Thailand — Bangkok Leg · Oct 4

🧳 Mandatory kit — do NOT fly without these

Entry rules for Indian passports (Oct 2026). Tick as you go — progress saves in this browser.

🛂 Documents

Passport — valid 6+ months from entry, 2+ blank pagesPhotocopies + cloud backup of the ID page. Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) — mandatory & FREEOfficial: tdac.immigration.go.th — submit within 72h before arrival (so from Oct 1). Save the QR code. Scam sites charge fees for this — the gov site is free. Visa: not needed — Indians are visa-exempt30-day visa exemption (since 15 Sep 2026). Trip is 6 days. Names must match the passport MRZ exactly on all bookings. Return/onward ticket + hotel addressImmigration can ask; the TDAC form needs the hotel address anyway.

💵 Money

฿20,000 cash per person (≈ ₹59,000) — proof of funds, sorted from IndiaImmigration spot-checks this randomly (some guides say ฿10,000 min — 20k is the safe classic figure). Order the THB via BookMyForex — Thai Baht: currency notes + card, live rates with lock-in, same-day door delivery — beats airport counters. ~₹2.95/฿ (late Sep 2026). Keep some USD/INR as backup. Enable international transactions on your cardsDo this in your bank / card app before flying: turn ON international usage for credit + debit cards, set travel dates, and enable international UPI if you use it — otherwise cards get blocked at the first foreign tap. Cash still covers street food / markets / massage.

🪪 Driving

International Driving Permit (IDP)Legally required to drive or rent a scooter in Thailand — police checkpoints fine tourists daily (Koh Larn scooters!). Get it in India before flying: Parivahan — IDP. Carry it WITH your Indian licence.

🛡️ Health & backups

Travel insurance with Thailand medical coverNot mandatory — non-negotiable in practice. Keep the policy PDF offline. Personal medsOriginal packaging + prescription (some common Indian meds are controlled in Thailand). Zero-forex-markup card — backup paymentNormal cards add ~3.5% cross-currency markup. Get a multi-currency forex card with zero markup (BookMyForex forex card, Niyo-type zero-forex cards) and load THB/USD from India. Carry two payment methods. eSIM installedAIS / True-dtac before landing (or buy at DMK with passport). Universal travel adapterThailand is 220V, Type A/B/C sockets — Indian plugs mostly fit, but one adapter saves the day. Offline copiesPassport, TDAC QR, tickets, hotel booking, insurance — in your phone + email.

Rates are indicative (~₹2.95/฿, BookMyForex, late Sep 2026) — check the live rate when you order. Policy as of 26 Sep 2026.

Route map

OpenStreetMap — zoom in for restaurants, shops & pumps · click a stop or step to zoom · map/satellite toggle top-right

Straight lines between stops = the driving/walking legs as planned. Day 9's dashed line is your DMK → Phuket flight.

✅ Before you go — book this week

One week out. These are the things that actually need action.

Book now

Rajadamnern tickets — Tue Oct 6, “Wildest Muay Thai” (Knockout), gates 18:00. Online via rajadamnern.com / Ticketmelon.
Rental car + Grab combo — car for the Oct 5/7/8 intercity days (~1,500 km total), Grab inside Bangkok. See “Getting around” below.
Hotel in Silom/Sathorn — BTS + MRT access, easy for Old Bangkok, Chinatown and the Pattaya run.
eSIM (AIS / True-dtac) — install before landing; or buy at DMK kiosks with your passport.

🚗 Getting around (local intel)

Bangkok = Grab/Bolt only — there is nowhere to park in the city. Do not drive in.
Everything else = rental car — ~1,500 km over 5 days. Drive on the LEFT. IDP + home licence mandatory (see Kit).
Rentals: Thai Rent A Car (from ฿599/day, with-driver option) · Chic Car Rent · photo every scratch at pickup — same rule as jet skis.
With a driver instead: Klook private car + driver (6/8/10h or multi-day; fuel + tolls included) · Daytrip for transfers with stops.
Apps: Grab (Bangkok default) · Bolt (usually cheaper) · inDrive (name your own fare).

Pack / prep

Temple outfit for Oct 6 — shoulders + below-knee covered. Grand Palace turns people away (sarongs at the gate). No ripped fabric.
Rain shell + phone dry-bag — for the Oct 6 canal boat and Oct 8 Koh Larn crossing.
Cash for street food / markets / massage; bank-branded ATMs (flat foreign-card fee — withdraw bigger, less often).
Apps: Grab or Bolt. Save Tourist Police 1155 (English) in every phone.

Heads up

Grand Palace: ฿500, ticket sales 08:30–15:30, no re-entry. Rare royal ceremonies close parts — check royalgrandpalace.th the morning of Oct 6.
Weather swaps are built in: if Oct 5 is a washout, swap Kanchanaburi with a Bangkok day. Never prepay Erawan or Koh Larn.
Phuket surprise: you land Oct 9 — the eve of the Vegetarian Festival (Oct 10–18). Phuket Town goes almost entirely jay for 9 days. That's your festival. 🌱

⚠️ Scams & safety — mapped to this exact trip

None of this is scary; it's all the same three tricks. Tourist Police: 1155.

Oct 6 · Grand Palace area

“Grand Palace is closed today” → friendly tuk-tuk man → gem/tailor shop detour. It's never closed (rare royal days are announced). Walk past anyone who says so; verify at the gate.

Oct 8 · Koh Larn / Pattaya

Jet-ski “damage” deposit scam (฿10,000–60,000 demanded on return). Video the ski + the operator from every angle before riding. Never leave a passport as deposit. Honestly: snorkeling > jet ski.

Anywhere · transport

Cheap tuk-tuks with “shopping stops”, taxis refusing the meter. Use Grab/Bolt; for a tuk-tuk, agree destination + total fare first. No unsolicited “cheap tours”.

Anywhere · money

Card skimming at isolated ATMs; cards taken out of sight at bars. Bank-branded ATMs, cash for street food, watch the terminal.

🍜 Vegetarian survival guide

Bangkok is genuinely easy — the plan just needs one sentence of Thai.

Keep in rotation

May Kaidee Tanao — Old Town / Khao San
Mango Vegetarian & Vegan — Old Town
Veganerie Nana — Sukhumvit
Baan Ying Plant-Based
Street food: eat across multiple stalls — friends get seafood/meat, you get veg dishes.

The magic words

“No fish sauce / no oyster sauce” — vegetarian ≠ vegan in Thailand.
“Jay / เจ” = strict vegan (no garlic/onion either).
In Ayutthaya: “mai sai nua” (no meat) still gets fish sauce unless you specify.
Must try: roti sai mai in Ayutthaya — spun-sugar “silk threads” in paper-thin roti.

Prices (rough)

Street dish ฿40–80
Grand Palace ฿500 · Wat Pho ฿300 · Wat Arun ฿200
Grab across town ฿100–250
Koh Larn speedboat ฿150–300 pp one way

🎉 Events near your plans

Real, sourced happenings on every trip date in each location, so you can move a day when something better shows up. Dates are strict to your flights: you land Bangkok Oct 4 at 20:00 and fly DMK→HKT Oct 9 at 14:00.
🟢 your day · 🟠 swap candidate (move your day here) · 🔴 clashes with your flights · ⚪ just outside your dates

📍 Top spots & things to do

Restaurants (veg info on every one), viewpoints, markets and activities around your stops — tap “show on map” to see exactly where each one sits in the plan.

🧰 Apps & tools for Thailand

The everyday toolkit: getting around, booking, food (with the veg-friendly ones marked), comms, money and safety. Set up the must-haves before you fly.

📦 Group tours & bookable packages

What the market sells for trips like yours — operator group tours and bookable day trips, with prices and inclusions, so you can compare against the DIY plan (or just buy the good ones). Prices as of Sep 2026.

🔗 Links & sources

Everything worth clicking: tickets to book, official pages for hours & prices, and the references this plan is built on. All links verified 26 Sep 2026.