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To have the perfect day in Bangkok I would recommend the following:

Get up bright and early and head to the Grand Palace. But don't go inside- instead loiter about outside, preferably with a map, and make some theatrical gestures conveying to everyone that you are completely lost and confused and don't know what to do.

Shortly you will be approached by a helpful man who will direct you to an alternative temple such as the Lucky Buddha, Special Buddha, or Prosperous Buddha. But don't worry where you go, as it's always your lucky, special, and prosperous day when you're approached by someone who will tell you how much money they're making buying and selling jewellery.

Well guess what, now's your chance to join in the action! Your tuk-tuk will take you to an unusually clean jewellery factory lacking factory workers. Make sure you buy up as much as you can.

Next you must declare to the tuk-tuk driver that you need a suit, or possibly several, immediately. He will helpfully take you to get a suit done at Rajawrongsize Tailors.

After the exhausting day of shopping you surely will be starving. What better way to fill your stomach and drain your bank account than by visiting Somboondee Seafood.

Edit - Almost forgot to recommend a naughty nightcap in a Patpong upstairs show bar. Admission price only 1 beer... maybe!

Thanks for the endorsement! I’m the author/creator/developer of a Pocket Thai if you’ve got any questions or comments. /u/comdotcomser here are links for iOS and Android if you’re interested.

Learn Thai with Ling is probably the most popular app for learning Thai right now. OP it might also be worth a try if your budget allows for it ($9/month subscription I think). I havent used it but App Store/Google Play reviews are positive!

Good luck on the learning journey!

As someone who did something VERY MUCH like this less than a month ago, I'll tell you what I did.

Knowing the GPU shortage and the limited availability of parts around the world, I sold my ATX system to build an ITX system in the Sliger CL530, which is one of the few ITX slim cases to support 3-slot graphics cards that also has a handle.

I then bought this backpack, which fits the Sliger perfectly with room on top and bottom for extra padding. I also purchased a portable 144hz, 1080p display for $180 and use that as my primary display. I also brought along a smaller display that I use as a secondary display, which I put in the suitcase. I then simply brought this backpack with me as carry-on luggage, with all the parts still installed. The system currently only has an RX 570 installed, but it (and everything else) arrived just fine staying in the case, and I brought the extra power supply cables in the suitcase for upgrade purposes. The only thing I made sure to do was lay the backpack in such a way that the motherboard always faced correctly, so the GPU wasn't hanging.

What I did might not be the best solution (especially with the limited availability of larger capacity SFX PSUs) but it worked fine for me. HOWEVER, I only did this because I needed certain features that an actual PC (as opposed to a laptop) could achieve. RTX laptops were either $4,000 for basic features or had limitations my system simply doesn't have. They have gone up in price and barely match 60% performance of their desktop counterparts, so buying an RTX laptop for me wasn't an option. If money is of no concern, you don't mind severe limitations and a limited option pool, or you don't mind paying more compared to MSRP however, an RTX laptop would better suit you.

And if you'd like, I can list my specs.

>unless it was street food.

Street food is a step up from this place. There are lots of street seafood restaurants in Bangkok that will give you better food at fraction of the price

This isn't some fancy 5 star restaurant on top of a skyscraper or next to a beautiful beach. It's a dump next to train tracks that pays tuk tuk and taxi drivers to bring naive tourists to the place so they can rob them by hiding the prices and charging 5-10 times the normal price. It's the type of place that has never had a repeat customer and doesn't give a fuck, because there is always a new plane full of chumps to scammed.

Just look at the 200+ 1 star reviews. All these pissed off people ordering food and having no idea they were gonna get these huge bills. This place is a scam.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g293916-d1675970-Reviews-Somboondee_Seafood_Restaurant-Bangkok.html

If anyone wishes to download this, I'd suggest doing so over TOR, or better still download tails (https://tails.boum.org) and Chuck it on a USB stick.

It's not going to be difficult for ISP's to create a list of people who have visited the download link otherwise.

It says right on the label: Camphor & Lidocaine.

Camphor numbs topically and orally - campho-phenique is a common medicine in the US for oral pain. The "Campho" part of the name is for "camphor". Don't swallow it - rinse with it, then rinse with water and spit it out if you use it in your mouth. Camphor is toxic if swallowed or consumed. In small amounts it's OK.

https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-709/camphor

Lidocaine numbs nerve endings which is why lidocaine is often used in sunburn sprays and toothache medicines, or its cousin, benzocaine.

It's probably called M-16 because it "gets the job done" just like an M-16 assault rifle. Not everyone is squeamish about such metaphors and particular not in SE Asia.

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=dFDPZv5a0UimkaErISH0S3NVAXsxQaZEpst3lGhanZ5UMTZNNE5TUDM3SEhHOFhHV0MzOEk5UVlaWS4u

Search this subreddit for visa, you will find many topics on it.

I've experienced Thai schools for 2 years. I'd take what is taught there with a huge grain of salt. Thai parents also say that getting your hair wet from the rain, even with a few drops, is what makes you get a cold. Which is not true.

I'd rather listen to the doctor's opinion rather than the 'common wisdom'.

>you can’t deny that not having access to refrigeration, running water, adequate preparation space and proper trash disposal system does raise the risk of food poisoning a bit.

Compared to a properly managed kitchen, I totally agree with you. But I don't know if you've visited the kitchen of small thai restaurants, it's often not very enticing. They are far from being hosed down daily like the carts are.

I like the transparency that the food cart offers. There are definitely some I've seen I wouldn't eat from.

When I got back to the States I immediately bought a bidet on Amazon. There are cold water options for pretty cheap, but I opted to get this one when staying at two different houses and it was totally worth it to have the hot water option. I missed the bum gun at first, but I ended up liking this style better :)

I’ve never had problems watching anything in streaming using ExpressVPN - Netflix is the one that detects the most if you are using a vpn/proxy, but even in that case there’s always a location or two that work just fine.

The airport link does work, to be fair, and can only get better with more trains/stations to come.

But compared to 1984 we've got significantly improved infrastructure, the major points being the BTS and the MRT - if you think traffic's bad now, talk to people who lived here before the Skytrain.

This piece used to be on the wall at the BACC - "If There Is No Corruption". A mocked-up map of what Bangkok's transport links could look like. Created in 2002, before the MRT even opened.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/omae/3591868774/sizes/o/

I struggle to imagine a Thailand without a 7-11 on every corner.

Almost all the beaches are beautiful. You can either fly or take the bus from Bangkok. Beware Tuk Tuk drivers will take you to a different place than you asked - always negotiate the fare before you get in. Street food is safe in Thailand, delicious nutritious and inexpensive. Always stand respectfully when the National Anthem plays. Shoes off in all Buddhist Wats. Do not point your feet at someone, or pat a child on the head.

Thailand is famous for the friendly Buddhist vibe that permeates the entire country - except, some people still have memories of the U.S. military during the Vietnam war and consider you farang. If you enter a store and they turn their back on you, and seem generally unhelpful then you will know that you have encountered that rare Thai exception.

You should do some research on TripAdvisor. I entered 'Thailand beaches' - http://www.tripadvisor.com/Search?q=thailand+beaches&sub-search=SEARCH&geo=&returnTo=__2F__

and, http://www.webehigh.com/city/detail.php?CITYID=2156

Check out my app Pocket Thai Reading for iOS or Android. It’s made exactly for people like you who can speak Thai but never learned how to read, and please let me know what you think if you use it!

As far as other resources go Pimsleur actually has a great reading course included if you buy lessons 1 to 30. There are a few free online options too, and you may be able to find pimsleur free through your library if you want to go that route. Good luck!

That's Maya Bay at Phi Phi where the movie The Beach was filmed. It's usually much more crowded than that pic suggests. As an option there's Ang Thong marine park which is just as dramatic and building has (so far) been restricted.

Web Courses Bangkok are the only I know of, though it's web dev rather than general programming.

There was meant to be a boot camp being run this year that involves travelling around Thailand and coding but I've not heard anything about it.

There are so many online courses if there is anything in particular you are interested in learning, but the best way to learn is to write code. Exercism is good for this.

The alleged Thai connection to the Sony hack involved the Loxley telecommunications conglomerate

> The company is a joint venture between the Korean Post and Telecommunications Corporation, a governmental enterprise; and Loxley Pacific Company Limited. The joint venture is chartered to establish modern Internet services in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

And from Cablegate:

> Although trade with the DPRK is relatively insignificant for the Thais, for the North Koreans Thailand has become a growing source of both needed imports and an outlet for exports.

> Thailand exported USD 222 million in goods and services to North Korea in 2005, less than 0.2 percent of its total exports. Imports from North Korea totaled only $133 million last year, a tiny 0.1 percent of Thailand's net imports.

I hit foreigners who want to learn to read all the time, but they almost never end up doing it because it's crazy difficult and almost useless outside Thailand. If you aren't an immigrant, why would you go to the effort? I know that I would never have gotten to my level of reading/writing proficiency (which most foreigners consider fluent) without being required to do it for my work. But if I hadn't been required to learn Thai, I also wouldn't have come to Thailand ... because it's not useful elsewhere.

Edit: relatedly, does anyone have a good resource for Royal vocab? It's pretty much the only thing I've never learned.

Edit: good to fill in holes https://www.memrise.com/course/320395/thai-frequency-top-4000-words/

Good for you! Learning Thai is a great way to better understand your time in Thailand and to better connect with the Thai people you meet.

In my opinion, the very best book to take you from novice to conversant in Thai: An Essential Grammar (Amazon link, or PDF link). It teaches grammar and vocab in a very pragmatic way and includes both the Thai script and a latin alphabet script.

The great thing about this book is that its latin script takes into account the unique tones and and letters that Thai has, so there's no confusion from poor transliteration. It also makes it easier to start reading Thai once you become comfortable with speaking based on the latin script. I think it's probably best to get a little experience with the language before focusing on reading because I think you need to have an idea of what you're reading, so it's not just complete gibberish. Get at least a few hundred words in your vocabulary before you start trying to read them in Thai; that will make it easier to know where one word ends and another begins.

Benjawan Poomsan's book is fine, but I didn't feel is was as useful as this one.

You don't. Just get this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0108GMCWY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

> I can eat street food all year if only my girlfriend wasn't so against it lol.

Curious, why is your GF against street food, she herself doesn't want to it eat it? What do you do as an alternative, cook?

Also, have you considered other financial apps like "You Need A Budget" ?

You can look up exactly what they charge on their website, they are particularly transparent about all charges. There are no hidden fees, what they say you get is exactly what you do get. Depending on the country, it may be cheaper to open a multi-currency account. This is the cheapest for transfers from the US, as you can fund the multi-currency account for free through ACH. Using them to send money without having an account, there is a fee for ACH.

https://wise.com/us/pricing/send-money

Other countries, it may not make so much difference whether you have the account or not.

Total fees for transfers with Wise depend on the currency pair but are low, typically around the 0.3-0.6% range. Under 1% for most.

They are not a bank, they are a money transfer service. The card is not the most economical, to use at an ATM, there is I think a 2% ATM fee and you also pay the Thai-side fee, plus their usual margin. If you are American, a zero foreign fee card like Schwab that also rebates the Thai-side fee is a better option. There are similar available in some other countries like Australia but not all countries, it depends where you are from.

Most people using Wise have a Thai bank account and use Wise to do transfers into that, and then use their local bank account for day to day.

If you ever run out of data, consider using Maps.me. It's an awesome offline map - much less storage intensive than Google's offline maps. I've been using it almost exclusively for finding my way around since 2014.

I listened to a few minutes of his podcast (that was all i could take) and he said that it got delayed because of a Buddhist holiday, and then he delayed it again because his friend who was going to film him going in to the prison had class on the day he wanted to go in. But for sure it was going to happen.

https://anchor.fm/TheFatGypsy/episodes/Introducing-the-most-beautiful-model--Richard-Deiss-e1i433

edit: words

For iPhone/iOS:

https://apps.apple.com/th/app/section38/id1451853492?l=en

For Android:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=th.go.immigration.section38&hl=en

You need to register with scans of various documents, then wait 3 months, after which they might (or might not) send you a username/password.

The main reason I wanted one is the have access to my digital movie library I collected back in the states (Vudu).

I ended up going with NordVPN. I may also torrent. I know people say torrenting isn’t blocked in Thailand, but it is still a precaution I would like to take.

I have both PIA and StrongVPN. StrongVPN is much faster, and I'm able to use it to stream streams pretty well. I have True DSL, and it really does help a ton with the connection resets and such.

Two of my favorite restaurants in Thailand are nearby you, on Phra Athit Road.

Khun Dang Guay Jab Yuan - Thai-Vietnamese style noodles. Best noodle soup I've ever had anywhere

Roti Mataba Thai Muslim food. Stuffed roti, yellow rice, chicken/goat curries, etc. Amazing food and really cheap, you can order a couple different curries, rice, and a stuffed roti if you want

There are also a bunch of small pubs popular with local uni students on that road if you want a drink after

I remember those. The manufacturers would provide just the chassis assembly and the firewall/breakfast, front fenders, and hood, no other bodywork at all. I even recall some being driven from the port in that state. Aftermarket companies would then build a cab out of hardwood and sheetmetal. No doors. Seat was hardwood, drivers had to bring their own cushions. The wealthy owners of the trucks wasted no money on space for the driver, so the seating area was crammed right up to the steering wheel. No need to waste space on a driver that could otherwise be used for freight. Anyway, these were then decorated with shiny metal and painted with designs, images. I still see these once in a rare while, usually Hino and Isuzu, but the gaudy ones are for the most part gone. Sometimes you do see trailers or beds all tarted up like that. Tour buses seem to be the new canvas for that kind of expression. I might have some photos from the 80s, but I need to get off my ass and scan and post. At the current rate of progress I should have those up by 2030. :(

Here's a relatively recent example from Koh Chang:

https://tinyurl.com/yatptsgo

You'll be fine on Khao Sarn. If you have concern about safety/security then spend a bit more money for one the better hotels such as Buddy. Some of the hotels near the airport, especially the cheaper ones, are in the middle of nowhere and you'd probably wind up paying just as much. Khao San gets absolutely packed with people walking around so you'll blend in fine, and it'll be nicer for you to experience some Bangkok life rather than being stuck in your room with nothing to do except wait for the next day.

The New York Steakhouse at the JW Marriott is a solid choice. It's a short walk from Nana BTS.

TalkingThai costs $25 but is very nice and has helped me many many times. I use it on an iOS device, but I would imagine you will still have great results on your Android.

Under settings I set my pronunciation guide system to TLC, which is the same phonetic system you will find at Thai-Language.com.

The app will allow you to look up words in English, shows a short definition, the word written in Thai script, a phonetic pronunciation of the word, and will allow you to play the Thai word out loud over your speaker.

Go to Koh Chang, it's only like 5 hours away from Bangkok (bus plus a short ferry ride to the island). Hua Hin is ok but it isn't an a tropical paradise type destination like Ko Chang, it is a just a family beach resort close to Bangkok.

If you're young and on your own might want to stay at Lonely Beach, lots of other young people there.

http://wikitravel.org/en/Ko_Chang

Its all good. I live way out in the middle of nowhere, so I'll probably have to pass on those beers, but thanks all the same :)

Hope you have a good time. The first time I came to Thailand, I too was all super nervous and over-prepped with a million little precautions and worries. The second time I visited, I threw a change of clothes in a backpack and hopped on the plane.

You should probably do some more internet research before you go, you don't absolutely have to, but it'll open up your options if you know more. Wikitravel has tons of good Thailand info (http://wikitravel.org/en/Thailand), I would recommend having a look there.

Also, I should add, you should look up the common "scams" that tourists fall for in Thailand. I just replied to somebody on this sub who got ripped-off in a tuk-tuk scam - oldest trick in the book, literally all over the internet and in travel guides for probably 30+ years, but people still get caught up in it. Better to know what to look out for.

But mainly, just don't drop your common sense. Thailand can be a really amazing place, but in many ways it is what you make of it, so don't stress about it too much. Have a good time man.

Apparently nearly 50 km. In the heat and humidity. Hiking it not advised.

Know nothing about Khao Lak I haven't googled for but doing so I got:

http://wikitravel.org/en/Khao_Lak

Apparently there are 3 separate districts - you have to decide first which because the options differ.

What I would do? I'd ask the hotel I'm staying in or go to another hotel or find a travel agent or city center to find someone who likely will know, and then start asking around.

Basically people around you are the asset with the answer. Use that asset! Even if they don't speak English well or at all, they can direct you to someone who does. Thai smiles and friendliness do the rest.

I'd also suggest: you need to be prepared for getting lost and having to improvise when you travel. It's part of the joy of travel actually and because it's inevitably imposed upon you by circumstance, it's best to find joy in it.

The Ratchaburi market(Damnoen) is pretty neat, a bit out of the way, but an absolute zoo. Supposedly this is the market Bourdain went to. Lat Mayom is more like a market that happens to have a few boats around it.

The majority of the floating markets are really geared towards tourists these days.

My favorite market is the Chatuchak weekend market. About the same content as floating markets and no worrying about the cesspool water getting on me.

For food I like any number of small night markets in whatever town I happen to be. I really like night market in Northern Ayutthaya near the train station(not to be confused with the market on Soi Grand which is crap).

Is it this one? Because the address leads me here.

Now this doesn't mean it's not legit but unless i'm mistaken with the address it seems pretty weird.

I might just have the perfect thing for you.

Fly from BKK to Chiang Mai and do the Mae Hong Son -loop. It's a really nice trip that can be done in two days, but three is better.

Yes, I have rented bigger bikes. Mostly 650 cc Kawa Versyses and the occasional Honda CB500X. Pop Motorcycle Rental is big in Chiang Mai, and I have had no problem with them. Tony's Big Bikes is also very good.

Do the MHS-loop. You can thank me later. It has long bouts of perfect motorcycling in the hills. (And some stretches of shitty roads, but that's unavoidable in Thailand.)

You might need an international permit as well as the EU license. At least Finnish license holders do. You'll have no problem renting one even without any license, but I wouldn't ride without either an international permit or a Thai license in case of an accident or something.

Khao Lak is child-friendly, off-the-beaten track relatively speaking, with lots of diving/snorkelling guides/companies, and 20+ km of uncrowded beaches. Also close to Khao Sok. See the Wikitravel page for Khao Lak http://wikitravel.org/en/Khao_Lak

Could take them to Asiatique. It's somewhat touristy, but, I've found it to be far more Thais. Cocowalk off of Ratchatewi BTS is where many Thai college kids go...lots of bars. Some of the things that tourists like, are also things that Thais may enjoy. Maybe a canal trip around Bangkok...

The other option are malls. Seriously, there are TONS of them, and it's where Thais hang out. Fancy movie seats, or Karaoke/Bowling (MBK). I understand that you're in a little bit of a bind since your friends don't seem to be very informative about what they like doing...I don't know, cat cafe?

Kuang Seafood ratchadapisek soi 10. a bit pricey but if you go in a big group it's totally worth it!

Do the loop:

Mae hong Son Loop WikiTravel

Mae Hong Son Loop TripAdvisor

Sorry that happened to you mate it does sound a bit shit. I hope you can find some consolation in the fact that it stems from their ignorance and with education and understanding it is improving, slowly.

I always like to remind Thais that Buddha was pretty much Indian.

House on fire is a metaphor for a relationship which grows uncontrollably (like fire), it is not bad, it means that they like each other very much and become friends very quickly.

So yeah, this may mean we will see some kinds of censorship. Not sure how they plan on censoring social media without blocking it completely, but if they do, people should get themselves familiar with using a VPN or tor

1. Learn the alphabet (consonants+vowels+tone marks)! This is the first thing you should do. It will make everything else much much easier. Learn 11 new letters a day. It should take you 7-10 days to learn the entire alphabet. It will allow you to begin reading. Reading is simple once you know the alphabet. Thai words are read in syllables so once you know how, it's fairly easy.

2. Learn the 100 most common words. 5 per day is plenty (and plenty hard). Learn the words in Thai script NOT English alphabet. It's a waste of time trying to learn Thai with the use of English alphabet.

3. Listen to Thai (radio/TV/movies/friends) and speak as much as possible. Point to things and ask what it is called. Repeat and memorize.

4. Learn to write. It will help you remember words, and assist in reading faster.

I suggest downloading an app for your phone so you can listen to the sounds, and try to repeat them. Have your Thai friends help you pronounce it correctly (tones are important). This app is an excellent resource for beginners. It's available for iPhones too.

โชคดี

Edit: Added link to the 100 most common words. Disclaimer: I did not create it. I found it somewhere online and found it useful.

Are you looking for work in thailand by any chance? My boss may possibly be interested in handing you some freelance stuff. I can PM you his email if you wish. As for hang outs there is always Beercamp which is kind of fun to meet up with tech people.

https://matrix.itasoftware.com/

Also try flights.google.com

As others have said just plug in the dates of when you will travel to get an idea of the range of the cost of airfare. AirAsia, Tigerair, Jetstar, and Scoot will be the lower cost airlines.

OK, I just read this entry. It was kind of difficult to read as it seemed you were trying to hard to make it interesting. The words and phrases that you use seem over blown and flower to the point that I would stop and reread parts a couple times just because they sound so unnatural. Perhaps English is your second language, or you wrote it in your native language and used Google translate and when it did it came out sounding clunky. My recommendation would be to keep things simple and to the point in the same way that Hemingway was. In fact, here is something that might help: http://www.hemingwayapp.com Finally, I thought the information at the end, such as cost was good.

We have something like this:

Katchy Indoor Fly Trap - Catcher & Killer for Mosquito, Gnat, Moth, Fruit Flies - Non-Zapper Traps for Buzz-Free Home - Catch Flying Insect Indoors with Suction, Bug Light & Sticky Glue (Black) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07B6RZP4H/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_SM1RS16SKQY8MQHZW7B9?psc=1

You don’t absolutely need it, but if you can afford it, get a good VPN. Mullvad is like €5 a month. Most of the Internet is open here, but the government does block news sites / pages and if they get annoyed at a foreign website that runs a critical story about sensitive issues then they may block the entire site. Also, consider your privacy; there is nothing like GDPR here and your Thai ISP will be logging your activity and would definitely share it with the government if it ever came to that. Lastly, it can be a convenience; lots of content, search results, etc get localized for Thailand, so having a VPN is an easy way to use the Internet without having to sift through Thai-language content or figure out how to view e.g. the US version of the Apple Store instead of the Thai one.

No prob. It was even more heartbreaking for the late Ambassador Dean as he was a refugee from the Nazis himself.

He did write his memoirs, which covered his time in Cambodia. You can probably find a copy on Amazon or your local library

https://www.amazon.com/DANGER-ZONES-Diplomats-Americas-Interests/dp/0982386702

Mangpong has a big selection of stuff. If you can't figure out how to order from them then you could try searching on Amazon, but make sure the discs are region 3.

Amazon has some instruments for sale. This is a Thai phin used in Isaan music. There is acoustic version as well.

Spotify has a 2 week grace period for traveling. So you can stream music as you can at home for 14 days. Then it stops. Probably something about licensing.

However, I've found that using Spotify with a VPN gets around the issue and have been using this solution for over 2 months now.

So, make sure you're on your home country App Store, download and set up (maybe log in to a VPN to do the whole process), then just use it with a VPN while streaming. ExpressVPN works well.

VPN's work fine (I'm with Private Internet Access) but I find I don't need them most of the time, and that includes hitting Tom Waterhouse (William Hill owns it), Pokerstars, and occasionally other , and the Daily Mail has been unblocked for the last month :)

Another vote for TunnelBear. Very well worth it for speed and ease of use. I liked it so much I opted for the $4.99 a month deal (cancel any time). Watched all of Breaking Bad via Netflix using it. It also contains a free ad blocker.

I use TunnelBear. It gives you a choice of 6 or 7 exit points (USA, Canada, Japan, UK, Germany, Italy, possibly somewhere else but I forget) and 1 Gb for free per month.

I personally pay $5 a month for unlimited usage. It's very fast and has definitely unlocked a few protocols that are choked by my ISP - streaming radio for example - as well as allowing me to use Netflix and so on. Highly recommended, particularly for how easy it is to set up, and that price also allows you to use it on two mobile devices as well. I sound like an adbot but I'm not - I just think the service is fantastic.

I wrote an app/digital textbook that’s free to try on the App Store and Google Play

If you can wait a week I’ve got a big update coming out that breaks writing down into 12 lessons instead of the current 3. I think that having a larger number of bite-sized lessons makes it more digestible, and there are a lot more practice exercises and quizzes this way too.

It might be worth checking out if you have a smartphone or tablet.

Benjawan Becker’s books are great too, but they’re better to go through with a tutor or instructor since they don’t really have detailed English language components. I believe that they were originally written more for classroom use than self study, though lots of people use them for self study since there aren’t very many options.

Good luck in your studies and check out /r/learnthai if you’ve got questions once you start studying and something doesn’t make sense.

Thai for Beginners is a good book in my opinion. I used it myself in conjunction with a few other books and online resources when I was learning Thai and it has a helpful selection of vocabulary and sample sentences.

My only problem with the book is that the English language explanations are minimal and it seems like it’s made for use in a classroom with a teacher filling in the gaps while having students complete the exercises. Also the audio components (cd/mp3) are fine, but if you want to re-listen to a single word or phrase (because you weren’t sure about the tone or something) it’s difficult to rewind the exact amount to repeat one word in a long lesson. That’s pretty nit-picky though.

I actually developed a Thai learning app for iOS and Android called Pocket Thai, that is free to try if you want to take a look at the first few lessons. I’m embarrassed to say that the android version is still a little buggy and I plan on pushing out some updates this month to improve it.

I consider Pocket Thai to be a fairly comprehensive beginners guide, with 30 lessons containing vocabulary, grammar, and cultural notes. It’s aimed at people that don’t speak almost any Thai but want to learn both reading and speaking.

Thanks for taking a look!

Oh wow! They have an Android app now!

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.longdo.dict

I've looked for it in the past but they used to only have Apple. Downloading this now, I use the web version of it already

Hola

https://www.airbnb.com/s/Bangkok-Thailand/homes?refinement_paths%5B%5D=%2Fhomes&place_id=ChIJ82ENKDJgHTERIEjiXbIAAQE&query=Bangkok%20Thailand&allow_override%5B%5D=&price_max=628&s_tag=v9tDRmw9

there you go, up to 628b (up to!!!), i can see clean nice modern condos with swimming pool and everything you need for a comfy living/holiday... and this is what you get, they can't cheat you, this isn't agoda... like i said, for this price, a fully-equipped and furnished 1-bed condo, with gym + swimming pool + free wifi + smart tv / lcd tv... show me a hotel on agoda that can compete... ;) i stayed in condos below 500b/night and i was more than happy...

Yes, I am, because you're either BSing or your leaving out some of the costs. But instead of arguing about it, let's take a look at what you get for 4-600 THB/night on Airbnb, I see a lot of CRT televisions and hostel type private rooms, there's certainly no "1 bed condos with smart TVs and kitchens" in there, at least not that you'd call "modern". It's pretty similar to what you get on Agoda in that price range, except Agoda doesn't tack on cleaning fees and commissions, and they let you choose to have your credit card do the conversion to THB instead of doing it for you and charging you 3% for the privilege.

Now if you up the price range to 800-1000 THB/night then you start to see 1 bed condos with smart TVs in newer buildings.

Volunteers / non-profit organization.

See their Facebook page.

Thais are surprisingly good at creative & visual stuff: commercials / short movies / animations. Real pity that the economic & legal system in Thailand are not too favorable to small and lean startups.

I see that Joe Louis offers dinner now, with a brief ten minutes of puppet theatrics. There are "plans" to open a full theatre at the Asiatique, but they've been planning for years:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g293916-i3687-k5346033-Joe_Louis_Puppetry_Asiatique-Bangkok.html

Anyone have current info?

Ya you could be right. I see that position quite a bit when sitting indoors. Now that I think about it, I do see the asian squat a lot more often in other countries including the philippines. Maybe thai ppl dont do it as much in bkk but I think i saw it quite a bit in other provinces.

Be happy nobody here loves to do the asian shirt roll

I started to put a Google Spreadsheet together..

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AurIg4LHA-zadDJpeFc5QW9TWEktNTdsWGFYeWxUM3c#gid=0

But it really needs extra fields like:

• Rating (1/5)
• Level of tourism (1 for mostly thai's, 5 for lots of tourists)
• Location
• Short description
• Opening times
• Best times to go

Maybe we can find some good web software to support this type of info and have an official web site for this subreddit? I see it having things like places, links, faq's, etc... And of course keeping the quality high as possible and not overloading it with too much data.

If there is interest give me a shout and we'll see what we can sort out together.

The lake, @ Huay Teung Tao

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g293917-d1746055-Reviews-Huay_Tung_Tao_Lake-Chiang_Mai.html

or the 700 year stadium

http://www.chiangmailocator.com/chiang-mai-sports-2444:700-year-stadium

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurants-g293916-c37-Bangkok.html lots to choose. As /u/Grande_Yarbles said the New York Steakhouse is pretty damn good. The Nami tepanyaki place also at the Marriot is great as well, Wagyu and Scallops, yes please. The only other place on that list I've tried is the US steakhouse, about 10 minute walk from Asok station. Both places at the Marriot are a bit fancier but the 12oz ribeye with black peppercorn sauce and wasabi mashed potatoes at the US Steakhouse is absolutely stellar.

Cool!!!!

So meetup.com is not an expat thingy like in some other Asian countries?

In some places only 40yr old expats use meetup.com and nearly everything is business,wine related , how is it like in thailand?

In addition to the province of Central Thailand, there's also Ang Thong Natonal Marine Park north of Koh Samui.

Indeed it's confusing not to specify, since the town/province is more notable.

I presume there's an obscure island or two in the middle of Chao Phraya river in Ang Thong province, but that's unlikely to be what OP is referring to.

it's got mixed reviews. The negative reviews are from the small portion of paid visitors. The volunteers seemed to have very good experience.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g297924-d1744252-Reviews-Safari_Park_Open_Zoo-Kanchanaburi_Kanchanaburi_Province.html

I remember there's a very small one off of BTS On Nut. Don't waste your time here.

You can check out ramkumhang university night market. I have never been there myself but drove pass it. It looks very lively.

but the one I really like is ตลาดนัดรถไฟ. t's right behind seacon square. They don't open everyday but try to go on saturday. That's the busiest day with most vendors. The easiest way to get there is to catch a cab from On Nut BTS.

I did mistakenly go During the FMP...,which is completely awful. No part of haad rin felt like vacation. It was just thousands of white people like myself getting black out drunk on buckets of booze. That's not essentially what I planned on when going on vacation to Thailand.

Now that I think about it I did enjoy this place alot...... This place was great http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g303907-d3780714-Reviews-Le_Divine_Comedie-Ko_Phangan_Surat_Thani_Province.html

Cheers, I was thinking about this a little bit more, but realize you could always just make your own with real oranges.

The reason that most orange juice tastes nasty in the western world is because of the preservatives, you take those out and you are left with some great stuff. This article from Gizmodo explains it a little bit better than I can.

Late to the thread but i dont see this posted yet, The Forest

It's also on netflix right now, https://www.netflix.com/ca/title/80161120 . Not amazing but interesting foriegn (directed) movie about issarn village life and Thai animism.

Meetup.com is a great app to find people who have similar interests as yourself. Google places that interest you and youll more than likely find friends somewhere. Also, another great thing about living over here and meeting other expats/locals is that no one (at least in my circle) is leaving anytime soon. Been here for 3 years and still have the same friends I've had since moving out here.

Many of his books are, but not that particular one unfortunately (if we're talking about legal). There's one that is similar, based on lectures, which is available:

"Necessary Illusions: Thought Control in Democratic Societies (1989): Based on the Massey Lectures, delivered in Canada in November 1988, Necessary Illusions argues that, far from performing a watchdog role, the “free press” serves the needs of those in power."

http://www.openculture.com/2014/05/read-9-books-by-noam-chomsky-free-online.html

On the darkside of the moon, there it is (M.C.):

http://gen.lib.rus.ec/search.php?req=manufacturing+consent+chomsky+herman&open=0&res=25&view=simple&phrase=1&column=def

not endorsing any action, of course. :)

Hey! I strongly advise you to use browse this site to find stuff to do in Chiang Mai. When I was visiting Thailand, I had 3 months to explore the country. That Wikitravel thing helped me a lot!

It's not far, about a 30 minute taxi ride if there isn't any traffic. Bangkok is quite easy to get around, there is an abundance of taxis everywhere and if you are adventurous enough, you can use Google maps transit and use the public transport system (You almost have to use the trains during rush hour). There is also a river bus system that cuts right through the traffic, google transit has it so you should check that out as a faster way to get to khao san.

EDIT: Just wanna add that this link is a great resource for travelling around Bangkok http://wikitravel.org/en/Bangkok

Green Lung of Bangkok;

Talad Rot Fai *Note: It's by Seacon Square...not out by Chatuchak anymore...so, most directions are wrong;

Those two immediately come to mind. But, if you really want to see stuff, take the trains out to places that most people (other than Thais) don't go. Avoid Sukhumvit and Silom. Check out a Thai professional soccer game, stroll around Chinatown, or take a walk through Lumpini park. About a 15 minute walk from Khao San, there are TONS of very local things (bars, restaurants etc)...that despite there being 10's of thousands of tourists in that area, are almost completely devoid of any foreigners. The Golden Mount is not as touristy, and gives a great view of the river, and old part of the city. Bangkok is an amazing place to just get lost in...it's relatively safe, and there are tons of cabs (one will take you by meter...if you wait it out).

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g297930-d602848-Reviews-Pum_s_Cooking_School_Patong_Beach-Patong_Kathu_Phuket.html

go to night market in Patong that is next door to boxing (muay thai) stadium...awesome food

http://www.richardbarrow.com/2013/03/bangkoks-most-dangerous-areas-for-crime/

Edit: that above list is the one I was thinking of, but I just stumbled on this older list with comments, that sounds quite interesting:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g293916-i3687-k1791264-10_most_dangerous_Soi_or_sideroad_in_Bangkok-Bangkok.html

Decent phrases to know (should just let everyone know that there isn't a good way to really write these in English...so...may want to listen to some of the phrases on youtube or something):

• Sawatdee (krub/kah) Hello

• Sabai dee ru (krub/kah) How are you?

• Sabai dee (krub/kah) Fine

• Khob Khun (kup/kaa) Thank you

• chai Yes

• mai chai No

• mai pen rai never mind (handy all purpose phrase to express the Thai go-with-the-flow attitude)

• nee Tao Rai? How much?

• pang expensive

• pang mak very expensive

• lot noi dai mai can you give a little discount

• naam water

• sanaam bin Airport

• hong naam toilet

• Rongram hotel

(Edited version of this list)

Islands, depending on which one, should have both options, but many have larger ferry services that are quite safe, and cheap.

Udacity is focused on programming, and good, even offers certifications, but much content is not free.

Khan Academy is more general, and covers many different subjects, with more free content.

Do a bit of research yourself, online learning platforms are a recent phenomenon, so any recommendations might be out of date.

The US embassy even has a link to request a letter on its website.

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=dFDPZv5a0UimkaErISH0S3NVAXsxQaZEpst3lGhanZ5UMTZNNE5TUDM3SEhHOFhHV0MzOEk5UVlaWS4u

If your brokerage accounts accepts wires that should work I guess. Otherwise you can easily open a Wise.com account in USD and use that as an account from which you will sent it to your credit union.

For about 12K baht you can get a very good suit with these guys. They might be the most legit place in BKK at that price.

Hi everyone!

My fiancee and I are planning on going to Thailand in June for our honeymoon. I found this place, and am planning on us staying there for 5 days, then heading to an island in the south.

My question is, Elephant Camp in Mae Wang looks like a great place and the price is right, and the reviews seem to say they treat the elephants well. But, can someone tell me if it really is?

Thanks!

There's a chrome extension called ZenMate which is free and 1000x easier and quicker to use than any paid VPN I've ever used. It really is the best thing I've found for changing your location to get around Thai censorship, what is it they mainly censor again?

Edit : Link

I would recommend this app https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wordinthehand.thaidict&hl=en_US&gl=US

It is how I learned on my own, cost 20 bucks but well worth it.

There is audio for proper pronunciation and it breaks down words so that you can understand the rule. There is also formal and informal sentence structure, even vulgar words that they mark with a symbol to let you know not to use

>Am I missing something? I

You might have downloaded the verifier app that is designed for airlines and venues to verify a pass. You want the consumer app.

Android example:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.thecommonsproject.smarthealthcardverifier

That's for the verifier. Doesn't store stuff for offline use

You want:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.thecommonsproject.android.commonpass

In there you can "create new pass"

Been looking for this myself - saw it in the cinema here when it came out, but would like to watch it again. Never found it on any legit streaming services.

There's a DVD available on Amazon US, but it's not cheap, and they don't deliver to Thailand - if you have a friend or relative in the US, perhaps they could mail it on to you (you'd potentially need to pay import duties though):

https://www.amazon.com/Years-Thailand-Region-English-Subtitled/dp/B07RY891SK

If you think a bum gun is great, you should definitely get a bidet. This thing changed my life and made pooping so much more enjoyable.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00A0RHSJO/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_fabc_Z8PGRFDGBP3S8SSX474P

For occasional use like that you can use a free VPN like WindScribe, or indeed the one built in to Opera.

A VPN will severely slow down your internet, (as it routes all your traffic through the other side of the world) so it's really not something you are going to want on all the time anyway.

you can find it on amazon

Thanks! While I have dabbled in several languages, this particular app was built on a no-code platform - bubble.io - if you're interested, it began many years ago with an Android app (Java) - but I wanted to bring it to the web with improvements: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.economicsbrowser.economicsbrowser

I recently ordered this book off of amazon:

Read Thai in 10 Days (English and... https://www.amazon.com/dp/1505679524?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf

I haven’t tried to use it yet but it has very good reviews. I need to download audio files to accompany it for proper pronunciation still then I’ll get to it.

I’d love to know what you find that works for you. I very much want to learn to read and write as well. I’ve been learning with a Pimsleur course on my commutes but I think reading will open up a wile new world and really accelerate my learning

Best of luck!

The mechanics/science behind it is very simple. They are not vacuums like the expensive $300-$1000 ones. They just roll around on the floor and an eletro-static cloth just gets some percentage of the dust, it's not perfect but it's a nice automated way to reduce dust.

https://www.amazon.com/RoboMop-SoftBase-Robotic-Floor-Sweeper/dp/B001G4IG6O

You'll see the reviews on amazon are not that good either with many defective units. The difference for me was that Lazada wouldn't accept my return as defective, and they also kept the merchandise as well.

Definitely remember drinking the one on the left as well! I found the Itoen one as a powder on Amazon so it's on its way now!

Itoen, Green Tea Ohi Ocha Sarasara Japanese 40G. https://www.amazon.de/dp/B000KT91CE/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_535dDbX4E2PWD

It's present on both Apple and Android stores:

For iPhone/iOS:

https://apps.apple.com/th/app/section38/id1451853492?l=en

For Android:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=th.go.immigration.section38&hl=en