Visa :  At the Thai immigration upon arrival, be sure to check your passport immediately after stamping. Overworked officials sometimes make mistakes. Point out any errors before you leave the immigration area at your port of entry. Mistakes will be rectified. If you don't notice the mistake made at the port of entry, go to the Immigration Office in Soi Suan Phlu Bangkok or near Chiang Mai airport and plead your case. For Laos and Cambodia visa-on-arrival with fees of US$30 and US$25 is available. For Yunnan (China) and Vietnam visa is best applied for at the embassies. Once a visa is issued, it must be used to enter Thailand within 90 days. The Royal Thai Embassy in Washington DC, maintains one of the best Internet sites for information about visas for Thailand  :  www.thaiembdc.org/visa/visa.htm Other visas validity varies from one to two months. Similarly for Singapore and Malaysia, you get your free visa-on-arrival for most nationalities. You will need to apply for a visa to Vietnam at a Vietnamese Embassy. For Laos and Cambodia, visa-on-arrival at a fee of US$30 and US$20 respectively can be obtained at entry checkpoint. An e-Visa for Cambodia is easily obtained Online for a fee of US$25.

Transit/Tourist Visa :  For Thailand, no visa is required for people of 57 different nationalities to enter the country for 30 days at no charge. People of 78 other nationalities, such as those from smaller European countries like Andorra or Liechtenstein or from West Africa, South Asia or Latin America, can obtain a 15-day Transit Visa on arrival upon payment of a 300 Baht fee. A few nationalities (e.g. Hungarians) must obtain a visa in advance of arrival or they will be turned back. It is always prudent to check with an embassy or consulate in advance about the requirement pertaining to you. Without proof of an onward ticket and sufficient funds for the period of stay, any visitor can be denied entry; but in practice your ticket and funds are rarely checked if you are dressed neatly for the immigration check. Next in length of validity is the Tourist Visa, which is good for 60 days and costs US$15. Two passport photos must accompany the application form. Usually it takes only one or two days to get your visa, but check this.

Things to bring :  Light clothings preferably of cotton material for good sweat absorption. Add a jacket for the cool season of Nov.-Feb. especially for northern Thailand and the mountains in Yunnan. A pair of slippers, sunglasses, a hat with brim, sunscreen lotion - all these you can buy in the cities anyway. Your special medication.

Health Precaution :  No vaccination certificate is required unless you come from Latin American countries and tropical Africa. Drink plenty of bottled or boiled water instead of alcohol when in the country. Avoid roadside stalls food unless it is hot - and we are not talking of chillies. Try not to smoke.

Insurance :  Travel insurance is advisable although in many of the "dangerous" activities you would be covered already.