How To Become Fluent In Thai In 3 Months

Posted on by TheThailandLife

fluent in thaiThis post is partly a motivator for myself to step up my Thai speaking game, because for the amount of time I’ve been here, I should be fluent… and I’m not, yet. So I was thinking, it’s entirely possible, and all the tools are at your/my disposal without even needing to go to school. So I came up with a plan using these resources and put it into a week-by-week guide designed to fast track learning the Thai language.

Here’s how you can become fluent in Thai in 3 months.

Month 1 – Getting To Grips With The Basics Using My Blog, Software, YouTube, & Skype

Week 1:

Download my 3 free basic Thai audio lessons by opting in for updates (see right hand side of the page).

Also see these 3 posts to learn some essential basics.

Thai For Beginners Lesson 1

Thai For Beginners Lesson 2

Spend the rest of the week practicing these basics with Thai people. If you aren’t in Thailand then practice Thai with this guy on Skype for just $5 

Week 2:

Sign up for Thaipod101 membership and start working on your pronunciation and going beyond hello, how are you, I’m fine. See a review of this program here: 

Spend the week finding your way around the portal and practicing Thai using the videos, audio and PDF lessons to advance.

Week 3:

Start utilizing YouTube for learning variation. Two of the best teachers I have found are:

http://www.youtube.com/user/lartstu

http://www.youtube.com/user/LearnThaiwithMod

Week 4:

Start introducing yourself to tones. Thai is a tonal language and words change meaning depending on the tone. There are 5 tones; low, mid, rising, falling, high. This is essential and you will need a week just on this: Start here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=647VwsOtzy8

Move on to this…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nlw4NJdnNE

Month 2 – Learning The Alphabet & Tones, Communicating In Thai With Thais & Learning From Music

Week 1:

Now you have a basic understanding of tones you should start learning the alphabet. Download this easy Thai language system for foreigners. This week your time will be split between speaking and writing., but remember the objective is to be fluent speaking in 3 months, and so the writing side of things is just a sideline to give you a better understanding of tones, tone marks and vowel/consonant formation at this point.

Spend the week memorising the 44 consonants and 32 vowels, and learning the tone marks and practicing the tones.

Week 2:

If you’re not in Thailand then you definitely need to be speaking with someone Thai on a regular basis, and even for those living in Thailand it isn’t easy to randomly approach people and try speaking Thai. For professional Skype lessons from a Thai speaker with a high standard of English contact Tisha at TeachCha.com.

Now you are in full swing, you know the basics and some intermediate stuff, you are learning daily from your ThaiPod membership and and you are practicing Thai with a native speaker. You are also getting to grips with tones and the alphabet.

Week 3:

Time to go a step further a learn Thai in reverse from an English speaker (Ajarn Adam) teaching Thai people English on a program called Wink Wink English. Flipping the table like this will improve your Thai quickly, particularly your pronunciation.

http://www.youtube.com/user/winkwinkenglish

Week 4:

Use Thai songs with phonetic subtitles to advanced your vocabulary and master more colloquialisms. I have been using this technique for ages. It’s also cool because you get to know more Thai artists which advances your knowledge of Thai popular culture. Start with these two popular songs:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iGpH583GAM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LqBNK6EyJs

Month 3 – Total Immersion, Thai TV/Radio and The Big Tests

Week 1:

This week you will be subjected to Thai soap operas (most foreigners’ worst nightmare), Thai music and Thai radio. Get as much of it as you can. Try to follow conversations and lyrics, picking out the words you know and noting ones you don’t. If you can’t access Thai TV then do so on YouTube, all the series are posted there and there are plenty of Thai songs.

For radio stations see an extensive list here

Anything you don’t know ask a Thai person or your Skype teacher.

Week 2:

If you aren’t already living in Thailand then plan a holiday for month 3, because in week 2 you won’t be speaking any English (or whatever your native language is). Get out and about but avoid tourist spots. Go to Thai restaurants, Thai bars, Thai markets; in short, keep it Thai. Speak with as many Thai people in Thai as possible – always in Thai! Don’t be scared, Thai people will happily correct your pronunciation and teach you new words; they will also be elated that a foreigner is making such an effort with the language.

Take a notebook out and about and mark down things you get wrong and the phonetic sound of new words. This step is so important because you will pick up slang words (colloquialisms) Thai people use daily that schools won’t teach you. You will also be very surprised how many new friends you make and the experiences the task brings with it.

Week 3:

Week 3 goes a step further with immersion. Email home by all means, but don’t call. This week you mus,t by all means necessary, speak only Thai. My friend’s mum once told me she mastered English quickly because she had no choice. She was sent to a Saturday school where all the foreign kids weren’t allowed to talk in their native tongue. It was either say nothing or try to speak English, and that is the rule here.

Week 4:

Yep, 3 months is up already! Now it’s time for the The Big Test:

Complete the following 10 tasks:

  1. Ask a policeman for directions.
  2. Order a pizza over the phone in Thai.
  3. Take a cab and speak Thai, continuing a conversation for the entire length of the journey (regardless of whether the driver is interested in speaking :) ).
  4. Take the bus and ask the driver in Thai to tell you when it is your stop.
  5. Shop in the market and ask all questions about product quality, price and origin in Thai.
  6. Stop a Thai person and ask for the time, comment on the weather and explain that you are learning Thai and want his/her opinion on your efforts.
  7. Tell a Thai man or woman that they look lovely today without using the words “suuay” or “narak”.
  8. Go into a bank, change money or withdraw and refuse to speak in English.
  9. Go to the dentists for a check up an clean, conducting the entire process in Thai.
  10. Order Thai food from a restaurant. First ask what they  recommend. Then ask if there are any specials today. Then choose a dish and ask that it be made with no MSG, not too much salt and not too sweet.

If you made it through that you are ready for The Bigger test!

Perhaps the hardest aspect of speaking Thai is phone calls, oh how I dread them. You can’t see the emotion of the other person or facial expressions or understand through hand actions, as you will have found out ordering the Pizza (step 2 above).

So now….

Call Dtac, One2Call (or whoever your Thai mobile network provider is) and DON’T press 1 for English. Explain that your phone hasn’t been getting a good signal and ask for some recommendations to remedy the problem.

*Get through this conversation and I’d say you’re fluent or at the very least pretty damn good at speaking Thai.

Want one last test? Let’s see if like Ajarn Adam you are ready for a TV appearance. Can you understand the conversation here?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZGfviT_Lb0

You did it! Or not? Well you tried, and that’s what counts :)

Posted in Learning To Speak Thai | Tagged | 3 Comments

7 Thai Supermarket Shopping Annoyances That Could Tip You Over The Edge… On a Bad Day

Posted on by TheThailandLife

Yep, this is one of those posts I’d read and say, “well if you don’t like it go home then”…but come on, I’m English, we need a moan now and again….not to mention that this is the 100th post on The Thailand Life so I thought something a little tongue in cheek  that most expats will identify with would be somewhat entertaining.

These last couple of weeks have seen me frequent the supermarket far more often than usual. Big C has been my store of choice over my local MaxValue , which is great for discounts in the evening but is often out of chicken. It’s not like I haven’t encountered these supermarket annoyances before, but visiting in such a concentrated burst has made these things more apparent.

1. Not Walking Up or Down The Travelator

Okay, I know, Thais would argue, “Why bother walking on it it’s designed to carry you up and down, why waste your energy”? And I get that. But I’d hate to die thinking I wasted days if not months (combined) on a travelator because I was too lazy to put one foot in front of the other. I find it really hard to stand still on those things, not least because they are so slow it feels like it might never end.

2. Not Using The Queue Separators

Why hold your basket all the way to the front of the queue when you can grab a queue separator and put your stuff on the conveyor belt? It’s weird. Do people prefer to hold onto their stuff and lack trust in the belt? Is there something I am missing here?

3. Random Till Pricing

5 receipts 4 incorrect, that is some record. 3 were in my favour and 1 I was knocked for 60 Baht. Luckily my mum has always drilled into my head to check receipts. When shopping in Big C never trust the price you see on the shelf, particularly for not so commonly purchased items in the home/hardware section.

4. Slow Boating

The supermarket for many is a day out; everything is there, including restaurants and games for kids. But this encourages aisle slow boating. I made the mistake of going to Big C at 2pm on a public holiday. People crawl around at snail’s pace, letting the kids run riot and pushing trolleys at 1 mph. And supermarket traffic awareness is about as efficient as it is on the roads. “Jai yen yen, jai yen yen!” (Keep calm – cool head/heart)

5. Enveloping Change With Notes & Receipt

Everyone knows this little pet-hate from 7-11. Please just hand me the notes, wait 1 second while I get a handle on them, and then the change and the receipt; it’s logical. Give me the coins wrapped in a parcel with the receipt and I am likely to drop the coins or have to stuff the package into my pocket as it it because my other hand is holding the bags, which will probably mean losing a note or some coins when I reach into my pocket later on.

6. Hungry Electronics Section Staff

Ask for help in any other section and you feel like you just asked someone to borrow their shoes for the day. Walk into the electronics section and about 30 guys and gals are bending over backwards to help you. I guess this is a commission thing.

7. Look It’s An Alien

By now you probably know that many Thai people tell their kids that if they don’t behave – or just for fun –  that the farang will GET THEM! You may also experience a terrified child whose mum is pointing in your direction, saying “A-lieen”…that would be you, the farang! It’s quite common in supermarkets. The first time I had to ask my GF what the joke was as the entire family pointed out my slap head to their child; to which she replied, “He thinks your an alien….this is a Thai joke when you’re little…hahahaha”. Cheers….

On the plus side, unlike the UK, Thai supermarkets rarely seem to rotate stock location, making everything easy to find once you’ve memorised the aisles. :)

Come on, you know you got some supermarket complaints! Vent them here….

I’d like to take this opportunity to say thank you to all of you who’ve read my my blog and made it possible for me to reach 100 posts. I hope you continue to travel with me on this adventure.

Posted in Mai Pen Rai | 2 Comments

Stupid Farang

Posted on by TheThailandLife

If you stay in Thailand long enough you will certainly hear these two words spouted together a few times; usually in jest, I might add. Well over the last few days I have certainly been living up to the stereotype “stupid farang”…

Man, you know those times when you get a run of “boo boos” going on. Those few days when you can’t stop tripping up or saying the wrong thing. It doesn’t happen too often to me; I am not a clumsy or absent minded person as such. But when mistakes and silly things happen it is usually when my mind is distracted by work, thoughts of travel or what I will eat for my next meal.

The first stupid farang incident happened in Big C (at the checkout) two days ago. I’d put my stuff on the belt rather than holding it like everyone else seemed to be doing, and as such my stuff reached the cashier before the person in front of me. I quickly said to the cashier that the lady in front was first, and mentioned that using the next customer separaters was a good idea, rather than have us all standing holding our items in the queue. This comment was ignored, probably because I said it in broken, incomprehensible Thai.

A few seconds later the person behind me dropped a can of drink, to which I then reacted by grabbing what I thought was a next customer separater from the adjacent till. I proudly plonked it down, demonstrating that using this brilliant invention would equate to efficient queueing and less juggling of items. Little did I realise that I’d just closed the checkout and asked everyone to use the next till. The Thais were miffed, trying to work out whether I had taken it upon myself to close the till in some sort of protest. After about 5 seconds I got the vibe something wasn’t quite right. And so I turned the sign around and saw my error in plain English on the reverse side! STUPID FARANG. It was pretty embarrassing to say the least.

Moving on to Episode 2…

I’d finished a workout and swim bang on closing time, 9pm. The attendent was hurrying me out, and so I scuttled into the lift with just my towel around me and my boxer shorts in one hand and swimming shorts and t-shirt in the other. I was only going 2 floors down to the 6th; it was late, and no one would see me, surely. Well they wouldn’t have if my mind hadn’t started to wander about something I don’t recall. All I recall was hearing “ding” as the lift hit the 1st floor and a group of approximately six Thais stood jaw-dropped looking at the naked foreigner who’ fogotten his floor and come all the way down from the 9th in his towel. No one got in. I quickly shut the doors using the quick close option and elevated back to the 6th floor red-faced, again. STUPID FARANG!

And it’s only Tuesday. Whatever next!

Posted in Mai Pen Rai | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

What To Do In Luang Prabang – 4 Day Visa Run

Posted on by TheThailandLife

As you may know I like to utilize my visa run opportunities. Waking at 5am to spend 12 or more hours in a minivan to cross the border for a few minutes isn’t my idea of fun or visiting a country. So I use the necessary border runs to see new places.

Whether you need to make an affordable visa, want a relaxing trip away from Thailand, or want to tick off another country in your Lonely Planet guide, Luang Prabang is a must. I can’t believe I left it so long to go, but believe me, the wait was worth every minute.

The UNESCO protected town with no building taller than 2 storeys is a gem of a place. It is a popular backpacker destination, but don’t expect boozy bars and discos, this is more a place travellers come to chill out in after some crazy antics in Southern Thailand. Things close up pretty early in LB, with the only nightlife being a bowling alley that brings together foreigners and locals in a bowling-cum disco vibe. I was told there are a few spots in Luang Prabang to join young Laoation people dancing to the popular Mor Lam-Luk Tuung music and Thai pop songs, but as the town shuts down around 10pm, you will probably find yourself enjoying a Beer Laos outside your guesthouse and turning in early. This way you can wake up and watch the monks pass through the streets collecting offerings from locals and tourists.

Stay near the night market and you will be a stone’s throw from the epic Mekong River that winds down through the valleys, carving up the jungle and playing host to wading fisherman casting chained nets into its waters.

The food is very good in Luang Prabang, but if I had to recommend one place it would be the Saffron Coffee shop.  You will find an abundance of baguettes and cakes everywhere, a timeless sign of French colonial rule. If you speak a bit of Thai you can get by bartering in the market and speaking with shop staff, and if you speak Thai-Isaan you will have a considerable advantage as the two dialects are closely related. However, don’t expect the open armed welcome you’re used to in Thailand; people are more reserved here and don’t seem overly bothered by the tourist presence.

Luang Prabang Must Do List

  • Wake up early and offer alms to the monks.
  • A boat trip at sunset down the Mekong.
  • Get a Tuk Tuk to Kouang Si Waterfall and take in the breathtaking views.
  • Climb the 328 steps of Phu Si at sunrise or sunset. Take a bottle of water!
  • Visit the night market in the evening for great handicrafts. Make sure you barter; traders go in high.
  • Visit the town museum for some history and to see the lovely grounds.
  • Walk, walk, walk and walk some more. You don’t need to go on excursions in Luang Prabang. A stroll will bring you across gorgeous temples, amazing views, and solitary spots of serenity.

I only spoke to a few tourists the entire 5 days I stayed; which I wasn’t too fussed about because I was happy to take in the town alone and just kick back with my thoughts. Before long I’d be back in the madness of Bangkok! I did eat with a lovely Irish couple on the last night though (shout to Elly and Paddy – I owe you a drink!).

Anyway, get there if you can, you will not be disappointed. Accommodation wise, anything between $20-40 will be adequate. There are a couple of fancy hotels I believe, but most places are guest house style, beautifully presented in precious woods. I stayed in the  New Daraphet Villa  (MyLaoHome Hotels & Villas). It was small but cosy with a nice hot shower and breakfast included.

Here are a few videos I took on my walks:

Posted in Thai Visa | 6 Comments

Victim of a Bangkok Crime

Posted on by TheThailandLife

It was supposed to be a good night out, a good friend of mine had recently opened a new office for his business and invited me up for a tour; we then went for a BBQ steak for an overdue catch up…

After about 10 minutes at the table I felt a funny sensation on my leg. I looked down to see a Jing Jok (small lizard) on my leg! That has never happened before – a bad luck omen said my GF when I got home.

Minutes later we were approached by two boys of about 8-10 years old selling flowers. They hovered for a suspiciously long time, and we made it clear we weren’t in the market for roses. They were clever, and looking back what they did was use an eye diversion technique, whereby they ignore what you say and look at each other, you are then both drawn to look at one of them for a split second. In that split second one whipped my friend’s iPhone off the table. We didn’t even notice until they were well gone.

We were so relaxed my friend presumed he’d put it in his bag. He was gutted, the staff were shocked, but there was little we could do. The boys had scarpered. We found a policeman who offered to take my friend to the station and report it, and also have a look round the area. He said that the kids came to the area every night, but by now they’d be in Sukhumvit looking for the next target.

A range of emotions ran through me as they do in situations like this. At first I was angry on behalf of my friend, like “where are the little bas**ards, I’ll give em’ what for”! I even walked the market for an hour with my eyes peeled. What would I have done though, they’d have run, if I’d grabbed them I’d have to drag them half a kilometre to the police unit at the station, and no doubt Thai people would have intervened; I’d have struggled to explain myself dragging 2 kids down the street.

Then I tried to let it go, “It’s just an iPhone, stuff happens, no one died”. But then it’s the principle, I thought…but no, why do people steal? People aren’t born thieves, they become thieves through circumstance. These kids saw an opportunity and they took it, and I wouldn’t mind betting they have to share the larger portion of spoils with a bigger boss.

I know my friend was more bothered about the contacts and work related stuff inside the phone. He uses it relentlessly for business, and having just taken on 4 new staff he really needs to be contactable. So then you start thinking, damn, if I could just catch the kids and say, “Look, keep the phone, just let me get the sim and the memory card”.

Well, such is life….just be careful of those flower seller kids when you’re about town; some have an alternative agenda. Now I know where the second hand Macbook Air/ iPhone sellers of Klong Thom Market get their steady supply :)

Posted in Bangkok Living | 2 Comments

Yaba Crazed Farang Goes On Apartment Rampage

Posted on by TheThailandLife

Last night in my apartment block, around 10.30pm, a male of about 30 years old went on a rampage. He came down from his room, threw his laptop through the window of the entrance to the building, ran back upstairs, ripped the security camera out of the landing ceiling and then jumped out the window onto the roof of a car.

He was then restrained and tied up military style by three Thai men, of which one, as seen in the video in the orange shirt, seemed to know him personally. I came downstairs and at first tried to calm him down, asking him what he had taken. His eyes where popping out of his head and he rambled stuff about his Dad, someone named JD and various other things. When I first arrived the man in the orange shirt was saying “no one likes you now”, the farang then spouted something about a Facebook incident and a white-skinned Thai girl. I got the feeling there was more going on here than simply a farang gone mad on yaba for no reason, but whatever the case, he was very high and certainly not in this world. I was told he had taken Yaba – the Thai crazy drug. I speculated that he might be mentally ill, but having seen numerous videos of yaba-crazed guys on Thai TV the similarities in behaviour were too apparent to dismiss. He has only been in the block for a couple of weeks and, up until this point was apparently a model guest.

The management were pretty distressed. They keep a safe-house here; no guests are allowed to stay, 2 to a room maximum,  2 months deposit to move in and strict rules apply about noise. Everyone was very shocked.

The guy was carted off by the police and I haven’t a clue what will happen to him. The boss here said to me he will have to pay for all the damage or stay in jail- that is apparently the general rule when it comes to criminal damage.

Here is some footage and stills I managed to get.

Posted in Bangkok Living | 4 Comments

Klong Thom Market Bangkok

Posted on by TheThailandLife

klong thom market

I can’t believe I’ve been in Bangkok so long and have never been to Klong Thom market. I didn’t know it existed, and had it not been for embarking on an epic search with my brother in China Town for a vinyl record store named Broadway Records , I might never have stumbled across it.

It would seem I am not the only one in the dark either; I didn’t spot one foreigner in the packed out market, which seemed to go on forever with just about everything you can imagine on sale. If it’s retro gaming consoles and antiques you’re after then Klong Thom is the place to check out. In fact, once China Town has shut up shop for the day, many second hand goods traders line the pavement of the square mile, although Klong Thom has a large concentration of these stalls with what seems like better stuff. My brother picked up a retro handheld game for 500 Baht that sells for at least quadruple on eBay. There was a classic Donkey Kong handheld game I had my eye on but unfortunately the screen was damaged at the top. My brother also got his hands on some vinyl, eventually, walking away with some bargain picture sleeves at 100 Baht each. Make sure you check for scratches before you buy. If you are looking to buy old gear, do what I did and take your smartphone/tablet. This will enable you to check resale prices on the hop.

The market also appears to be the place for Thai men to buy Japanese, Chinese and Korean porn videos; it was pretty funny watching the bees swarm the nest – but don’t let that put you off. These stalls are few when compared with the amount of clothes, household goods, tools, electronics and other stalls lining the tightly packed streets.  From 50 Baht sunglasses to mosquito nets and stationary, it is all here, and best of all at Thai Prices !

While I’ve found some threads about Klong Thom market on the web, it would seem most foreigners/tourists are yet to discover this gem of a place. It opens weekends,  Saturday from 5pm until 5pm Sunday. It’s near China Town so the nearest MRT station is Hua Lampong, although it’s a fair walk from the station so you might be better saving your legs for trawling the market by catching a bike or cab.

To avoid the crowds go early Sunday morning from 8:00 until 11:00. Wear comfortable clothes and sensible shoes as it gets pretty crowded and hot. Take a bottle of water, too.

Location: Corner of Worachak Road and Chao Kamrop Road.

Posted in Thailand Shopping | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Interview: Learn the Thai Alphabet In a Day – No Joke

Posted on by TheThailandLife

A little while ago, I stumbled across a cool book online by a guy named Chris, which teaches an alternative way of learning the Thai alphabet. I had just started learning Thai properly so this system intrigued me because it offered an easier learning route. See, because “Gor Guy”, “Por Samphao”, Lor Ling, etc,  are a little alien to us farang, it can take many months to fully digest all 44 consonants, and then of course there are 32 vowels to learn after that…..sigh…Chris’ book, however, approaches the Thai alphabet using fun illustrations and associations that foreigners will remember far more easily.

Anyway, strangely, or not, considering this is a blog about Thailand, Chris happened to comment a few times on TTL, and so I thought why not do a little interview and let the masses learn more about the book and the man behind it….So here we…

1. How long have you lived in Thailand and what was the inspiration for your move?

I moved to Thailand in the early part of 2009 after the financial crash in the USA where I was working at the time. My father, who had been living in Chiang Mai for the past 5 years, offered me free room and board at his guest house. I was getting bored of the California lifestyle which was just too fake for me, I wanted something real, something a bit more raw, and so the move made sense.

2. You live in Chiang Mai. Have you lived anywhere else in Thailand and what makes Chiang Mai your choice of residence?

When I was 16 I lived in a small town called Banglen, about 2 hours northwest of Bangkok in the province of Nakhon Pathom. I lived there for 1 year. It is a very small rural community with absolutely nothing to offer a farang. Honestly, it was the most boring time of my life; the only excitment was when the weekend came and I could catch a small minibus to Bangkok. Compared to that small town Chiang Mai is a great place to live. Chiang Mai has everything you need, and what makes Chiang Mai is the cost of living, it’s a very cheap place to live.

 3. Tell us a little bit about your experience of Thailand. What sort of expat are you!

I think you summed it up well in your post “Dilemmas of a thirty something in Thailand”. I’m part of the younger expat crowd living in Thailand trying to find my place here. It’s a tough decision to live here when your at the hieght of your earnings potential and decide to give all that up to live here. It’s hard to categorize me though. I’m part expat – part retiree  - part dreamer, though still completely sane.

4. You are pretty much fluent in Thai, how long did it take you to learn the language?

It took me about 3 months to become conversational in the Thai language, but it wasn’t until after a year of full on self-study that I considered myself proficient. I’ve taken the Peace Core Thai language exam and was given an advance rating and that was after 1 year of study, so I would say that i’m now fluent in the language. The Thai language is easier than most people think, I’d say you can be fluent in no more than 2 years and be an advanced speaker in 1.

5. I attend a language school, but feel most of my Thai has been picked up through listening and talking with Thais. What would you say is the fastest way to learn Thai?

Everyone learns in different ways, some people learn best by reading, some people learn by doing. I learn better by reading, so self-study is a better way for me to learn, if you learn better by doing a classroom environment is a better way to learn.

6. Do you think it is essential to learn to read and write Thai as well as speak? It seems a lot of foreigners learn to speak but ignore the reading and writing.

Absolutely, it’s impossible to be fluent in speaking Thai without knowing how to read and write or at least knowing the Thai alphabet. You always here people tell you about the tones and that the tones are important. But what they don’t tell you is that each letter in the alphabet is also tonal. If you know how to say the alphabet with proficiency then learning how to speak any Thai word will be a breeze.

7. So, tell us about the book. What inspired it and what makes it unique?

The Learn The Thai Alphabet In A Day book is exactly as the title reads. It teaches you how to read and write the Thai Alphabet quicker than any other system out there. The unique thing about this book is it doesn’t teach you the regular way. When Thai students learn the alphabet they associate a letter with a picture just like we do in English. A is for apple, or in Thai ก Gor is for ไก่ Gai chicken. The problem for foreigners is when you try to learn it the Thai way it doesn’t make sense because when we see a chicken we think of the letter and the sound of C. However, with this book, there is the letter ก Gor and a picture of a ghost, and therefore next time you see the letter you think of a ghost not a chicken, which makes it faster for foreigners to learn. That’s why this book is so unique.

8. The illustrations are really cool, how long have you been drawing?

Honestly I couldn’t draw a stickman figure, I had a Thai friend who has a gift for that sort of thing draw them for me.

9. Can the book really teach a person the Thai alphabet in one day?

I already knew the Thai Alphabet when I wrote the book, but from the 1000′s of people who have bought it I’ve had hundreds of people write to me saying that they learned the Thai alphabet in 1-2 days, whereas previously they had struggled for months. So yes, I would say yes you can learn it in a day.

10. You give away a “freebie” with the book called Learn to Swear In Thai, is this a good idea considering the amount of alcohol expats drink? :)

I wouldn’t advise anyone on actually using or repeating any of the words in the book. Thais are very sweet people, however, they take great offense to someone swearing at them. However this is the only book on the market that will teach you the words, and while Thais like to say they are very polite they do swear and swear a lot, maybe 10 times more often than an American would. To learn the language fluently though you need to know these words and no school out there is willing to teach them to you.

11. How can people get the book and what does it cost?

The book is available for download here and is  priced at $19.99 (US).

12. A little birdie told me that you have another book in the pipeline. Is it Thai language related?

I have a lot of ideas for books but only one in the works as you said, it’s not language related, however, it’s something every expat or wannabe expat will want to get their hands on. It’s called “How to make money in Thailand”. I think a lot of people want to live in Thailand but they don’t want to be teachers and don’t have the money to start a business. I live in Thailand without doing either so I want to share that information and help out others who want to live the dream just as I do. The book will be finished in a few weeks so keep up to date on my blog for it’s release.

13. Anything else you would like to add?

If anyone out there is considering learning Thai then I can’t stress enough the importance of learning the Alphabet first. If for nothing else but being able to go to a hole in the wall restaurant and being able to read the menu so you don’t have to keep ordering fried rice, it’s worth it, and with this system you will be able to do that in a day. The question is, why wouldn’t you?

Learn the Thai Alphabet in no time at all. Read more about Chris’ book here.

Posted in Write A Guest Post | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Thailand Breast Slap – Natural Bigger Boobs Therapy

Posted on by TheThailandLife

It was a surprising question and one that caught me off guard sipping my coffee in Terminal 21. Usually I get asked for directions to MBK or the Grand Palace, but the boob slapping joint? I nearly fell off my chair. And then I remembered. In late 2011 I saw a program on Thai television about a woman who slapped various parts of the body to make them plumper, and might I add, got paid for it. The program feature largely centered on demonstrating her technique for making breasts bigger, as after, the obvious target market is Asian girls longing for bigger boobs.  After a number of breast slapping sessions, dedicated clients reported an increase in cup size and plumpness….hmmm, couldnt possible have anything to do with inflamation due to consistently tapping the breasts until bruised, could it?

Anyway, seems like word has reached the states, and who knows, a good old breast slapping might soon be as popular as the traditional Thai massage >> poor Thailand, as if “sexual activity” hasn’t already done you a huge global image disservice already. Looks like this charlatan might be adding to the injury.

The two humbly breasted females shyly asked me if there was a breast massage place nearby where they do “breast tapping”. Of course, I had no idea and said they might care to ask at the spa across the way. But I was given my next blog post idea right there in the lack of cleavage.

I guess it has to be safer than implants after the recent sub-standard silicone scandal in Europe, and substantially cheaper. I am sure a bit of slapping stimulation can’t hurt, and may even be quite pleasurable, but bigger boobs long term, come on, this is a con.

If you have no idea what I am talking about then here is a video of the holistic therapy in question; if I dare insult alternative medicine by using that term.

Posted in Thai Women, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Thai People Are Lazy

Posted on by TheThailandLife

“Well, you know Thais, they’re flippin lazy man”, said the new expat I was introduced to today over coffee. Arghhh! I have heard this said so many times I can barely be bothered to respond anymore. To me this statement is nothing more than another wild, sweeping generalization that rolls off the bar hugger tongue into the psyche of other newbies, who in turn spread the word. It really isn’t my experience, and frankly I don’t see it.

Since I came to Thailand 4 years ago this July, I have only ever encountered hard working Thais, and I can’t fathom who people are referring to when they say “lazy.” Perhaps it is the case that people perceive the Thai approach to work as lazy, i.e. the laid back “mai pen rai” (never mind) attitude? Or is that Thai people take longer to do stuff, or that they aspire to earn as much as possible doing as little work as possible? This is certainly the goal of most foreigners – not that many ever get there.

Of course, every country has its lazy people, those who don’t want to work or don’t want to work very hard – there are no doubt lazy Thai people. But the fact that there is no social welfare system in Thailand means that the majority either work or get no money. Most don’t have the privilege of being lazy, and I would argue that my fellow countrymen are far lazier than Thai people because so many rely on handouts. The majority of Thais work long hours for rubbish money with usually no fringe benefits, end of story.

My personal experience of Thai friends/family is a hard-working one. One of my closest friends, a Thai girl, works 7 days a week running 2 business. My girlfriend works 6 days a week, waking at 5.30am most days. My GFs sister and brother in law work insane hours. Her Dad has worked every day of his life in the baking hot weather since he was 13. My four close expat friends all have Thai girlfriends who work 6 days a week, and the Thais I have met through my martial arts club all work hard, many running their own businesses. And what of those I don’t know personally. Well, the family that own the fruit stall in my soi run a 24 hour round the clock shift – no day off in the last 2 weeks. The guys in 7/11 seldom have a day off. Taxi drivers sleep just a few hours in their taxis before hitting the road again, and go up country and you have OAPs toiling the fields for 9 hours a day…SO WHERE ARE ALL THESE LAZY PEOPLE?

Sure, Thais like to relax, work has to be a little bit sanook (fun), and why not? Thais like things happy and not too serious, but to say “Thais are lazy” is just ignorant. Some, perhaps, but all? Come on…this statement coming from expats who drink more hours than they work.

If you think Thais are lazy, please share your experience. But please, no isolated “I knew a guy/girl….” exceptions. Give me concrete evidence that “Thais are lazy”…or just don’t say it all!

Posted in Thai Culture and Customs | 32 Comments