In a country where the daily minimum wage is under B150 a day, it's hardly surprising that Western tourists find Thailand an extremely cheap place to travel. At the bottom of the scale, you could manage on a daily budget of about B300-400 if you're willing to opt for basic accommodation and eat, drink and travel as the locals do, spending B80-120 for a room (less if you share), around B100-150 on three meals, and the rest on travel and incidentals. With extras like air conditioning in rooms and on buses, taking tuk-tuks rather than buses for cross-town journeys, and a meal and a couple of beers in a more touristy restaurant, a day's outlay will rise to a minimum of B800. Staying in expensive hotels and eating in the more exclusive restaurants, you should be able to live in extreme comfort for around B2000 a day.

If you need money wired to you in Thailand , you can pick it up from the following agents in Bangkok: American Express at Bangkok Bank, 33 Tha Silom, Bangkok (tel 02/236 8970); any Bangkok branch of Siam Commercial Bank, including the centrally located one at 1060 Tha Phetchaburi, Bangkok (tel 02/256 1220); Thomas Cook at Bangkok Bank, 33 Tha Silom, Bangkok (tel 02/236 8970); Western Union at any Bangkok branch of the Metropolitan Bank - call 02/224 3727 for addresses.