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Communications
Phuket
There are daily weather reports at 0730 on 14320 HF SSB and at 0740
on 10118 HF SSB. At the Boat Lagoon, there is a weather report at
0755 on VHF 69.
Dialling out
Operator 100
Directory info local 13, overseas 100
Overseas from Thailand dial 001, then the country
code
Except Malaysia dial 007, then the country code
60
Langkawi dial 007 60 4, followed by local number
Thailand area codes Bangkok 02, Koh Samui 077,
Krabi and Phi Phi 075, Phuket 076, Changi Mai 053, Surat Thani 077,
Chonburi 038
Dialling in
Thailand country code 66
Drop the zero on area codes and mobile
phone codes when calling Thailand, so Phuket is 66 76, followed by
local number.
Long-distance calls
Easiest from business centres that offer this service.
Quality varies, so if you can't carry on a reasonably normal conversation
it's often better to hang up and try again. These centres will also
send and receive faxes. Long-distance phone cards are sold by the
Communications Authority of Thailand, but offer no savings over regular
rates — usually used by people with phones rigged to bar international
calls, common in Thailand.
Telecommunications Centre, 122 Phang Nga Road,
Phuket Town. Tel 076 211 199, open 0800-2400 daily.
Local calls
Public phones, including coin phones and newer card phones, are plentiful.
Phone cards are available from many shops. In Phuket, dial the area
code 076 before any local land-line number, except when calling special
three- and four-digit numbers.
Useful numbers
Emergency 999
Police 191
Tourist Police 1699
Ambulance 076 254 425 or 076 210 935
Customs 076 211 105
Harbour Master 076 391 174
Immigration 076 212 108
Mobile/cellular phones
Most mobile phones with international roaming work in Thailand. But
if you're staying for any length of time, you'll probably want to
buy a Thai sim card or telephone. If you have a modern multiband phone
(operating on 900, 1800 and 1900MHz) it should work with a Thai sim.
Some phones may have to be "unlocked". Some older phones
won't work. The only way to find out is take it to a phone shop.
Non-residents can't subscribe to a monthly billed service.
Instead you will have to buy a sim card (about 800 baht) for a pre-paid
service, such as One-2-Call or D-Prompt. Recharge cards are sold everywhere
from 300 baht. It's debatable which system is best nationwide, but
all have good coverage in the Phuket area. Both allow international
calls.
New telephones, with One-2-Call or D-Prompt sims included,
cost from about 4,500 baht. This will include some call time, usually
300 baht, but watch for special offers. One 4,500-baht phone was recently
being sold with 3,000 baht of call time. Another option is to buy
a used phone, available cheaply at phone shops, markets or even street
vendors.
Internet
Cafes at the marinas and at Ao Chalong. Many elsewhere, especially
at the beach resorts. Prices start at 0.5 baht a minute. Connections
are often slow, but fine for email. Note that since cafes generally
network many or all their computers to the same telephone line, access
speeds at busy cafes can be grindingly slow.
Most cafes allow you to use floppy disks to transfer
and save files. If you need to update a website, it's sometimes hard
to find cafe computers with an FTP program installed. However, you
can run FTP programs such as WS_FTP, a free download, off a floppy
without installing.
The Boat Lagoon has a new high-speed Internet network
which sailors with laptops can plug into. It requires a special card
which you can rent or buy. Alternately, some cafes will allow you
to plug into a phone line for a fee. You will need your own ISP. Pre-pay
packets are sold in computer shops and elsewhere, with 10 to 100 hours
of Internet time for about eight to 15 baht an hour, and a password
for signing up online.
Postal service
The main post office in Phuket Town is on Montri Road, near the Pearl
cinema. Open 0830 to 1630 Monday to Friday, 0900 to noon Saturday.
Small fee for post restante service. Letters should be marked "hold"
and last names should be both capitalized and underlined to reduce
the chance they will be misfiled. If expected mail is missing, ask
the clerk to check under your first name. Mail held three months.
c/o Poste Restante, GPO, 158 Montri Rd, Phuket
Town, Phuket, Thailand
There is also a branch on Bangkok Road, near the market
traffic circle. Other branches in Patong — on Beach Road near
the McDonald's — and in Karon, Chalong, Kamala and in the Tesco-Lotus
shopping centre. The post office also offers EMS service, which is
quicker and more secure than regular mail, but costlier.
Yacht Haven and Boat Lagoon marinas will also hold mail.
Private couriers like DHL are the best option if you need to receive
something quickly from abroad.
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