s a fantasy all that goes out the window. Yes, you still have bills and you still have to pay your tax, but for those two weeks or three weeks, whatever it is, you’re gone on holiday you are entering a fantasy land. You’re gonna go into a bar, you’re gonna have a beautiful Asian lady come to you and tell you you’re handsome, “you handsome man” that’s something you’ll hear all the time.

So try to keep your sensible head on, guys, when you go there. Enjoy it, make the most of it it’s great. You’re gonna go there with holiday money, so money shouldn’t be the issue. You’ve got your hotel, the food’s great, these girls are lovely, you have a lot of fun with them. But just don’t try to take the fantasy back home with you.

What you’re better off doing is when you get on the plane, flick the sensible switch. Go back to your job, work hard, save some money, and then come and live the fantasy again. Don’t mix them up, because I’ve seen it happen time and time again. And what happens is guys end up in a small room in Pattaya with no money, no air conditioning just a fan.

These are probably the guys who become internet trolls, and they grow to hate people who actually go on holiday and have a good time. So don’t become one of them.

Tip 19: Remember Why These Places Exist

And my last point my tip number 20 it’s just something to remember, really. Places like Nana Plaza, Patpong, Soi Cowboy, Walking Street, Pattaya it’s all there for one reason. It’s all being set up just to get your money. No other reason. That’s why those places exist.

And if you can relate to that if you keep that in the back of your mind you’ll have a good time, and you won’t do anything stupid. They’ll want you to come back. They’ll want you to tell your friends what a good time you had so that they come and visit Thailand and they spend their money. All those places are there just to get your money from your wallet into their tills. Nothing wrong with that you’re having a good time. But just remember that, guys.

Don’t fall into a false sense of security and believe that the 25-year-old girl on your arm is with you because she really does think you’re handsome, and you’re a well-dressed man, and you’re muscular, and you’re 60. But this 25-year-old girl, she’s just falling in love with you. Because if that’s what happens, you’re gonna go down a slippery slope very, very quickly. And as I say, I’ve seen it happen many times. Don’t let it happen to you.