Staying in Guesthouses

Focus: ที่

• ที่ (thîi) is one of the most common words used in the Thai language.

  • It can be a preposition meaning "at."

  • It can also be used as a classifier for places.

  • When used in this way, ที่ (thîi) takes the place of "that, "which," or "who" in English.

• In a sentence, a noun will be followed by ที่ (thîi).

  • Then this is followed by either an adjective or a verbal phrase that describes and defines the noun.

• When the noun is a person we can say ที่ (thîi) means "who," as in these examples:

  • ผู้ชายที่มีหนวดคือคุณพ่อ (phûu-chaai thîi mii nùuat khuue khun-phâaw)

    ➤ "The man who has a mustache is my father."

  • เด็กที่กำลังเล่นมีความสุข (dèk thîi gam-lang lên mii khwaam-sùk.)

    ➤ "The child who is playing is happy."

• A noun modified by ที่ (thîi) can also appear as the object of a sentence.

• Often there are more natural ways of phrasing expressions in English that don't use the word "who":

  • พี่ชายชอบผู้หญิงที่สูง (phîi-chaai châawp phûu-yǐng thîi sǔung.)"

    ➤ My older brother likes tall women."

  • คนที่ฉลาดเป็นคนที่มีอนาคตดี (khon thîi chà-làat bpen khon thîi mii à-naa-khót dii.)

    ➤ "Intelligent people are people with a good future."

• When it follows inanimate objects or animals, ที่ (thîi) will usually mean "that" or "which":

  • เราจะไปชายหาดในวันที่มีอากาศดี (rao jà bpai chaai-hàat nai wan thîi mii aa-gàat dii.)

    ➤ "We'll go to the beach on a day that has good weather."

  • ไข่ที่แตกเป็นไข่เน่า (khài thîi dtàaek bpen khài nâo.)

    ➤ "The egg that broke was a rotten egg."

Vocabulary & Phrases

• ไปไหน (bpai nǎi)

  • This phrase is a little bit of a casual or short way to ask "Where are you going?"

  • Even though it is short, it is not necessarily rude.

  • To make it more polite you can just add ครับ khráp or คะ khá after it.

  • This is a phrase you might often hear from taxi drivers.

• ยังไม่รู้ (yang mâi rúu)

  • This phrase means "I don't know yet." or "I still don't know."

  • ยัง (yang) means "still" or "yet."

  • ไม่ (mâi) is the negative particle.

  • รู้ (rúu) is the verb "to know."

  • This phrase is often said by itself as an answer to a question.

  • It can also be used as the beginning of a longer sentence when it's followed by ว่า (wâa) and some other statement.

  • Examples:

    • ยังไม่รู้ว่าจะกินอะไรดี (yang mâi rúu wâa jà gin à-rai dii.)

      ➤ "I still don’t know what I'll get to eat."

• จริงๆ (jing-jing)

  • When used once, จริง (jing) is an adjective meaning "real" or "true."

  • When it is doubled, จริงๆ (jing-jing) becomes an adverb meaning "really."

  • It usually follows adjectives as in the following examples:

    • วันนี้ร้อนจริงๆ (wan-níi ráawn jing-jing.) ➤ "It really is hot today."

    • ตลกจริงๆ (dtà-lòk jing-jing) ➤ "That was really funny."

• เลย (looei)

  • This is an adverb that can be translated many ways depending on the context.

  • In negative sentences it usually means "at all," as in:

    • ผมไม่ชอบเลย (phǒm mâi châawp looei.) ➤ "I don’t like it at all."

  • In positive statements or commands it will often mean something like "immediately," "simply," or "just."

  • Examples:

    • เขากลับบ้านเลย (khǎo glàp bâan looei.) ➤ "He simply went home."

    • คุณไม่ต้องรอผม ทานข้าวเลย (khun mâi dtâwng raaw phǒm. gin khâao looei.)

      ➤ "You don’t have to wait for me. Go ahead and eat your meal."

A Meeting Point for Tourists

• Khaosan Road is the most popular area for young travelers to stay in Bangkok.

  • The word ข้าวสาร (khâao-sǎan) means "uncooked rice," and the name indicates that the street used to be a wholesale market for rice brought in from the surrounding areas.

  • Khaosan Road is located near the Chao Phraya River and is in a convenient spot to base oneself for sightseeing.

  • It is just a short distance north of the Grand Palace, Wat Pho, and the National Museum.

  • Many other important temples such as Wat Suthat, Wat Saket, Wat Benchamabophit, and Wat Bowonniwet are just a short distance away.

• The street itself is lined with many restaurants, bars, and shops of all types catering to foreign tourists.

  • There are numerous stalls selling T-shirts, bags, jewelry, and souvenirs.

  • You can find both Thai massage and tattoo parlors.

  • There are carts selling street food with everything from fresh juice and falafel sandwiches to deep-fried insects.

  • There are also many travel agencies and ticket reservation offices.

• Khaosan Road first became popular with backpackers and budget travelers because of its many cheap guesthouses.

  • Today most of the bargain accommodation can be found on side streets in the surrounding area, and most of the establishments still located on Khaosan Road itself have gone more upmarket.

  • If you like the convenience of Khaosan Road, but find the location a bit too chaotic for your tastes, you might like to try staying on nearby Phra Athit Road, which has a more pleasant setting right along the river.

Thai Hotel Rooms

Focus: กว่า

• We can put กว่า (gwàa) after any adjective to change it into a comparative adjective.

  • This is just like adding "-er" or saying "more...than" in English.

• When comparing two nouns, the word order is the same as in English. The basic pattern is:

  • Noun 1 + Adjective + กว่า (gwàa) + Noun 2

    • ผมสูงกว่าคุณ (phǒm sǔung gwàa khun.)

      ➤ "I'm taller than you."

    • หมาตัวนี้หิวกว่าหมาตัวนั้น (mǎa dtuua níi hǐu gwàa mǎa dtuua nán.)

      ➤ "This dog is hungrier than that dog."

    • น้องสาวสวยกว่าพี่สาว (náawng-sǎao sǔuai gwàa phîi-sǎao.)

      ➤ "My younger sister is more beautiful than my older sister."

• Also, just as in English, we can omit the second noun being compared if it is already known from previous context.

  • คุณแม่อ้วนมาก แต่คุณพ่ออ้วนกว่า

    • (khun-mâae ûuan mâak. dtàae khun-phâaw ûuan gwàa.)

      ➤ "Mother is very fat. But father is fatter."

  • ดิฉันชอบมะสะกอ แต่น้องชายคิดว่ามะม่วงอร่อยกว่า

    • (dì-chǎn châawp má-lá-gaaw. dtàae náawng-chaai khít wâa má-mûuang à-ràwy gwàa.)

      ➤ "I like papayas. But my younger brother thinks mangos are more delicious."

Vocabulary & Phrases

• ยินดีต้อนรับสู่... (yin-dii-dtâawn-ráp sùu...)

  • This is a phrase that means "Welcome to..."

  • Typically, the greeter or front desk staff at some business would say it when a customer enters.

  • Here, we use สู่ (sùu) as a preposition meaning "to."

  • It would be followed by the name of the place or business.

  • It is also very common to say just the first part of the phrase by itself, ยินดีต้อนรับ (yin-dii-dtâawn-ráp) to say "Welcome."

  • You will often also see this phrase written on a sign near the door.

• ขอ...หน่อยได้ไหม (khǎaw...nàwy dâai mǎi)

  • This is a polite and humble way to ask for permission to do something.

  • ขอ (khǎaw) ➤ "to ask for."

  • หน่อย (nàwy) ➤ "a little," and we use it here to make the request sound less demanding.

  • ได้ไหม (dâai mǎi) ➤ "is it possible?" or "can I?"

  • Whatever you are asking to do would go in the middle of the sentence.

  • Examples:

    • ขอดูห้องหน่อยได้ไหมครับ (khǎaw duu hâwng nàwy dâai mǎi khráp.)

      ➤ "May I see the room?"

    • ขอนั่งที่นี่หน่อยไดไหมคะ (khǎaw nâng thîi-nîi nàwy dâai mǎi khá.)

      ➤ "Can I sit here?"

• เป็นยังไงบ้าง (bpen yang-ngai bâang)

  • This phrase means "How is it?"

  • We could also use it to ask "How's everything with you?"

  • เป็น (bpen) ➤ "to be."

  • ยังไง (yang-ngai) is the more natural spoken form of the question "How?" which is อย่างไร (yàang-rai).

    • You will see อย่างไร (yàang-rai) written in books, but the vast majority of the time you'll hear it spoken as ยังไง (yang-ngai).

  • บ้าง (bâang) ➤ "any" or "some."

  • We use it in questions when we want to elicit specific information or a list of items as a response.

• งั้น (ngán)

  • This is an abbreviated version of the phrase ถ้าอย่างนั้น (thâa-yàang-nán).

  • It means "in that case."

  • We place it at the beginning of a sentence to make a statement that is based on something else that was just said or something that just happened.

An Inexpensive Thai Lodging Option

• Guesthouses are a common form of budget accommodation in Thailand.

  • Guesthouses typically operate like a small hotel with guests renting out their own room.

  • In some guesthouses, there are cheaper rooms without an attached bathroom, and you must use a shared bathroom down the hall.

  • But most guesthouse rooms these days come with a bathroom included.

  • Guesthouses are often boxy concrete buildings, but others are actually run out of old wooden houses.

• The room rates at guesthouses are usually much cheaper than larger hotels, and much of the profit for the owners comes from providing added services.

  • There is usually a restaurant attached or at the very least a kitchen that can serve up drinks and breakfast food.

  • Guesthouses are usually very good sources for information on local sites and activities.

  • They can assist you in booking bus tickets and help you get signed up for a Thai cooking or Thai massage course.

  • They will often have a selection of used books in a common area that you are free to borrow, and they might have a couple computers available for surfing the Internet.

  • Some will also have bicycles available for rent, or sometimes even for free.

  • Guesthouses usually provide laundry services as well.

• Guesthouses like having longterm guests.

  • Often it is possible to get a special weekly or monthly rate for lengthy stays.