Sunday, March 22, 2009

Assorted Random Recommendations and Tips for Thailand

Travel Tip #17- Get a Western Digital My Passport Hard drive- they are incredibly small- fits in the palm of your hand- and you can get a 500 GB one for about $110-$130 dependent on the deal you can find on the internet. This is a great thing to transfer all your photos to as you go along.

Travel Tip #18- All outlets in Thailand will work with US plugs so don't worry about an adaptor.

Travel Tip #19- Go to the MKB shopping center in Bangkok when you get to Thailand. On one whole floor there is just cell phones and such- get a SIM card here for your phone. You will have to get the unlock code for your phone from your service provider- (if you're looking to purchase a new phone I would recommend getting a Sony Ericcson as they provide the unlock codes readily at no charge. Phones like the I-phone will not give this code to you.) Anyways, so once you get that code and how to do it- you can google the how to- then get a SIM card with a local Thai number- this cost me 200 baht- about $6. Then you can pick up a top up card at just about any 7-11 store and it's much cheaper to use this number to make calls- both local and international. It costs me about 3 cents a minute to call home with this card, and from what I can figure the local calls cost even less.

Travel Tip #20- Bring bug spray- and I don't think it matters what kind- make sure it's got Picaridin or Deet in it though- I don't know if I'm just sweating it all off, or if the mosquitoes just don't give a hoot, but I've been bit about 30 times so far. REI sells something called Jungle Juice and it's like 98% DEET- now I'm not sure what the effects of DEET will be in the future when they figure out it causes cancer like the butter flavored microwave popcorn- but I can tell you this- the Jungle juice ate through the paint on the table at the place we are staying- this freaks me out a little. So I'm using the Picaridin roll on that I brought now- they seem to work equally. I'm so sweaty all the time it probably doesn't matter.

Travel Tip #21- My FAVORITE skin care product is by a line called Dermalogica and it is called After Sun Repair- I recommend splurging on this if you tend to burn. It has ingredients that actually stop your DNA cells from altering which is what eventually leads to cancer as well as had feel good ingredients to help with the burn. And bring good sunscreen that's waterproof/sweatproof.

Travel Tip #22- Get a massage at least once- it's like $7 for an hour of a little Thai woman working out all the knots- it's awesome.

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