Thailand essentials

Emergency and help numbers

As listed by the Thai government’s public relations department. Tap a number to call it from your phone.

• 191All urgent matters
• 1155Tourist Police
• 1669Emergency medical services (National Institute of Emergency Medicine)
• 1672Tourism information (Tourism Authority of Thailand)

Numbers are listed exactly as the official page gives them. Whether a line answers in your language is not stated there.

Power plugs and voltage

Mains electricity: 220 V, 50 Hz, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

• The Tourism Authority of Thailand (2019) says sockets take both flat parallel prongs and two round pins, and that some hotels and offices also have three-pin outlets.
• Thailand’s standard for plugs and sockets (TIS 166-2549) lists sockets with an earth contact and round or flattened round pins, so newer sockets may not take flat prongs.

Check the input rating on your charger or device label before plugging in, and bring a plug adapter. An adapter changes the plug shape, not the voltage.

Thailand time

Thailand’s standard time is UTC+7.

Worked out from your device’s clock and time-zone setting; nothing is sent anywhere.

Thai year (Buddhist Era)

Thai documents, receipts and product dates often use the Buddhist Era year, which is 543 more than the Gregorian year.

Convert Thai years and dates