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Is it Worth Learning Thai?
It is amazing how many ex-pats you meet in Phuket and Thailand who have lived here for years and can barely string a sentence together in Thai. I know a few long-term ex-pats whose Thai vocabulary is less than 10 words. The simple fact is you do not need to learn Thai to live in Thailand, especially if you are in one of the tourist destinations such as Phuket. Does that mean it is not worth learning Thai?
I know a few ex-pats who insist it is a total waste of time to learn Thai. They say you do not need to speak Thai because there are always people around who speak English. They say they have wives or staff who can act as interpreters. They even claim to have the moral high ground as they say it is more important for Thais to learn English as it is a major international language. Therefore, by not speaking Thai and forcing Thais to speak English they are doing them a favour.
The Brave Heroine Of Northeast Thailand
Prince Anuwongse, also known as Prince Anu, of Laos wanted to free Vientiane from subordination to Bangkok. This was during the reign of King Rama III. Prince Anu had got help from King Rama III in his rule of Vientiane and notwithstanding this, in 1827 Prince Anu rebelled against Bangkok capturing Korat (Nakhon Ratchasima) while his forward troops ransacked Sara Buri. The residents of both town were captured and taken as prisoners.
During his return journey, Prince Anu was attacked by the prisoners. Among the prisoners, there were two who would help to free the captured prisoners and they were the Deputy Governor and his wife, Mo. Mo arranged the women prisoners to use their feminine wiles against the Laotian troops. The women managed to get the entire troop drunk and then they slipped away and released all the male prisoners who killed the drunk soldiers and set free the remaining prisoners.