It has been 4 months since I study Thai language at TLS.
When I started learning , I couldn’t even speak any greetings, but now I can communicate with Thai people for daily conversation. I can order food at restaurant without any help and can ask for discount when I go shopping. I still have some problems with my pronunciation and accent, but most Thai people can understand my speaking.
The course teaches me very practical conversation and vocabularies which I really need in real life, so I could improve my skill in a short time.
Also as I live here, I experience Thai culture. Thai culture is very diverse, and hard to define. Even though Thailand is well-known as Buddhist country, and their culture was mostly influenced by Buddhism, Hinduism and Shamanism also affect to their daily life style a lot. Thai culture is far different from the cultures I have experienced from other countries, and as I get to know more, I could understand their living style more easily.
There are also various entertainments in Thailand. Internationally well-known bands are often having concerts in Thailand, and also Thai domestic bands are having big music festivals annually. Also Thailand has many traditional festivals such as water festival, and those are very enjoyable and interesting. Thai clubs would be different from what you expect but it is good place to hang out with your friends with good live music. Thailand also has beautiful breathtaking beaches and nature, those can be easily reached by plane or bus, and those are good places to visit to relax or to adventure around.
The cost of living in Thailand is known as very cheap. Indeed, if you live like as Thai people do, living cost will be more than 50% cheaper than your home country. However, if you look for more comfortable and same standard of living as your home country, it would cost you a bit more. Everything has various price depends on its brand name and where it is sold. Food in Thailand is very cheap. It starts from around 1 dollar if you buy from street vendors, but in fancy restaurant it could excess more than 200 dollars. It is very hard to say “Living cost in Thailand is very cheap” but if you are not stubborn to keep the high standard of living, the living cost in Thailand could be very reasonable. Housing in Thailand as well, the apartment in the center of Bangkok with cleaning services will be really expensive as like other countries, but out of center Bangkok is very reasonable and sometimes they also provide cleaning service.
My monthly living cost is below.
Renting fee – 8,000 Baht per month
Electricity fee – 1,000 Baht per month
Water fee – (I haven’t got it yet since it comes every 3 months)
Food – about 6,000 Baht per month (I mostly eat out than cook at home)
Transportation – BTS monthly pass: 800 Baht (for 40 trips)
Taxi and Bus: 3,000 Baht per month (I live very far from BTS station)
Shopping – around 3,000 per month
One day trip to Pattaya (includes 3 meals and transportation): 600 Baht
4 days trip to Phuket and Krabi (includes every meal and hotel): 7,000 Baht
