Women Learning Thai… and some men too ;-)

Returning to Flooded Ayutthaya… On October 6 I visited Ayutthaya to see the extent of the flood. If you haven’t read the post, go to Ayutthaya Underwater. Areas located by waterways were difficult to get to by car but with perseverance we finally made it to our planned destination, Wat Chiawatthanaram. Photos of four separate [...]

The Thai floods just keep on coming… Flood tourism is now a popular sport in Thailand. And even if an area isn’t flooded, you’ll come across people crowded around klongs, leaning over to check the water level. And if I had the time and inclination, I’d drive around Thailand taking photos of people draped over [...]

FROC’s highway to… Both the Bangkok Post and the Nation covered, albeit briefly, complaints about FROC’s invasive ramp into the Energy Complex. Bangkok Post: Froc’s ‘VIP pass’ irks residents Residents living near the Flood Relief Operations Command (Froc) say a raised road built to allow access by VIPs is causing them flooding problems. The special [...]

Karn.TV Cartoons: Flooding in Thailand… During the past few weeks, Thailand’s 50 Million Blue Whales Flooding Bangkok were a big YouTube hit for Thais and students of the Thai language. Today I found Karn.TV’s cartoon offer… There are three more flood videos (just follow along on YouTube). Note: To keep up with the flood news [...]

Thailand has 50 million blue whales flooding Bangkok… Obviously, there are not 50 million blue whales flooding Bangkok. Not even one. And the flood is not only about Bangkok. But as bonkers as 50 million whales flooding Bangkok sounds, the contradicting flood information bombarding us daily seems just as wacky. Anyway. This post is for [...]

Bangkok Flood Info… Rikker from Thai 101 started a Google Doc, Bangkok Flood Info, to share important emergency numbers and advice. If you have information to add, the doc is editable, so please do. For those who’ve already left Bangkok, my post is too late. But for some it should still be relevant. Why didn’t [...]

Bangkok bracing for the predicted floods… For weeks we’ve been reading conflicting news on whether Bangkok will flood or not. First the Governor states that Bangkok is ready, come hell or high water. Then that very same day, Yingluck, the Thai prime minister, warns of floods threatening Bangkok. Soon after we had an expert assuring [...]

Ayutthaya underwater… Late last week I drove to Ayutthaya to see how the area was bearing up under the onslaught of flooding. I especially wanted to visit Wat Kasattrathiraj, the Wat reported as being underwater. I went on Thursday, when the roads were still passable but waterways were starting to encroach onto highways, closing down [...]

Interviewing Successful Thai Language Learners… Name: James Higbie Nationality: American Age range: 60+ Sex: Male Location: Sierra Leone Profession: Work for NGO in Education Development Thai level: Intermediate to Advanced Website: Thai Language / Lao Language Books: From Orchid Press: Thai Reference Grammar, Essential Thai, Let’s Speak Thai, Let’s Speak Lao; From Hippocrene Books: Dictionary [...]

Are some languages seriously harder than others… or… According to the graphic below, for English speakers Thai is in the medium range of difficulties at 44 weeks. The hardest languages to learn are double that at 88 weeks. And apparently it takes a mere 23-24 weeks to learn Italian. But seriously, I believe they have [...]

UPDATED: A top 100 Thai vocabulary list… In the post, Compiling a Top 100 Thai Vocabulary List, I put together a Thai words list and asked for suggestions. New words came in via email, Facebook, and in the comments of the post. While that list was percolating, I created a list from a different direction: [...]

Compiling a top 100 Thai vocabulary list from phrases… Searching for a top 100 Thai vocabulary list to use with the Loci Method has totally gobbled my interest! Since starting this adventure I’ve found many ways to compile such a list and I’m now on version three. Or four. In the comments of Compiling a [...]

Interviewing Successful Thai Language Learners… Name: Mark Hollow Nationality: British Age: mid-30′s Sex: Male Location: Bangkok Profession: Formerly an IT project manager, currently just studying. Twitter: @hmmbug What is your Thai level? I can speak reasonably well, although my ability and confidence varies according to the subject but can usually find my way around most [...]

Compiling a top 100 Thai vocabulary list… Hey all, I need your help putting together a top 100 Thai vocabulary list. The aim is to create a word list for newbies to communicate in Thai at a basic level. Only the barest Thai words are needed, but which ones? I compiled a sample list of [...]