Thailand Travel and Health Tips for New Teachers
Bottled Water. Busy Wok. Licence Before the Scooter
Most of what goes wrong for new teachers in their first months is ordinary: a bad stomach, a mosquito-season fever, a scooter scrape. From our office in Ban Lum, this is what we tell every teacher before they arrive: drink bottled water, eat from the busy stall, sort your licence before you ride, and save 1155 and 1669. We're not a clinic, so for anything medical, see a doctor.
Getting Around: Trains, Apps and Scooters
Bangkok, provincial towns, and the scooter question.
BTS Skytrain and MRT 🚆
In Bangkok, the BTS and MRT beat the traffic. Trains are air-conditioned and run from roughly 6am to midnight (check the operator's app for your station). The BTS uses a Rabbit card or single tickets; MRT gates take contactless Visa or Mastercard.
Grab and Bolt 🚗
Booking a car or motorbike taxi through Grab or Bolt avoids arguing over the fare: you see the price before you ride and the route is tracked. Coverage and prices vary by town, and in small towns there may be few drivers.
Songthaews and Local Buses 🚐
In towns like Sukhothai, Phitsanulok and Chiang Mai, covered pickup trucks with bench seats (songthaews) run set routes. Fares are often somewhere around 15 to 40 THB, but that's only an example; confirm that week. Press the buzzer to stop and pay the driver when you get off.
🛵 Licence Before the Scooter
Road crashes are one of the biggest risks for foreigners in Thailand. Rental shops rarely check licences, but you need the right motorcycle licence: a home licence that covers motorcycles plus an International Driving Permit (IDP), or a Thai motorcycle licence (see our Thai motorcycle licence post). Many travel and health insurance policies won't pay for a crash if you weren't licensed or weren't wearing a helmet, so read your policy. No licence and no bike cover: don't ride. Wear a proper helmet, take it slowly in the rain, and never ride after drinking.
Food and Water: Bottled Water, Busy Wok
Simple habits that lower the odds of a bad stomach. More in our Thai food and drinking water posts.
| What | Our Advice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Drinking Water | Don't drink tap water | Drink sealed bottled water or water from a filter (RO) machine; machines often charge a few baht a litre, but prices vary. If your stomach is sensitive, brush your teeth with bottled water for the first few weeks. |
| Ice (น้ำแข็ง, nam khaeng) | Tube ice is usually factory ice | Tube ice (cylinders with a hole in the middle) is commonly treated factory ice, and most people have it in drinks. Still use sealed bottles for drinking water, and skip ice chipped off big blocks. |
| Street Food | Busy stall, high heat | Pick stalls with a queue where food is cooked to order in a hot wok or boiling broth. A busy hot wok with a queue is not a health certificate, but it beats trays that have sat in the sun all afternoon. |
| Raw Seafood and Salads | Go easy at first | Raw cockles (hoi khraeng) and salted crab (pu dong) in som tam upset a lot of new stomachs. Start with som tam Thai with dried shrimp. |
| Cut Fruit | Freshly cut, kept cold | Pineapple, watermelon and guava from fruit carts are a good snack; around 20 to 30 THB a bag is a typical example, confirm that week. Pick a cart that keeps the fruit covered and on ice. |
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Dengue, Heat and Pharmacies
Everyday habits. We're not a clinic: for anything medical, see a doctor.
Dengue 🦟
Dengue is found in towns and cities, not just the countryside (malaria is rare outside remote border forest). It's spread by Aedes mosquitoes that bite in the daytime, especially early morning and late afternoon. Put repellent on before morning assembly; common local brands such as Soffell contain DEET, so check the label. A sudden high fever means see a doctor.
Heat ☀️
Humidity makes it hard to cool down. Drink water regularly through the day, add an electrolyte drink when you sweat a lot, and keep out of the midday sun where you can. Dizziness, headache or nausea in the heat means stop, cool down and drink.
Pharmacies 💊
Pharmacies are everywhere, and pharmacists can advise on minor problems and sell many medicines without a prescription. Chains like Boots and Watsons in malls often have English-speaking staff. For anything serious, or if you're not getting better, see a doctor.
Hospitals: Public or Private
Government hospitals are cheaper, but queues are longer and English varies. Private hospitals (such as Bangkok Hospital branches or Samitivej) usually have English-speaking staff and shorter waits, but cost much more, so check what your insurance covers before you go. Once your school registers you for Social Security (section 33), you'll have a registered hospital; ask your school which one it is.
Save These Four Numbers
Short codes that work nationwide from a Thai mobile. Thailand does not use 911. Full list on our emergency numbers page.
Tourist Police: 1155
English, 24 HoursStart here if you need English: theft, assault, road disputes, translation, or help talking to the local police.
Ambulance: 1669
Medical EmergencyThe national emergency medical line. Say where you are clearly, or hand the phone to a Thai colleague or someone nearby.
Police: 191
Mostly ThaiFor crimes in progress and urgent danger. Outside the big tourist areas the operator will probably speak Thai; call 1155 if you need English.
Fire and Snakes: 199
Fire and RescueFire and rescue. The government list also gives 199 for animals, such as snakes, that get into a house; local rescue teams or volunteers usually come.
Lost Passport
First, report it at the nearest police station and get a police report slip (ใบแจ้งความ, bai jaeng khwam). Next, contact your embassy for an emergency travel document or new passport. Then take the new passport to Thai Immigration and ask what they need to move your visa across. Keep scans of your passport photo page and visa stamps in cloud storage.
Weekend Travel: Trains, Ferries and Scams
Getting away on a teacher's salary.
Sleeper Trains 🚂
State Railway sleeper trains from Bangkok (Krung Thep Aphiwat Central) to Chiang Mai or down the southern line save a night's hotel. A second-class air-conditioned berth has been roughly 800 to 1,050 THB, but that's only an example; confirm that week. Book early on the State Railway's D-Ticket site (dticket.railway.co.th), especially for holidays.
Island Ferries ⛴️
For the Gulf islands (Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, Koh Tao), operators such as Lomprayah or Seatran sell combined bus-and-boat tickets; the Andaman islands (Koh Phi Phi, Koh Lanta) have their own ferries. Wear the life jacket on speedboats, especially in rough seas.
Common Scams 🚫
If a tuk-tuk driver or friendly stranger near the Bangkok temples says the Grand Palace is "closed today", smile and keep walking; the detour usually ends at a gem or tailor shop. In taxis, ask for the meter: "perd meter duay khrap / kha" (เปิดมิเตอร์ด้วยครับ/ค่ะ).
Apps Our Teachers Use
Handy for travel, translation and the pharmacy counter.
Travel and Health Questions
Is street food safe to eat in Thailand?
No food is risk-free, and a busy hot wok with a queue is not a health certificate. Still, a busy stall cooking your food to order over high heat is a better bet than trays of pre-cooked food that have sat out all afternoon. Go easy on raw seafood in your first weeks.
Can I drink tap water in Thailand?
No. Drink sealed bottled water or water from a filter machine. Tube ice (the cylinders with a hole in the middle) is commonly treated factory ice, so most people have it in drinks, but still use sealed bottles for drinking water.
How do I avoid dengue in Thailand?
Dengue is spread by mosquitoes that bite in the daytime, so use repellent in the morning and late afternoon, not just at night. Wear light long sleeves at morning assembly and tip out standing water around your home. If you get a sudden high fever, see a doctor.
What emergency numbers should I save in Thailand?
Tourist Police 1155 for help in English, ambulance 1669, police 191 and fire 199. Thailand does not use 911. Our emergency numbers page has the full list.
Can I ride a scooter without a motorcycle licence?
Don't. Rental shops may hand you the keys with just a passport, but riding without the right motorcycle licence (a home licence with motorcycle cover plus an International Driving Permit, or a Thai motorcycle licence) can get you fined, and many insurance policies won't pay out for a crash if you weren't licensed. Check your policy, and wear a helmet.
What is the difference between public and private hospitals in Thailand?
Government hospitals are cheaper but queues are longer and English varies. Private hospitals usually have English-speaking staff and shorter waits, but cost much more, so check what your insurance covers before you go. Once your school registers you for Social Security, you will also have a registered hospital.
Written by Matthew John
Co-Founder & Operations Manager : 20 Years in ThailandI'm Matthew, co-founder of Kids English Thailand. I've lived in Thailand for 20 years and work from our office in Ban Lum, Sukhothai. Since 2009 we have placed over 1,500 teachers in Thai schools, and these are the habits we see keep them well.
