Post

POST: Thailand Post has branches all over and service is reliable, although sending cash or checks is not recommended. Letters 20g and under sent locally cost B3 and abroad B15. Packing, express or registered mail is also available, as well as Western Union, long distance calls/fax and poste restate Open 8.30am-4pm Mon-Fri, 9am-noon Sat (hot line1545, www.thailandpost.com)

The Thai postal system is very reliable, efficient and economical. A common service used is EMS or Express Mail Service, which requires a signature by the recipient. The EMS service is offered both domestically and internationally. There is a nice web site on international EMS at www.cat.or.th/new/ems.htm though unfortunately it was still under construction as of March 2000.

For sending packages overseas, you can do the packing at the post office, as they have a packing counter where you can buy packing materials at a very economical rate, and sometimes get assistance. If you are shipping anything in a box, then the standard procedure is to tie a string around the box so that it can be opened and peeked into by customs to verify that what's on the customs slip is what's in the box. If you seal it, then you pay a much higher rate.

There are post offices conveniently located all over the city, and are listed on some of the maps in the map section.

The post offices are open from 8am to 4:30pm, though some don't like to take international parcel shipments after 3:30.

If you don't yet have an address at which you wish to receive packages, then you can receive packages on hold at most branches of the post office. This is called the "poste restante" service. You should ask the sender to PRINT your name clearly, and underline it, too. It will probably be filed under your surname, but sometimes will be under the first name.

The central post office is located near the river on thanon Charoen Krung (about halfway between its intersections with thanon Surawong and thanon Si Phraya). It runs longer hours and is also open on the weekend. Monday-Friday 8am to 8pm, and weekends 8am to 1pm. (You can also make international phone calls there, which is open 24 hours.)

The Post and Telegraph Department (PTD) has a dual-language website but it does not include postal rates or a list of offices on a map as far as I can find. The main web page is at http://www.ptd.go.th and if you click on the button for English then you go to http://www.ptd.go.th/ptdmain_eng.htm. It seems that more information on postal services can be found on the website of the government agency which oversees the PTD, namely the Communications Authority of Thailand, and specifically their web page at www.cat.or.th.

Notably, do not use the post office Money Order service. You don't get a money order cheque. It's a farce. Go to a Bangkok Bank or a Thai Farmer's Bank instead. There is an alluring advertisement on the website of the Communications Authority of Thailand (who is in charge of the post offices) at http://www.cat.or.th/new/postal.htm, and you'll see a Money Order place in post offices. Again, don't use it. Here's my experience.

Courier Services - International

There are several established international couriers. The main ones are listed below. Others can be found by visiting outlet stores around Bangkok such as Mailboxes, etc., which handle outgoing packages for most or all of the courier services, are located in convenient places around Bangkok, and can help you with packing. The major courier services will also pick up packages from you if you call them. If you have no fixed address in Bangkok, you can have packages shipped to the main office and held for pickup. Make sure you give the sender your phone number, and get back from them the package's airway bill number. You can track the location of the package by Internet as given below.

DHL is currently the biggest and longest established international courier in Bangkok, but the others are now catching up.

Note: When you receive shipments, you may have to pay customs duties on them.

Note: When you send something, you let the courier seal the package, as the content must be inspected before it can be shipped.

DHL

Tel.: 02-207-0600
Grand Amarin Tower, Floor 22
1550 New Petchburi Rd.
Makkasan,
Bangkok

This is a big green-blue building with yellow trim, on Petchburi between Soi Nana Nua and Asoke.

Note: take the elevator in the "high zone" for floors 20+.

More info on DHL can be found at: http://www.dhl.com
DHL shipments can be tracked at: http://www.dhl.com/track

Federal Express
Tel.: 02-367-3222
Green Tower, Floor 8
Rama 4 Rd.
Bangkok

More info on Federal Express can be found at: TBD
Federal Express shipments can be tracked at: TBD

UPS (United Parcel Service)
Tel.: 02-712-3300
16/1 Sukhumvit soi 44/1
Bangkok

More info on UPS can be found at: TBD
UPS shipments can be tracked at: TBD

If you go to places like Mailboxes, etc., you may come across some additional vendors of international transport, especially for surface rates. For example, one is called SAL (Sea, Air and Land). If you use these, then we would like to hear of your experiences. I've noticed that the CAT / PTD have added this to their website, though it was still under construction as of March 2000. Stay tuned at www.cat.or.th/new/sal.htm.