How Much Money Do I Need For Thailand

How Much Money Do I Need For Thailand?

Moving To Thailand

When preparing to move abroad there is s a lot you need to spend your money on, especially if you are in no way, shape, or form prepared for it. If you have alot of money, stop reading now. If you have to pave your own way in life then continue to read and find out how much money you really need for Thailand.

Back in 2012 my start up costs were so high - mainly because of a TEFL course. If you are going to Thailand to teach English I would recommend trying to find the cheapest TEFL course that you can. 

Below is break down of my costs when I first went to Thailand. Bear in mind that the conversion rate of THB to GBP was different back in 2012.

Thailand Budget On Arrival

I've decided to put a break down of some of the costs that I've had to make:

• TEFL Course £899
• UK Passport, Check and Send, and Photo's £85
• Thai Visa (2 entries) £50
• Walk in to collect Visa, same day £10
• Travel Insurance £300
• Single Ticket to Thailand £420
• Vaccinations, most free, Yellow Fever £50
• Accommodation, 4 weeks Phuket by the sea £300
• Grand Total: £2114

Note, I haven't even gone anywhere yet! This doesn't include, train fare's, bus fare's, or any other fare's which I needed to get around and do things. I think thats at least another £50.

Although you can't see it, i'm holding 1k, its not fanned out enough! First and last time i'll hold that kind of money in one shot.

Although I know I've seen tonnes of money vanish, it's for a good reason. Today, I've managed to get my Visa stamped, which hopefully means I won't have any trouble at the airport - if you don't have a visa before you travel to Thailand, you must make sure you already have a return ticket booked, otherwise they'll make you buy one at the airport!

I'm also in the middle of sorting my travelers cheques out, I withdrew 1k today to do this! But sadly, just as quick as it came to me, its gone again!

Nearly time to go now, hopefully Tuesday 9th October, providing everything's okay. On another note - I wrote an apology to the university of Wolverhampton on my blog yesterday, I take it back! They haven't even started on printing and sending me my new degree certificates and transcripts! They said they shall be arriving this week, after a phone call today, I realised they LIED.

Less than a week...Apologies, Money, Skype...On and on and Aniston

Not long now until i'm Bangkok bound baby! 3 b's! First I have to apologies to the University of Wolverhampton, I posted 2 days ago about how they were going to take age's getting me copies of my degree. Apparently the woman I spoke to originally is a miserable git! I emailed them and they said they'd post them this week - thanks. This means I can get everything else done.

I'm worried about taking money with me to Bangkok. Never done this before. I've heard about traveler's cheques so I may get some of them. I'm also going to top up my credit card and take that with me. I don't want to be taking my debit card and the bank charging me tonnes to withdraw, I'd rather stick a biro in my eye than do that. Bloody banks!

I'm now on Skype, a good way to keep in contact with people, i'm assuming. I had a test run with this last night, I skyped an aunty. At one point we were on the telephone and Skype at the same time as I couldn't work out the sound! I also did a test run with a friend, but he was a girl and wouldn't chat as he had other friends in the room! Piece of shit! If you want to add me on Skype my skype name's 'comedyliam'. I charge £50 an hour!

One more thing. There's a guy across the road from my house, and he's always washing the bloody car, I swear I've seen him kiss it before! I don't get people with there mundane live's, not just him though, people everywhere they just get on with life. They look miserable and unhappy and bored, so i'm glad i'm leaving the country. Same thing, day in, day out, no thank you, world! Although some people enjoy their mundane live's each to their own, some people might think my life's mundane! It pretty much has been the last few weeks! Just watching Eastenders! Eating Mars bars! And occasionally moving to go for a poo! Meeeeh!

14 Days and Counting.....Degree!

It seems like it's taking forever for the trip to happen. Things are starting to fall into place...

Above image, me studying for a degree!
I got my new passport 2 days ago! Woop! I thought something might have gone wrong with it, and I wouldn't get it but low and behold it arrived. There's nothing like a brand new gleaming passport to cheer yourself up! I look at it and think, I couldn't go anywhere without you, this little book will take me anywhere I want to go. And I can't wait. Woop a passport, how exciting. I'm going to try and refrain from using the word "woop" again.
There's a couple of thing's left for me to do, i need to learn the difference between a pro-noun and a noun for a start. Now I have my passport, I can apply for my visa to the Thai embassy. Once I have that I can book my flight's insurance and off I go...to a land far far away.
One thing that really frustrated me was that I lost my degree, and so I've had to apply for a new one. But it's costed an extra £55 for this thing! Be warned never lose your degree, you might just need it one day! The staff at the University of Wolverhampton, well they're annoying, its not their fault, but they are. I told this woman how it was really important that I get the degree really quickly, she didn't seem to grasp what I was saying. She just said there's a que and you'll have to wait ten days!!! I did say to her how important it was that I needed it quick, and kind of asked if it could be fast tracked. Apparently 70 other people who have applied, their's are very urgent too! I highly doubt it! 3 years paying for a degree, and then paying another £55, to get a copy, ridiculous! Still I can't complain as the students are paying £9000 a year to study at Wolverhampton!

Can I Teach In Thailand Without A Degree?

I won't walk 500 miles!

As the days drift by, and it gets closer and closer to my trip to Thailand, I have to start making decision's; rabies jab, no rabies jab? Do I try the local dishes such as bamboo worm or scorpions? Or do I just go the westernised parts of Thailand to find a McDonalds! I think i'd like some scorpion on toast please.

The biggest decision is what to do when I arrive in Bangkok - I mean on the second day, as the first night I'm going to book myself into a nice hotel after the 13 hour plane journey.

I know I need to get to Phuket from Bangkok, there's several option's available, I could fly, but I won't fancy another plane journey. I could get a bus journey or train, which I know will be relatively cheap. But, I also know this will take forever. I could walk but I know it'll take forever and a day to walk 500 miles!

The decision has come down to two option's for me. Whether to bike ride or get a scooter.

If I choose to bike ride, then this will be relatively cheaper than hiring a scooter. But this also means I will be tired, a lot of the time. And I'm not very good at fixing puncture's. This option has its advantage's as the main roads on route are tarmac-ed and it's all pretty much flat land. By going at my own pace, slow! I think I could make it to Phuket in time for my course i'm taking.

The scooter, now this main advantage is that you won't get tired, and it'll be a lot of fun! The problem's that come with a scooter, however, are very high in comparison to biking it. Some place's will ask to take your passport as a deposit, no friggin way I haven't even got my new passport yet! Some place's might try and do you over, for anything as much as a scratch and when you return it, they'll ask for a lot of money. Note to self: If hiring a scooter, make sure to take photographic evidence of any kind of wear and tare, and show this to the company you're hiring off before you leave. Fuel is cheap on these things, but if you crash it you're fucked! Where there's danger there's fun!

I'm not sure what to do yet - but I know for a fact - I'm not walking it!

Injections for Thailand

Injections Needed To Travel Asia and Thailand

Today I visited the doctors for my injections to go to Thailand. When I arrived at the check in desk there was this short, annoying women with a bear face and looked high on some kind of drugs! This in itself reassured me that I have the done right thing by quitting my job and going to Thailand.

I sat patiently waiting, my appointment was at 4pm, the clock starting turning, 4.10pm...4.15pm...4.25pm. It felt like an age waiting, so when it got to 4.25pm I went over to the reception desk to find out if they had checked me in properly. The miserable receptionist then told me "Oh no, your apointment's at 4.30pm". Why didn't she tell me this at the start! Partly my own fault! But she could of told me! I eventually saw the nurse at 4.45pm, after my name flashed up in lights in the reception area.

Injections Needed

The nurse then went through all the different jabs with me and I ended up getting the following:

- Tetanus, for travelers where there's not much medical help available. Not sure why I needed it though.
- Typhoid, to protect you from contaminated food and water.
- Diphtheria, still unsure on why, but had it all the same.
- Hepatitus A...

Other jabs I may need include:

- Rabies, high chance of catching if bitten by dog! I must not get a paper round!
- Japanese Encephalitus, the nurse explained this by saying it's similar to a flue like condition over a period of time. So similar to having a flu jab.

One thing she wasn't sure of was malaria.  Today has been interesting and going to Thailand has become more real than ever.

It ia necessary to get injected for travel, all over the world, so just make sure you speak to your doctor. I'm still alive in 2015.