Is this just ChatGPT with a wrapper?

No. A generic chatbot answers from training data and happily invents a visa rule. Thaissistant checks a knowledge base we maintain before it speaks, shows you which entries grounded the answer, and hands anything live to the Tour Tiger team. Anyone can rent the model we use. Nobody can rent the corpus — or a licensed operator in Maenam who picks up the booking.

How is the information verified?

Every law-and-life entry is researched from a strict source ladder: the Royal Gazette and the statutes first, then the government bodies that enforce them, then official translations — reputable secondary sources only ever as labelled support, and forums never. Each entry names its legal basis, links its sources, and carries the date we last verified the facts. Anything that moves faster than we can verify — office-level fees, officer discretion — is marked 'verify live' instead of stated as fact. The methodology page spells out the whole discipline.

Is this legal advice?

No — and we're careful about the difference. Thaissistant explains what the law says and how processes work in general, with citations you can check. It doesn't advise on your specific case, predict outcomes, or replace a lawyer. For a decision that matters, the entry's sources tell you exactly which authority to confirm with.

Can it actually book things?

Today it takes your request and hands it to a real person at Tour Tiger — often Alexander himself, on WhatsApp or the phone — who checks availability and confirms with you directly. Payments, PromptPay, and calendar booking are planned for Phase 3. The principle holds throughout: automate the conversation, not the transaction, until we can do the transaction properly.

Can it read a Thai document for me?

Yes — paste the text of a letter, a form, a lease, or a fine, and it translates and explains what it means in plain words. Two honest caveats: the translation is unofficial (only the Thai text has legal force), and if the document is high-stakes, it will tell you to confirm with the authority or a professional rather than pretending a chat is enough.

Alexander Wich — founder, and the person who answers the WhatsApp. He built Thaissistant himself, with Claude Code, on top of the business he already runs: Tour Tiger (Thailand) Co., Ltd., TAT Licence 44/00524, a registered Thai tour operator in Maenam, Koh Samui. When the assistant hands you to a human, that human is usually Alexander or someone on his team. Feel free to test that.

What does it cost to use?

For you, asking Thaissistant is free — and so is the knowledge library. For us, a conversation runs about $0.01, the whole 6-month validation budget is under $2,000, and monthly running cost sits at $50-225. Breakeven is one or two extra bookings a month.

Why did this start on Koh Samui?

Because we wanted to be genuinely excellent somewhere before being vaguely useful everywhere. Samui gave us a licensed operator, real products, and real customers asking real questions — the loop that proved the engine. The life-and-law library is that same engine pointed at the questions every foreigner in Thailand has, not just the ones on holiday.

What happens to my data and my question?

If it's a genuine booking or service request, it becomes a lead the Tour Tiger team follows up on — that's the point. We're not in the business of reselling your inbox. Anything specific, write to hello@thaissistant.com.

What licence you need: foreign licences, IDPs and the two conventions

Facts verified · 2026-07-11

Thailand recognises foreign licences through treaties, not by default. Under section 42 bis of the Vehicle Act B.E. 2522 (1979), a foreigner admitted to Thailand temporarily under immigration law may drive on a licence issued by a country that has a recognition agreement or convention with Thailand, only for the vehicle categories written on that licence, and must carry it together with the documents the treaty requires. In practice that means your home licence plus an International Driving Permit, or a home licence recognised directly by agreement (ASEAN member-state licences work this way). Thailand is party to both road-traffic conventions: the 1949 Geneva Convention and, since 1 May 2021, the 1968 Vienna Convention, so IDPs issued under either are valid here. The Department of Land Transport is explicit that an IDP is used together with, never instead of, the domestic licence behind it — an IDP alone is not a licence.

The folklore correction most riders need: the licence must match the vehicle. A car licence with a car-only IDP does not cover a motorcycle. Riding outside your licensed category is treated as driving without a licence — Vehicle Act section 64, up to one month imprisonment or a fine of up to 1,000 baht, or both.

There is no fixed day-limit in the Act itself: a tourist may drive for as long as they are lawfully in the country on a temporary stay and both documents remain valid (Geneva-convention IDPs run one year from issue; Vienna-convention IDPs up to three). Anyone settling in should convert to a Thai licence.

Legal basis

Vehicle Act B.E. 2522 (1979), ss. 42, 42 bis, 43(10), 64

⚠ Verify live

Rental shops and individual police officers vary widely in what paperwork they accept at the roadside; some wave through plain foreign licences that do not strictly qualify, so do not treat lax checks as proof of legality. Separately, insurers commonly invoke licence exclusions to refuse a voluntary-policy claim when the rider was not licensed for the vehicle class — whether cover is lost turns on the policy's wording; compulsory-motor (พ.ร.บ.) victim compensation follows separate rules.

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General information, not legal advice. Laws and practice change; for a decision that matters, confirm with the authority named in the sources or a licensed professional.