Recently, I visited Thailand for a few days I used the Visa on Arrival Option. I am grateful that this option is available for Indian travelers.
Yes, it is possible for Indian passport holders to get Visa on arrival. The process is simple and you only need to carry a few documents before you can get the Visa on arrival.
Thailand now gives Visa on arrival to passport holders of around 21 countries (including India). The Visa on arrival option is available at various airports across Thailand.
That means you don’t have to secure the Visa on arrival only through the Bangkok airport. These six airports give Visa on arrival to Thailand.
Suvarnabhumi Airport
Don Muang International Airport, Bangkok
Chiangmai International Airport, Chiangmai
Phuket International Airport, Phuket
Hatyai International Airport, Songkhla
Samui Airport, Surat Thani
In case you plan to travel into Thailand by road you may also use the Visa on Arrival option available at various checkpoints.
For example, if you plan to enter Thailand via Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, and Malaysia you can get Visa on Arrival at various checkpoints near to the border.
For people wanting to avail the Visa on Arrival option, please find the list of documents you must carry in order to be given entry to Thailand.
Airline Boarding Pass
A passport that is valid 6 months following your departure date with at least 2 unused pages
A completed immigration form available at checkpoints across Thailand. (You can also print the form and fill the form before traveling in order to save wait time).
One recent 4 * 6 CM photograph
A confirmed air ticket showing departure within 15 days from the entry date
A confirmed valid address in Thailand (You can show the hotel booking)
A complete Arrival-Departure Card which the airline staff will distribute prior to landing Thailand
Proof of means of Living Expenses (10,000 baht per person or 20,000 baht per family) ( You may carry cash or show the latest bank statement)
Visa on arrival application fee of 2000 baht (This fee may change and you may carry around 3000 baht in hand so that any extra fee charged at the Visa counter can be given immediately)
The above-mentioned documents are mandatory for getting Visa on Arrival in Thailand. Due to a large number of people seeking entry into Thailand the Visa officials may or may not check all the documents. However, it is handy to keep all the docs in hand in case the Visa officials ask for it.
The Visa on Arrival Option is a great option to take for visiting the country for a short time. I am very happy to get my Visa within 30 minutes. However, depending on the traffic at the airport you may have to wait a bit longer (maybe an hour or so).
* Fee & some other rules may change from time to time. ( This article is updated till 7th July 2018)
With the development of technology people look at mobile apps to get everything done. From paying online bills, grocery, eating cooked food everything can be done in a mobile app. With a growing number of professionals in cities there is very less time to prepare food. And that paved the way for online food delivery apps.
Here’s a list of the 8 Popular Food Delivery Apps in India.
1. Swiggy
Swiggy is an online food delivery app. This company offers reliable service to it’s customers. Many restaurants has tied up with Swiggy delivering quality food. Customer’s may expect to receive well packed food at their doorsteps within 30-45 minutes of the order.
What I like about the Swiggy App is the delivery options. For example, you can choose whether you want Super Fast Delivery, Offers Near You, Pocket Friendly, Swiggy Exclusives, Top Rated, Veg Only, or Trending Now Options. If you are very hungry you can choose Super Fast Delivery. If you want an offer you can order food offers near to your home.
2. Zomato
Zomato is an interesting app for ordering food right to your doorstep. This app has tied up with tons of restaurants. This delivery service has far more restaurants than Swiggy much to the delight of it’s customers.
Both Swiggy & Zomato App has numerous payment options available. You can use MobiKwik, Free Charge, COD or you can use post-paid wallets like Lazy Pay and Simpl to complete your order.
The rating system in Zomato App is a great way to judge a restaurant. If the rating is above 4 usually the food is tasty and well cooked. If the rating is below 3, the food is little less tasty.
Many restaurants affiliated to Zomato do give discounts from time to time. If you use this app frequently you will find out that you can get 30- 50% discount on some orders.
Zomato has introduced a new form of super cash called Piggy Bank. This allows the customer to collect coins on every order. The value of coins collected varies from order to order. The coins can be used in various restaurants to get discounts.
Zomato also has a rewarding system for it’s reviewers. If people like to review restaurants in their locality they can review the Zomato orders and earn points. Once enough points are collected Zomato gives a rating to each reviewer like Zomato Foodie, Zomato Big Foodie, Zomato Super Foodie, Zomato Connoisseur.
3. Uber Eats
Uber Eats is an App developed by the American cab aggregator Uber. Although, the app came late to the party it is still operational in a few cities.
4. Foodpanda India
The app can be used to order food from various restaurants. There is an Express Delivery option in Food Panda India which guarantees food delivery within 45 minutes of order. Food Panda India is available in Delhi, Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Delhi-NCR to name a few.
5. Domino’s
Domino’s Pizza Online Delivery App is one of the best food delivery apps in India. Dominos provides amazing discounts through it’s app.
6. Pizza Hut India
Pizza Hut India is another online Pizza delivery app. This App comes next to Dominos in Pizza Delivery Space.
7. Just Eat
Just Eat is a new entrant into this space. The app is cool and they are coming up.
8. Faasos
Faasos is an exciting app for very high quality food lovers. The Faasos App gives great discounts on food. The App has a collection of handpicked restaurants under it’s belt. Therefore, you can be rest assured that quality will be top notch.
Kullu is a resort town in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. The ideal time to visit Kullu is in the summers. However, one can visit Kullu during winters to experience the snow. I think the worst time to visit Kullu is during the monsoon season.
Kullu in Summers ( March – June )
The weather during the summer season is pleasant. This is the best season to visit Kullu. The temperature in this season range from 10 to 25 degree Celsius. This is also a good time for camping, rafting and trekking activities.
Kullu in Monsoon ( July – August )
Monsoon is not considered a good time to visit Kullu. The incessant make Kullu vulnerable to landslides and rainfall will affect a number of tourist activities in the town.
Winters is considered a good time especially if you like snow. It’s a great time for snow lovers ( December to February ). However, if you are not ready to experience minus temperatures try visiting Kullu in summers.
Best time to visit Manali
Manali is another pleasant resort town in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. We visited Manali in the early 2000s. This town is a great time for a couple to spend time together. The ideal time to visit Manali is during the summers. If you want to experience snow, it is better to visit Manali during the winter season. It is advised not to visit Manali during the monsoon season.
Manali in Summers ( March -June)The summertime in Manali is very pleasant. Like Kullu, the temperature during the summertime ranges from 10 – 25 degree Celsius. This makes Manali a great place to visit. This is a time in which the flowers bloom making Manali extremely beautiful. This is a great time for river rafting, trekking, paragliding and mountain adventures.
Manali in Monsoon ( July – August)This is not an ideal time to visit Manali. Similar to Kullu, this time is the monsoon season. This season experiences heavy rainfall which leads to heavy landslides.
Manali in Winters ( October -February)
This is a perfect time for adventure enthusiast and honeymoon couples. This season is also a great time to visit for someone who loves snow. The temperature during the winter season goes below Zero.
If you are a person who travels a lot, it is important for you to have a clear understanding of travel hacks. The travel hacks are in a position to keep you away from hassle throughout your journeys. On the other hand, these hacks can help you to save a lot of time, effort.
Below mentioned are 10 important hacks, which every traveler should keep in mind.
1. Get in touch with the Airbnb hosts
Most of the travelers tend to use Airbnb in order to reserve their accommodation. But before you go ahead and reserve, you are encouraged to get in touch with the hosts. Then you will be provided with the opportunity to receive exciting discounts.
On the other hand, there are few online portals, which offer discounts on the first Airbnb bookings. If you haven’t used Airbnb before, you can take a look at these coupon codes. Then you will be provided with the ability to save money on your booking. ( Read How to find the right apartment on sites like Airbnb ? )
2.Stick to UBER for traveling
For all your traveling needs, it is possible for you to use Uber. Uber is available for travelers who live in every corner of the world. Due to this reason, you will not have to worry about anything when you book a vehicle through Uber.
The local taxi services are never recommended for tourists. That’s mainly because they try to rip you off. But Uber will never do it and you will be able to use it for all your transportation needs.
You might think that it is possible for you to depend on Google Maps while you are traveling on a foreign country. But you will often come across difficulties while connecting to the internet when you travel. That’s why you must think about downloading offline maps in the region that you are planning to spend your time.
You can simply download Google offline maps to your device and store. It will only take a couple of seconds for you to do it. The best thing about offline maps is that even the directions will be saved. Hence, you will not have to go through any hassle when you are looking for your destination.
4. Clear out web cache when trying to book a flight
When you keep on the search for flight bookings, you will figure out that the fares are going up along with time. That’s because the websites tend to hold cookies and increase the price at every time you do a refresh.
To avoid the negative consequences associated with this, you must always clear your web cache and cookies when booking flights. Otherwise, you will be wasting your money unnecessarily on the flight fares. This simple hack will help you to save a lot of money.
5. If you travel frequently, book with Booking.com
If you are a person who travels frequently, you must stick to Booking.com for all your bookings. Then you will be provided with the opportunity to save lots of money in the long run. That’s mainly because Booking.com offers a “Genius” status for the travelers who use their platform to book frequently. After obtaining that status, you will be able to receive amazing discounts on your bookings.
You are provided with the ability to change the seat of your flight, before you on-board. Traveling in the back or in the middle of the flight will not provide you with the best experience. Hence, you must always think about changing your flight seat before you on board.
You are often provided with the ability to do this when you check in online. Or else, you can walk to the counter at the time of onboarding and request for a seat change. If you can find a complete row for yourself, you must go for it. Or else, you are encouraged to go for the emergency exit row.
Do let the people at check-in counter know about your preferred seat. If you like the window seat more than the middle seat you must let them know so that they can allocate a nice seat. You can also ask a co-passenger to exchange your seat with your seat.
Many passengers have no issues seating in the middle. Therefore, you can grab that seat. Another way is to ask the flight attendant to change your seat or ask for a premium seat upgrade. ( Read 6 Flight Upgrade Tips that work in 2018)
7. Obtain lounge access
Not only will the business travelers be able to access the airport lounges. You are provided with the ability to do it as well. Two different methods are available for you to obtain lounge access. There are credit cards, which offer complimentary access to the lounge for cardholders.
You can think about obtaining such a credit card. Or else, you can make a small payment and get lounge access. Usually, the payment you have to make will be around $50. The amount you pay on it is totally worth because you will be able to receive free meals, and booze along with Wi-Fi access. ( Read 5 Ways To Score Airport Lounge Access )
8. Use a credit card that offers rewards
There are credit cards, which offer exciting rewards to travelers. It is possible for you to use such a credit card as well. You will even be able to earn exciting rewards such as free travels when you use such credit cards
9. Refer a friend and earn rewards
Many different websites out there in the world provide rewards to individuals who offer rewards. Uber, Airbnb, and Booking.com are some perfect examples of such websites.
You just need to use these websites and recommend your friends to use the services. Then you will be provided with affiliate rewards. You will absolutely love what you are getting out of these rewards as well.
Eасh timе уоu асtuаllу want tо find оut the world аnd viѕit new рlасеѕ, you can. If уоu’rе рrераrеd tо make сhоiсеѕ which are definitely less “рrасtiсаl” ( but еnаblе уоu tо trаvеl аt lоw prices), it’ѕ роѕѕiblе for уоu tо viѕit an lоt of соuntriеѕ fоr undеr $25 a dау.
Everybody wаntѕ tо tаkе that vасаtiоn, саrееr brеаk, оr gар уеаr triр, but with thе way thе есоnоmу is right nоw, a lot оf реорlе аrе wоrriеd аbоut being finаnсiаllу ѕtаblе. Tо ѕоmе, trаvеl iѕ nоt a сhоiсе; it iѕ a luxurу.
Hоwеvеr, the fact thаt trаvеl iѕ аlwауѕ еxреnѕivе iѕ juѕt nоt true. Thеrе аrе lоtѕ of grеаt travel dеѕtinаtiоnѕ in the wоrld thаt wоn’t break уоur bаnk оnсе you’re there. Here are the five destinations you can travel under $25 a day.
Thailand
Thailand
Dеѕрitе bеing a grеаtlу рорulаr tourist dеѕtinаtiоn, Thаilаnd altogether hаѕ rеmаinеd rеlаtivеlу affordable. Outѕidе of an fеw оf thе рорulаr tоuriѕt islands, it’ѕ соnvеniеnt to livе on lеѕѕ thаn $20 USD (800 baht) реr dау.
Budgеt rооmѕ соѕt $6-10 USD a реr night, it iѕ роѕѕiblе tо eat оn lеѕѕ thаn $5 USD реr day, beverages аrе аbоut $2 USD, аnd ѕightѕееing activities соѕt around $10 USD. Tо livе оn $25 USD a dау, ѕtау in guеѕthоuѕеѕ, еаt thе tаѕtу lосаl fооd, ѕtау аwау frоm lots оf expensive beverages, and tаkе lосаl trаnѕроrt.
But even whеn I ѕрlurgе, I still bаrеlу break $25 USD реr dау. Many timеѕ I ѕреnd around $20 USD реr day. Thiѕ is a соuntrу where beverages соѕt more than fооd, so аѕ lоng аѕ you gо light оn beverages, уоu’ll find Thаilаnd quite inеxреnѕivе.
Bаli
Aсtuаllу less еxреnѕivе thаn Thаilаnd, Bali iѕ a great dеѕtinаtiоn for аnуоnе lооking tо аvоid ѕреnding an lоt. In thе ѕоuth, еѕресiаllу аrоund Kutа, уоu’ll diѕсоvеr mоrе rооmѕ fоr $ 1,000 USD реr night thаn аnу рlасе in thе world.
Nеvеrthеlеѕѕ, right next tо thеm аrе hоtеl rооmѕ fоr lеѕѕ than $10 USD a night. Thоugh flights are lоng аnd еxреnѕivе, the island itself iѕ absolutely affordable. Mоѕt lосаl meals соѕt $2 USD whilе “Western” dishes аrе аbоut $4 USD.
Aсtivitiеѕ ѕuсh аѕ snorkeling tеnd tо соѕt nо mоrе thаn $10 USD. Mоrеоvеr, as soon as уоu lеаvе thе tоuriѕtу ѕоuthеrn раrt оf thе island and gо inlаnd, еvеrуthing gеtѕ even сhеареr.
Bеfоrе Greece almost wеnt bаnkruрt, the country was a bаrgаin. A соѕtlу night in Grеесе is around $55 USD аnd that included food and beverages.
In metropolitan areas likе Pаriѕ оr Amѕtеrdаm, a dorm rооm iѕ аt least $20 USD. Yоu wouldn’t think a Eurоzоnе соuntrу wоuld be so affordable, but thаt’ѕ аll thе more reason to viѕit. If уоu wish to enjoy Eurоре on a budget, visit Grеесе.
Cеntrаl Amеriса
Costa Rica
Thе mаjоritу of Central Amеriса iѕ pretty affordably, and уоu саn trаvеl оn lеѕѕ than $25 a day. Of course, уоu’ll need tо еxсludе Bеlizе, Cоѕtа Rica, аnd Pаnаmа, as they are mоrе еxреnѕivе ( about $30-40 USD реr dау).
But thrоughоut thе оthеr countries in Cеntrаl America ( El Salvador, Hоndurаѕ, Nicaragua, and Guаtеmаlа), уоu will diѕсоvеr mоѕt budget hоtеlѕ fоr around $10 USD per night, meals fоr $3 USD, mоѕt bus jоurnеуѕ for thе ѕаmе рriсе, аnd bееr less than a dоllаr.
In thе central раrt оf Cеntrаl Amеriса, if you аrе ѕреnding mоrе than $25 USD реr dау, уоu’rе living lаrgе.
If you are a person who travels a lot, it is important for you to have a clear understanding of travel hacks. The travel hacks are in a position to keep you away from hassle throughout your journeys. On the other hand, these hacks can help you to save a lot of time, effort. 
