Polyglot Meeting in Bangkok !

I have a couple of alternative suggestions:



My first preference would be the Neilson Hays Library in Surawong (a 40 baht taxi drive from Silom) - see www.neilsonhayslibrary.com/about.shtml#location. It is a nice quiet location, where we can chat in a relaxed way, the main advantage being that it's a good opportunity to learn about the library. Thai people, serious about learning English, might like to take books out. And if you are an expat here then you will definitely want to know about this very extensive library, unique in Thailand.



It also has a great little cafe (good coffee, tea and snacks). It's not Thai food, but then we could always go on to one of the nearby restaurants for a proper meal.



A nice & comfortable place for eating and chatting would be the Food Loft in Central Chitlom right outside Chitlom BTS Skytrain station. It's a little expensive compared to a local Thai restaurant (but the same price as Starbucks!) But there is a huge variety of food (Indian, Japanese, Italian, Thai, etc.) that would suit all tastes.



And now a plug for my ebook . If you are keen to learn Thai, it is absolutely imperative that you learn how to read Thai first. If you try to learn simply by speaking, using the phonetic transliteration, then you will end up learning a kind of 'farang' dialect of Thai, you will reach a ceiling very quickly, and it will become very difficult to unlearn if you ever go on to a more advanced level of Thai. Besides, you will simply be isolated from the wealth of Thai that surrounds you in the streets that you could easily absorb if you were literate.



The ebook is called Read Thai in a Day, because that's all it takes! (Actually two half days a week apart, plus a refresher after a month.) It costs $48.50, but you can download a free trial where you can learn to recognize 75% of the most common consonants in only two hours. Also, on the website, is a free Thai Signs section, where you can practice your newfound reading skills by browsing through street signs and notices. This will help you to pick up 'real' Thai culture and language, effortlessly and subconsiously, from your everyday surroundings.



Based on accelerated and subliminal learning techniques, the shape of each letter is associated visually with its sound using a quirky cartoon image. And rather than having to understand complicated letter classes and tone rules, the tone for each syllable is derived from the 'personality' of each letter - based on whether it is a boy, girl or 'ladyboy'...



kgatheuy (ladyboy) carrying a cactus ค



As a side effect of becoming literate, you will also pick up a core vocabulary of around 300 common words, plus another 200-odd words that are derived from English.



Please visit www.learnthaionline.com to download your copy. Give it a try. It really isn't difficult!

How about Starbucks on 1st floor of MBK? You can go to there by BTS. It's very easy to go to MBK. You just go to BTS' national stadium station and walk about 5 minutes.

I'm look forward to seeing you.

Warrasith