Practical Information for Participants ASEAN-ITU Seminar on ICT Accessibility and Assistive Technologies for the Equity in Society ASEAN‐ITUSeminaronICTAccessibilityandAssistive TechnologiesforEquityinSociety 25th–26thAugust2014 TheAETASLumpiniHotel,Bangkok,Thailand Supportedby PRACTICALINFORMATIONFORPARTICIPANTS 1. Venue TheASEAN‐ITUSeminaronICTAccessibilityandAssistiveTechnologiesfortheEquityinSocietywillbe heldinBangkok,Thailand,on25th–26thAugust2014,at: 2. TheAETASLumpiniHotel 1030/4Rama4Road,Thungmahamek,SatornBangkok10120 http://lumpini.aetashotels.com/ Tel:+66(0)26189555 Fax:+66(0)26189559 VisaandImmigrationRequirements ToenterThailand,allparticipantsmustpossessavalidpassportoracceptedtraveldocument.Participants whorequireavisashouldapplyforavisaataRoyalThaiEmbassyoraRoyalThaiConsulate‐Generalin theirrespectivecountrywellinadvanceoftheirdeparture.Fornationalsofsomecountries,itmaytakeup totwoweeksforvisaprocessing.Asvisarequirementschangefromtimetotime,pleasecheckwithyour nearest Royal Thai Embassy/Consulate‐General for your visa requirements. You are also advised to visit http://www.mfa.go.thformoreinformationonvisasandtraveldocuments. The following is the list of countries and territories entitled for visa exemption and visa on arrival to Thailand: Practical Information for Participants ASEAN-ITU Seminar on ICT Accessibility and Assistive Technologies for the Equity in Society SummaryofCountriesandTerritoriesentitledforVisaExemptionandVisaonArrivaltoThailand OrdinaryPassport Nationalsofthe following countriesmay applyfor VisaonArrival Periodofstay 15days Andorra Bulgaria Bhutan China Cyprus CzechRepublic Estonia Ethiopia Hungary India Kazakhstan Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Maldives Malta Mauritius Oman Poland Romania Russia SanMarino SaudiArabia Slovakia Slovenia Taiwan Ukraine Uzbekistan Diplomatic/OfficialPassport NationalsofthefollowingcountriesmayenterThailandwithoutavisa TouristVisaExemptionScheme Periodofstay **30days 90days 14days *Brazil Cambodia Oman Australia ThePhilippines *Korea(ROK) Austria *Peru Poland Belgium Portugal Bahrain Qatar Brunei Singapore Canada Slovak CzechRepublic Slovenia Denmark Spain Finland SouthAfrica France Sweden Germany Switzerland Greece Turkey HongKong UAE Hungary UK Iceland USA Indonesia Vietnam Ireland Israel Italy Japan Kuwait Liechtenstein Luxembourg Malaysia Monaco TheNetherlands NewZealand Norway NationalsofthefollowingcountriesmayenterThailand withoutavisa BilateralAgreement Periodofstay 30days 90days HongKong Argentina Brazil Laos Chile Macau Korea(ROK) Mongolia Peru Russia Vietnam BilateralAgreement 30days Cambodia China HongKong Laos Macau Mongolia Myanmar Oman Vietnam Periodofstay 90days Argentina ThePhilippines Austria Poland Belgium Romania Bhutan Russia Brazil Singapore Chile Slovakia CostaRica SouthAfrica Croatia Spain CzechRepublic (Diplomaticonly) Estonia Switzerland (Diplomaticonly) Tunisia France Turkey (Diplomaticonly) Ukraine Germany Uruguay Hungary India Israel Italy Japan Korea(ROK) Liechtenstein Luxembourg Malaysia Mexico TheNetherlands Nepal Panama Peru Remarks: *NationalsofBrazil,RepublicofKoreaandPeruareentitledfortouristvisaexemptionscheme.Meanwhile,Thailandalsoholdsbilateralagreementsonvisaexemptionforholdersofdiplomatic,officialand ordinarypassportsforavisitofnotexceeding90dayswithBrazil,RepublicofKoreaandPeru. **IfsuchnationalsentertheKingdomattheimmigrationcheckpointswhichborderneighboringcountries,theywillbeallowedtostayfor15dayseachtime,exceptMalaysiannationalswhocrossthe borderlinefromMalaysiawhosegrantedperiodofstaywillnotexceed30dayseachtime.Inaddition,suchnationalswhoholddiplomaticandofficialpassportsarealsopracticallyexemptedfromvisafor tourism. Practical Information for Participants ASEAN-ITU Seminar on ICT Accessibility and Assistive Technologies for the Equity in Society VISAONARRIVAL Nationals of 28 countries and territories (pls. see the name list in the table) holding a valid ordinary passport may be granted a visa for a stay not exceeding 15 days, upon arrival, by the Thai immigration authorityatSuvarnabhumiAirport,providedtherequirementsnotedbelowaremet: The applicant must be in possession of a passport with a validity of at least six months or an appropriatetraveldocumentrecognizedbytheGovernmentofThailand The applicant must possess means of living expenses at the amount of 1,000 Baht per person and 20,000Bahtperfamilyaccordingly.(showofcashorothermonetaryinstrumentswillberequested atthecheckpoint) Theapplicantmustbeinpossessionofafullpaidandconfirmedonwardorreturnairticketwhichis usablewithin15daysafterthedateofentry The applicant must submit the application form duly filled out and to which his/her recent photograph(4x6cm)isattached.TheapplicationformisavailableattheVisa‐on‐ArrivalCounterat SuvarnabhumiAirport Visafeewillbewaivedonlyiftheapplicantgetstheconfirmationofhis/herregistrationandinform to the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (MICT) of Thailand accordingly; otherwisevisafeeinamountof1,000Bahtwillapply. 3. Weather The weather in Bangkok is usually warm and humid. Light tropical clothing would be appropriate. The conferenceroomswherethemeetingsaretobeheldareair‐conditionedandthetemperatureismaintained intherangeof23‐24degreesCelsius(73‐75degreesFahrenheit). 4. ForeignCurrencyDeclaration 5. TravelInsurance TheunitofThaicurrencyisThaiBaht(THB).TheexchangerateasofJuly15,2014,isTHB31.91to1USD. UnderThailaw,anypersonwhobringsortakesanaggregateamountofforeigncurrencyexceeding20,000 UnitedStatesdollarsoritsequivalentintooroutoftheKingdomofThailandshalldeclaretheamountof foreigncurrencytoaCustomsOfficer.Failuretomakesuchadeclarationormakinganyfalsedeclarationto aCustomsOfficerisacriminaloffence. Currencyexchangefacilitiesareavailableathotels. Participants are reminded that it is advisable to obtain travel insurance. Such insurance should cover paymentforyourmedicalcareinthecaseofhospitalizationaswellasthecostofrepatriationtoyourhome country if that should become necessary. The Organizers do not take responsibility for any individual, medical, travel or personal insurance. Participants are advised to secure their own insurance policies as necessary. Practical Information for Participants ASEAN-ITU Seminar on ICT Accessibility and Assistive Technologies for the Equity in Society 6. OfficialHotelfortheSeminar ThefollowinghotelhasbeendesignatedasofficialhotelfortheASEAN‐ITUSeminaronICTAccessibilityandAssistiveTechnologiesfortheEquityinSociety. No. OfficialHotelfortheASEAN‐ ITUSeminaronICT AccessibilityandAssistive TechnologiesfortheEquity inSociety 1 TheAETASLumpinihotel Rank (Star) Location 4.5 1030/4Rama4Road, Thungmahamek, SatornBangkok 10120 Distance Time (km.) (minute) 0 0 Moreinformation,pleasecontact: Ms.PunthiwaPunkong SalesManager Tel: +66(0)26189077 Mobile: +66(0)818083644 Fax: +66(0)22538133 E‐mail: punthiwa_p@aetashotels.com Reservationcentreeventemail:reservationbkk@aetashotels.com Address:1030/4Rama4Road,Thungmahamek,Satorn,Bangkok10120,THAILAND Room Type DeluxeRoom Allotment (room) 20 Price(ThaiBaht) Single Twin 2,000 ‐ Practical Information for Participants ASEAN-ITU Seminar on ICT Accessibility and Assistive Technologies for the Equity in Society -5- Practical Information for Participants ASEAN-ITU Seminar on ICT Accessibility and Assistive Technologies for the Equity in Society 7. TransportfromandtoAirport Participants should make their own transportation arrangements from Suvarnabhumi Airport to their respective hotels. Limousine, metered‐taxi and bus services are readily available at the airport. Detailed informationaboutSuvarnabhumiAirportcanbefoundatwww.airportsuvarnabhumi.com. Please note that the Don Muang Airport, the former Bangkok International Airport, currently handles domesticflightsandsomelow‐costinternationalflights. For your general information, the following transportation is available from Suvarnabhumi International Airport: 1. PublicMeterTaxi,islocatedon1stflooroftheArrivalHall,entrance4and7.Fareshownonmeter, plusBaht50surchargeforboardingattheairport. 2. AirportLimousineService,thelimousineservicetovariousdestinationsinthecity,islocatedatthe arrivalflooroftheairport. 3. HotelLimousineServices Forinstance,ToyotaCommuterVan:THB2,500netpercarpervan(maximumof5guestsperCar) For participants wishing to avail themselves of the limousine and public metered‐taxi services indicated above,itisstronglyrecommendedthattheyapproachonlytheauthorizedrepresentativesatthecounters located in the airport arrival zone. Upon request, a ticket will be issued for the assignment of either a limousine or a public metered taxi to transport passengers to the desired destination. Participants may accesspublictaxicountersbyexitinggates3or9ofthearrivalzoneinSuvarnabhumiAirport.Inaddition totollfees,thereisa50bahtsurchargetobeaddedtothemeterchargefromairporttothecity. There are good public transportation facilities at the Suvarnabhumi International Airport, Thailand. For moreinformation,pleasevisitwebsite:http://www.bangkokairportonline.com/. 8. TravellingwithinBangkok Althoughtrafficcanbeheavyattimes,gettingaroundBangkokisrelativelyeasythankstoawell‐integrated and inexpensive transport system of public buses, taxis, limousines, motorcycle taxis, tuk‐tuks and mass transit. Taxis:alargenumberoftaxisplyBangkok’sstreets24‐7.LookfortheTaxiMetersignontopand make sure the cabbie turns on the meter. Fares begin at 35 baht (roughly US$ 1) and increase accordingtodistancetraveled. MassTransit:thecity’smasstransitsystemconsistsofanelevatedandundergroundrailservice through the downtown area, providing links to city hotels, shopping malls, entertainment areas, businessdistrictsandtheriver.Bothareair‐conditioned,withsignageanddirectionsinThaiand English, and operate from 6am to midnight daily. Both systems are linked with change‐over stationsatthreelocations.Asyetthereisnocommonticket. BTS Skytrain: elevated electric trains transport Bangkok’s commuters in wide air‐conditioned carriages,runningevery3‐5minutesatpeaktimesandslightlylongeroff‐peak,providingaquick, reliableandefficientservice.TheSkytrainhastworoutes,theSukhumvitLineandSilomLine,with achangeoverstationatSiamSquare.Faresarebasedondistancetraveled. MRTSubway:theundergroundrailsystemcomplementstheBTSSkytraininmovingcommuters aroundcentralBangkokthroughaspecialtunnelsystem.Liftsandescalatorsprovideaccesstothe Practical Information for Participants ASEAN-ITU Seminar on ICT Accessibility and Assistive Technologies for the Equity in Society trains. The MRT system has 18 stations running from Hua Lamphong railway station to the northernbusterminalatMorChit. 9. Communications TheCountryCodeforThailandis+66 TheCityCodeforBangkokis+66(0)2 AreaCodesinThailandarereferredtoasSTDcodes.STDcodesforsomecitiesare: Bangkok:(0)2 DialingThailand:Landline Internationalaccesscode(00or+)followedby66,thenSTDCODEfollowedbyLandlineno. e.g.+662XXXXXXXX DialingThailand:Mobile Internationalaccesscode(00or+)followedby66andthe9‐digitMobileno.eg.+66XXXXXXXXX. 10. Language Englishisspokeninmosthotels,shopsandrestaurantsaswellasinmajortouristdestinations. 11. Time ThetimeinBangkokis7hoursaheadoftheGreenwichMeanTime(GMT+7). 12. Electricity&PowerPlug The electric current is 220 volt AC throughout the country. For Thailand, the picture/diagram shows the type of main power plug used in Thailand so participantscanbringtherightadaptorfortheirelectricalappliances.Thisplugand receptacle are technically known as NEMA 5‐15 (North American 15 A/125 V grounded. ******************************************************** -7-