Page 57 - Ancient Kingdoms: Thailand, Laos, Cambodia & Vietnam

T Home address book

T Photos or post cards from home, small gift for home-hosted visit

T Pocket-size calculator for exchange rates

T 1Z] L^_SXL ^`ʬP]P]^ Z] Z_SP] M]PL_STYR NZX[WLTY_^ L QLNP XL^V XLd MP `^PQ`W
particularly during rice burning season (Feb).

Home-Hosted Visits

Many of our adventures feature a visit with a local family, often as part of the , /Ld TY _SP
7TQP experience. It is customary, though not necessary, to return your hosts’ generosity
with a small gift. If you do bring a gift, we recommend that you bring something the whole
family can enjoy, or something that represents your region, state, or hometown. Get creative
and keep it small—peach jelly from Georgia, maple sugar candy from New England, orange
blossom soap from California; something that can be used or used up is best. When choosing
a gift, be certain to consider the local culture as well. For example, we do not recommend
alcohol in Muslim countries because it is forbidden in Islam, and your hosts may be religious.
9Z_ LWW : , ? LOaPY_`]P^ TYNW`OP L 3ZXP 3Z^_PO AT^T_& [WPL^P NSPNV dZ`] ʭYLW T_TYP]L]d MPQZ]P
you depart.

Electricity

BSPY _]LaPWTYR ZaP]^PL^ _SP aZW_LRP T^ `^`LWWd OTʬP]PY_ LYO _SP [W`R^ XTRS_ YZ_ MP _SP
same shape.

Voltage
Electricity in Thailand, Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, and Malaysia is 220 volts. In the
U.S. it is 110 volts. Most of the things a traveler will want to plug in—battery chargers, MP3
[WLdP]^ _LMWP_^ Z] NZX[`_P]^ɨNLY ]`Y Zʬ MZ_S LYO -`_ dZ` ^SZ`WO NSPNV _SP
T_PX Z] _SP ZbYP]ɪ^ R`TOP ʭ]^_ _Z NZYʭ]X _ST^ MPQZ]P dZ` [W`R T_ TY 4Q dZ` SLaP ^ZXP_STYR
that needs 110 volts—like a shaver or a hairdryer—you can bring a transformer to change
the current. (But transformers tend to burn out, so it might be better to leave whatever it
is at home.)

Plugs

The shape of plugs will vary from country to country, and sometimes even within a country
depending on when that building was built. To plug something from the U.S. into a local
^ZNVP_ dZ`ɪWW YPPO LY LOL[_P] _SL_ ʭ_^ MP_bPPY _SP [W`R LYO _SP ^ZNVP_ -PNL`^P _SP]P L]P
XLYd OTʬP]PY_ _d[P^ ZQ [W`R^ TY _ST^ ]PRTZY T_ XLd MP PL^TP] _Z [`]NSL^P LY LWW TY ZYP
universal adapter/converter combo. Versatile and lightweight, these can usually be found at

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