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Vaccinations For Thailand… Do you need a boost?

Travelling around Thailand and South East Asia is guaranteed to be an amazing and memorable experience. But we don’t want it to be memorable for all the wrong reasons…. like contracting a nasty but preventable disease! Make sure you take all the possible precautions to keep yourself safe, happy and healthy. We recommended that you contact your GP around 8 weeks before your trip, telling them where you are going and for how long and they can give you the best possible advice, tailored to your individual needs. The most commonly recommended vaccinations for Thailand are Hepatitis A and Typhoid, but you can read more information about these and others here.

With Ultimate Thailand, you don’t travel into any high risk malaria zones, and high strength insect repellent and common sense should be sufficient in keeping those pesky insects at bay. If you do plan on doing onward travel in the north of Thailand or its bordering countries, Laos or Cambodia, for example, you may need to take preventative anti-malarial medication. Your GP will be able to advise if this is necessary.

It is very important to get the necessary vaccinations before you travel, but it is equally important to be aware of other health issues that cannot be vaccinated against. In fact, the most common health problems encountered by travellers come from food and water borne diseases, and a staggering 60% of travellers can be affected. Adhering to simple food and water safety advice should be enough to avoid the Thai Trots, Delhi Belly or whatever else you want to call it! Have a look at this site for advice.

Unfortunately, despite your best efforts, things can go wrong and you may need the help of a doctor while you are away. Make sure you have appropriate travel insurance for your trip, it is mandatory for the tour. Have a look at quotes here…

… Happy travelling!

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5 Things To Do Before You Go Travelling

1. Get Prepared!

Sort out what you’re going to do with all your belongings! If you’re lucky, you may have wonderful parents, or friends, that can store your stuff for a while. If you do, that’s awesome! If not, you need to search for an alternative. You can find a good storage option for a reasonable price these days, you just need to look around!

Make sure your bank knows that you are off your travels! Set up payments for any bills that you still have, so that they come out automatically. That way, you won’t need to be worrying about is your card being blocked or being charged for late payments when you should be enjoying your adventure … not to mention that that money has far better uses!!

Get all your documents together before you go travelling. Is all your visa information, itineraries, flight details etc in an easy to find spot? Take a photocopy of these documents and any other important ones and leave them with someone at home too, in case you lose anything important along the way. It sounds boring but the last thing you want to be doing after a 26 hour flight to Sydney is having to unpack everything because you left all your documents at the bottom of your backpack!

Don’t leave it until the last minute to pack – packing the only belongings you are going to have for a long period of time into a backpack can be stressful – it is almost guaranteed that you will need to pack and unpack a few times before everything fits, and you’re bound to forget something! Do a practice run … or five – you won’t regret it later on!

2. Get your phone unlocked!

Phones are so handy when you’re on your travels! If you have a smart phone, even better! It is your map, your camera, your translator, your local tour guide … not to mention that if you don’t keep in touch with your mum while you’re gallivanting around the world, you will never hear the end of it! All things considered, making sure you can use your phone when you’re away is important. If you get your phone unlocked, you will be able to get a PAYG sim card from the country you are travelling in … shop around for the best deal – if you find one that has a good rate for international calls, you could save you a lot of money!

3. Sell sell sell!

You need all the money you can get and while you’re clearing out all your stuff is a great time to see what you can make money on. As much as it’s a pain, start listing your things on Ebay, go to car boot sales and, as a last resort, because you don’t get as much money, bag your things up and take them to a Clothes For Cash joint where they pay you by the kilo. It may take up some of your time, but it’ll be worth it! Especially when you raise enough money to pay for one of your internal flights in Thailand, that awesome trek in Vietnam, or your skydive during your East Coast trip in Oz! Plus, the more stuff you sell, the less you have to store!

4. Soak it in!

We bet you can’t imagine that when you start your adventure, and you’re finally doing all the things that you have been daydreaming about for months, you’ll miss ‘the little things’ from back home … but it’s almost definitely going to happen. It could be something small like your favourite takeaway or bar, or it could be that you will wish you have gone somewhere more often before you left … make sure that you take the time to make the most of your surroundings. Don’t stop making memories at home because you’re so busy planning for the new memories you’re about to make elsewhere!

5. Party!

If you have lots of friends and family to get round and say goodbye to before you leave, it’s going to take you a while and you’re already short on time! A personal goodbye one on one with everyone you know is not really feasible, so get all your favourite people together at the same time. Meet everyone at your favourite bar, go for a meal or have a house party. Because you’re (obviously) their favourite person, they’ll probably shout you a few drinks on the night – awesome! Whatever you do, it’ll be a blast, a night that keeps you smiling long after you’ve said goodbye at the airport!

There’s plenty more to add to this list … what’s the best tip you’ve been given  while preparing for your trip? Let Ultimate Travel, and your fellow backpackers, in on the secret!

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Bangkok… What’s in a name?

Did you know that Thai people don’t refer to their Capital as Bangkok?  The name Bangkok is actually thought to have derived from the Chinese, and adopted by us Westerners, as we were struggling to remember its 169 character original name.  But if you’re up to the challenge you will be sure to impress the locals… The full name is Krungthepmahanakhon Amonrattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilokphop Noppharatratchathaniburirom Udomratchaniwetmahasathan Amonphimanawatansathit Sakkathattiyawitsanukamprasit. Translated this means “City of Angels, Great City of Immortals, Magnificent City of the Nine Gems, Seat of the King, City of Royal Palaces, Home of Gods Incarnate, Erected by Visvakarman at Indra’s Behest… Wow!! Luckily, often the locals use the abbreviated version Krung Thep, which means “City of Angels”.

So, Head to Bangkok now and show off with your new found knowledge!  Check out our tour start dates here!

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