We hope that you can find all that you need, and feel quietly confident that you will let us know if there is anything that we have omitted, or that has changed but about which we have not yet been advised...
Currency
ATM's
Language
Time
Holidays
Electricity
Petrol
Health
Post Offices
Internet
Police
Currency
Koh Samui is part of Thailand so the currency is Baht.
Coins 1, 5 and 10 coins.
Notes are 20, 50, 100, 500, 1000 Baht.
1000baht = around 19.50 Euros
100Baht = around 1 Euro 80 cents
See more on currency
ATM's
There are many ATM's (Automatic Teller Machine) on Koh Samui. They accept most credit, debit and electron cards as Visa, Mastercard, American Express, JCB and Diners Club etc.
There are also several banks in Koh Samui and Koh Phangan as well as micro brand banks or exchange offices.
Koh Samui ATM's seem to stop working after midnight! And dont start working until 7 or 8:00am next morninig, you have been warned.
Languages
Language in Thailand is Thai - Chinese and Malay
Time Zone
Thailand (Koh Samui) is GMT +7 Hours
Entertainment Centres
Entertainment Centres: Bars, pubs and big clubs and discos are generally open almost all week. Most places close around 2:00am by law.
National Holidays
January 1 - New years
February full moon - marks the occasion when 1250 of the Buddha's disciples came to hear him preach.
April 6 - Chakri Memorial Day
April 12-14 - Songkran Festival
May 1st - National Labour Day
May 5th - Coronation Day
May 10th - Royal Ploughing Ceremony
May - Visakha Puja Day
July - Asalha Puja Day
July - Khao Phansa Day (Buddhist Lent)
August 12th -
H.M. the Queen's Birthday
Ocotber 23rd - Chulalongkorn Day
December 5th - H.M. the King's Birthday
December 10th - Constitution Day'
December 31st - New years eve
More info on national holidays
Electricity
Electricity is, in general, 220 V
Power cuts on the Island of Samui are quite popular. Due to the increase of accommodation the power station takes the strain.
Tourch is a good idea.Two pin sockets are used here.
Petrol
Petrol Stations sell petrol as Normal (92 octane), Super 97, Unleaded (95 or 98 octane) and Diesel. Not self service on Samui..!
Health - Samui has several hospitals of varying quality. By far the best is Samui International Hospital in Chaweng (North Beach Road, Tel. 077 422 272), which can deal with most medical needs. Anyone requiring long term or highly specialised treatment should get to Bangkok as quickly as possible.
Immigration - Visa extensions are available at the Immigration Office in Nathon. Thanon Thaweeradphakdee, Tel. 077 421 069.
More information on Visa's
Post Offices - There are many sub-post offices all over the island, which are fine for buying stamps and sending postcards. For anything more urgent, go to the main post office in Nathon, which also has a telecom centre for international calls. Seaside Road. Open 8.30am - 430pm Mon - Fri and 9am - 12pm on Saturday and Sunday.
Internet - There are internet access points (cyber cafes) in every town and very easy to find. Most the time you will find internet access in travel and booking agent shops. Wireless access is becoming more available across the whole Island. See more WiFi internet access
Police - There are police boxes or stations in most towns, but many of the officers in them won't be able to speak any English. To overcome the language barrier, see the tourist police in Nathon. Thanon Thaweeradphakdee, Tel. 077 421 281.
|
