COMMUNICATIONS

Mail, takes about 1 week from Bangkok to Europe or N. America. However it may take longer to deliver mail in isolated areas. It is not allowed to buy stamps for parcels sealed at home. It is compulsory to seal all parcels officially at counters provided at the post office. Parcels delivered by air mail take one week to reach while surface parcels require 3 months time.

Payphones are available in city areas. They use 1 , 5 and 10 baht coins. Some of the phones are not well maintained and you might lose coins. Phone cards for domestic and international phone calls are available. TOT phone cards for domestic and international calls ( separate cards) are available in seven-eleven shops. TOT phone cards can be used only in TOT machines. Some of the payphones also use credit cards.

International calls  can be made from government call centers next to or nearby the post office. They are generally open daily from 7 am to 10pm.  Thai card or CAT card can be bought at these centres and can be used along with any land line or mobile phone. A discount of 30% is offered for calls made between  9pm and 5am. Thai card and CAT card can also be used to call Thailand from your home country.

Most major post offices and government call centres offer a domestic and international fax service . Private phone centres will also send faxes, but more expensive. Many also offer "fax restante".

Internet access is available almost everywhere in Thailand. The prices are as low as 20 Baht per Hour. But in tourist areas the prices are a bit higher, 1- 2 Baht per minute.