I used to get an international driving permit from the RAC and put 'Thailand' on the countries to be visited, only to find there was no Thai translation. So I don't bother any more. But you'd better have a UK photocard licence. They won't take kindly to a moth eaten old bit of paper. I never had any problem driving my wife's car, her dad's trucks, friends cars and trucks, hire cars, manufacturer cars, motorbikes, anything.

For hiring I favour Budget. First time I hired in Thailand someone bashed the wheel arch of the hire car between me parking it in the airport car park and getting the rep back to check the car. I took it on the nose and they said they would email me with what they had taken off my credit card. True to their word, they did. Just £30. In Europe it would have been at least 10 times that.

Driving in Thailand requires a lot more attention than in the UK. Especially to both mirrors. You'll be overtaken both sides. On dual carriageways slow drivers often use the centre lane. There are U turns on dual carriageways. You can turn left on a red traffic light. The urban limit is 80kmh. The rural limit is 90kmh. But I do around 5000 miles a year there and in eight years have not had a single incident apart from cops trying to shake me down for whiskey money for speeding. The last time I drove in Thailand, actually to the Hua Hin area, my passengers were undercover cops, so I didn’t anticipate any trouble anyway.