Sawasdee 4 (Thai K-1s in 2010)

[DaveTX 2]

My wife uses the dishwasher and dryer all the time. She had neither in Thailand, but started using them right away here. I never used the dishwasher very much before since I just used paper/plastic most of the time and tossed it. I said, for routine things- use this stuff and no one has to clean but she put that in the dishwasher too, so I gave up on plastic ware.

I have Win 7 Ultimate and I had initially set it to Thai but it doesn't seem helpful. Either the Thai UI words are ones she has to think about or it's just a transliteration of the English anyway. Plus, if it's in Thai I can't help her with anything. It didn't stay in Thai very long-- wasn't any faster for her (seemed to take her longer in Thai actually) and I had to put it back to English to help her so we left it that way.

That's become true in several things-- she doesn't use Facebook in Thai anymore either for example. That's more a statement on the quality of the Thai localization than her English skills though I think. Computer localizations seem very superficial, you really just need to use them in English to do anything beyond simple routine IMHO.

[ArizonaMike74 0]

I agree with the comments about Windows in Thai, probably not something you want to do. No real reason to pay for anything more than Win 7 Home Premium for 99% of home users anyway.

Actually Mimi can read and understand and prefers english most of the time when using the computer - it is when she's typing to her friends on facebook, etc. she uses the small arrow on the start bar to change to Thai characters. I don't know if there is a way for her to type to her friends in Thai on the internet without the Windows language pack but I'm sure there may be an alternative. It's free for XP/Vista but Win7 ultimate does cost extra. I was buying a new Alienware so it wasn't that much more altogether but if I had to buy a separate upgrade just for the Thai language pack I probably would have sought out alternatives.

Mike

[anya-D 8]

The check cleared the bank yesterday. Groovy!!! Now waiting for the notice in the mail.

Congratulation to P' Teaw I cant wait to meet with her tomorrow.

Look here:

http://www.thairath.co.th/

That's all she'll need.

That's interesting, since you dont like Thaksin and Thairath is pretty much sided with him I thought you would choose other source of news

@Kang Lang - Hope your ROC journey goes smoothly and super fast! and without interview ofcourse

I'm about to go to Thailand in Dec with my baby (hubby is to stay behind) I'm starting to get very nervous!

29.86 is a fantastic exchange rate, especially since the value of USD vs THB has been rising for a while and it's at almost exactly 30 now. Glad to hear all is well.

OMG really? I have to go check the exchange rate.... I didnt plan on spending a lot but guess it'll be more than I thought with this low exchange rate

[daboyz 36]

That's interesting, since you dont like Thaksin and Thairath is pretty much sided with him I thought you would choose other source of news

My wife reads it. I suspect she is a closet Thaksin lover being from Isaan and all. Whenever I start talking bad about him I get dirty looks.

[toma1 10]

My wife reads it. I suspect she is a closet Thaksin lover being from Isaan and all. Whenever I start talking bad about him I get dirty looks.

You can talk with my wife then. She hates his guts. You two would get on fine...

[AaronLV 12]

Actually Mimi can read and understand and prefers english most of the time when using the computer - it is when she's typing to her friends on facebook, etc. she uses the small arrow on the start bar to change to Thai characters. I don't know if there is a way for her to type to her friends in Thai on the internet without the Windows language pack but I'm sure there may be an alternative. It's free for XP/Vista but Win7 ultimate does cost extra. I was buying a new Alienware so it wasn't that much more altogether but if I had to buy a separate upgrade just for the Thai language pack I probably would have sought out alternatives.

Mike

You don't need Win7 Ultimate to type in Thai. All of the versions of Win7 allow you to add a Thai Keyboard.

[Kang Lang 7]

@daboyz...not sure if your comments come dripping with sarcasm but for some reason i find you hilarious, tell the truth you get a wee bit of joy out of winding your wife up don'tcha!!!!

@anya...your baby boy is adorable!!!!!!

the exchange rate has been in the neighborhood of 30+/- for a few months now. when i went to asia in june it was 32 on the best day but mostly 30-31. have a wonderful/ safe trip.

i asked my husband if he wanted the the thai keyboard and s/w pack that i had my sil bring me in singapore from mbk *ahem* when i went in june but he never used it. he primarily uses english but has the thai "keyboard" for his iphone so uses that if and when he needs it.

his thai is apparently getting terrible. the other day he could not remember the thai word for onion. took him 10 minutes anyone else's s.o. forgetting thai?

[daboyz 36]

She hit the atm in chiang mai. 10k baht came out the 350 usd. Used to be 250 usd. Global economics.

[AaronLV 12]

She hit the atm in chiang mai. 10k baht came out the 350 usd. Used to be 250 usd. Global economics.

You have to watch the bank and atm also. When we were there at the beginning of May last year my wife stopped at some ATM in Rayong (in a Big C, I can't remember the bank), and it ended up being an exchange rate of 28.9 when the current rate was 32.3. I only use Bangkok bank and Siam Commercial to withdraw money.

[daboyz 36]

It was SCB.

[daboyz 36]

It was SCB.

[SqdnGuns 21]

My wife reads it. I suspect she is a closet Thaksin lover being from Isaan and all. Whenever I start talking bad about him I get dirty looks.

My wife is from Surin, she WAS a Thaksin supporter. While she was here in the states, she was able to get unfiltered news about him and realized what a ####### he was/is.

[daboyz 36]

My wife is from Surin, she WAS a Thaksin supporter. While she was here in the states, she was able to get unfiltered news about him and realized what a ####### he was/is.

He is a #######. That is putting it nicely.

When they had the coup in '06 I was really happy. They shut off CNN and BBC for a day or 2, but not the internet, so kinda pointless. Unfortunately, "man with 2 wives" Sonthi decided that no more living in Thailand on 30 day tourist visas. So I had to get married.

I ended up with one year a Non-O multi entry which at the end of the day was better.

[anya-D 8]

@anya...your baby boy is adorable!!!!!!

the exchange rate has been in the neighborhood of 30+/- for a few months now. when i went to asia in june it was 32 on the best day but mostly 30-31. have a wonderful/ safe trip.

i asked my husband if he wanted the the thai keyboard and s/w pack that i had my sil bring me in singapore from mbk *ahem* when i went in june but he never used it. he primarily uses english but has the thai "keyboard" for his iphone so uses that if and when he needs it.

his thai is apparently getting terrible. the other day he could not remember the thai word for onion. took him 10 minutes anyone else's s.o. forgetting thai?

Thanks kaa he's a joy of my life even when he woke up every 20-30 minutes the whole night lol. Some how my patient was tested and passed coz he's so darn cute lol.

And yes, I forgot Thai words all the time. I have one Thai co-worker here and we speak mostly English to each other lol. A lot of time when I'm with my Thai friends I can speak Thai without trouble but also use a lot of English words that I think it's common but some people in Thailand might not even know the meaning of it lol... When I go back to visit my grandparents I'll have to be careful of not using any English words (they know some but it's better not)

For the exchange rate - ohh well.. I'll just use my American Express card or my dad ahahah - he loves to give me Thai baht and I'll give him USD. But my back actaully gave me a very good rate before (not a big bank)

My wife is from Surin, she WAS a Thaksin supporter. While she was here in the states, she was able to get unfiltered news about him and realized what a ####### he was/is.

Nice

[AdamW 2]

LOL. Yes your results may vary But that's what this thread is for.

On a separate note I now have a list of things that may ease the transition for your loved one when he/she arrives here:

1) Rice Cooker - this is a must. I bought one at Sears for $30 that is working great so far (Mekong Plaza, my closest Asian Grocery Store, wanted $100+).

Same here. Bought ours at Walmart since they wanted over $100 USD at the local Asian market.

2) "Thai Keyboard Stickers with White Lettering on Transparent Background" found on Amazon.com for $5.77 with shipping sold by 4KEYBOARD. This will turn any standard computer keyboard into a Thai keyboard

3) Download the free Thai language pack for Windows XP/Vista (this allows you to switch between Roman and Thai language on the computer by clicking on an arrow on the far right side of your Start Bar in Windows). Unfortunately, if you have Windows 7 you have to upgrade to Windows Ultimate in order to download/install any language packs.

4) Thai Satellite for Thai News/Soap Operas (I mentioned the specifics in an earlier thread and there are alternatives to a satellite dish).

5) "Bidet BB-50: Hand-held bidet with room temperature water and adjustable pressure" offered from Amazon for $45.50 with shipping. This is the popular "Bum Gun" found everywhere in Thailand. It comes with all the necessary hardware to go between the water hookup and your toilet's tank and mounts on the wall. This one has held up well so far for me.

I laughed so hard when I read this one. My wife told me I would hook one of these up ASAP when we got back but so far I have managed to avoid doing this. Explained to her what an errant shot of water does to sheetrock. Did not really go into details that bathrooms had water resistant sheetrock though.

6) Some kind of clothes drying rack or setup some clothes lines. Mimi is not a fan of clothes drying machines (I don't think they're popular in Thailand but someone can correct me if I'm wrong). My socks and underwear are OK in the dryer but for the more delicate stuff she prefers the old fashioned method.

Told my wife that the homeowners does not allow this (they don't outside) but asked her the other day why she doesn't handwash her undies anymore and dry them and she just laughed. So apparently my wife does not care about not being "HISO" so both my dryer and dishwasher get used. LOL

I'm sure there is something I'm forgetting but I think that covers the important stuff. Obviously you don't HAVE to buy this stuff but I think it will make for a much easier transition for your significant other.

Mike