Originally Posted by
sl0uch
My mom made an incredibly astute comment about a decade ago - at least it applies to me: no matter what you do, do not learn the local language. Enough people speak surprisingly good English in BKK! or they'd just know what you want in spidey sense. I'm serious. Understanding it will just introduce uninteresting, even nasty elements that bother you.
Not only is this overly cynical (coming from a cynic) but slides into the paltry depths of 'innocence is bliss'.
There are times it's great to banter in Thai and times it's better that you can get a sense of what's being said when the speakers don't know you have an idea of what's being said.