Product Description

Thailand is the Land of Smiles. A grin shows companionship. A laugh shows forgiveness. But what if you need a second-class train ticket from Bangkok to Chiang Mai? Keep smiling - this phrasebook will show you the way.

Did You Know?

When people talk about the Thai language they are really referring to a Central Thai dialect that has succeeded in becoming the standard official language for the whole country. For this reason Thai is only spoken as a first language in the central provinces of the nation. As Thai is the official language of education, government and media it's basically understood from North to South although recent estimates suggest that less than half the population of Thailand speak and understand Thai fluently.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #25476 in Books
• Published on: 2004-09-01
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

Review
National Geographic Traveler, September 2006
'Lonely Planet Phrasebooks. Portable, pocket-size, cheap, and available for almost any country you might want to visit...'

Atlanta Journal-Constitution, May 27, 2004
"...Lonely Planet phrase books have long taken a hip, streetwise approach."

From the Publisher
Who We Are
At Lonely Planet, we see our job as inspiring and enabling travellers to connect with the world for their own benefit and for the benefit of the world at large.

What We Do
* We offer travellers the world's richest travel advice, informed by the collective wisdom of over 350 Lonely Planet authors living in 37 countries and fluent in 70 languages.
* We are relentless in finding the special, the unique and the different for travellers wherever they are.
* When we update our guidebooks, we check every listing, in person, every time.
* We always offer the trusted filter for those who are curious, open minded and independent.
* We challenge our growing community of travellers; leading debate and discussion about travel and the world.
* We tell it like it is without fear or favor in service of the travellers; not clouded by any other motive.

What We Believe
We believe that travel leads to a deeper cultural understanding and compassion and therefore a better world.

Customer Reviews

Will help you learn much more than the basics
I've been to Thailand twice now and am planning to live there for a few years. This book has taught me the basics and beyond. I recommend it because the tone marks and pronunciations are easy to understand and the book teaches you the rules so that you can figure out different variations of a word. There is also an English/Thai, Thai/English dictionary in the back and the book is small enough to fit in your pocket. Thai script plus phonetic thai is included. The only downside I can see is that the words are so tiny that it's sometimes hard to see thai script vowels and tonal marks.

OK for a holiday......
I am a huge fan of lonely planet guidebooks however I am not a big fan of phrasebooks in general. I have this phrasebook and can honestly say that i have never used it. The problem with phrasebooks is that no 2 are alike. Different phrasebooks give slightly different pronunciations (and with Thai slightly different tones) but again this all has to do with translation from one language into another which is not the best way to learn a new language( acquisition is proven to be the most effective but takes time!). However with this said, phrasebooks are practical for people who do not have time to study a particular language such as Thai which is very difficult for westerners and lonely planet is just as good as any other phrasebook that I have seen on the market to meet the needs of holiday travelers.

Great phrase book
This is a great little reference book if interested in learning Thai. Using some kind of on line or person audio assistance is necessary since Thai is tonal.