My First Interview with the Thai Press

Posted by Stuart at 02:08 AM on May 05, 2008

Last Friday, I was interviewed by a reporter from the Daily Express, a new newspaper in Bangkok that published by the Nation Group. The interview was about our Learn Thai Language website, ITS4Thai, and as far as I could tell, it went pretty well. Although I have to admit that he completely stumped me with one fairly simple question. After rambling on and on for about five minutes, I finally came up with a good answer. I'll be ready the next time I am asked, though!

The resulting article is running in today's paper, but I thought I'd reprint the full text here.

Log on to learn thai

Published on May 5, 2008

New site offers foreigners the chance to learn the Thai language online

By Pongphon Sarnsamak

Daily Xpress

An American computer engineer has developed an interactive Thai-language tutor for tourists heading here.

It was 38-year-old Stuart Towns' own efforts at learning the language that led to the Web-based learning idea.

It's simple to use and all it takes is your own time.

"I was inspired by learning Thai myself," Towns says. "It can be difficult for most foreigners. My friends and I found it hard, even though we were living here," he adds.

Lost in translation

Back in 2003, Towns was finding it hard to communicate with the locals - he couldn't order food, buy a bus ticket or find his way back home. He got lost in translation, a lot.

So, Towns bought a book and then started taking lessons. None of this worked.

"Many others have trouble with books and lessons, too. The biggest problem is tones. It takes us a long time to hear and pronounce the tones."

Using his extensive background in computer engineering with some of the biggest dotcoms around, he set to work with friends to set up its4thai.com.

The site provides multimedia learning, presenting interactive vocabulary and grammar exercises and audio clips spoken by native speakers. Games help with practice in different settings.

The site keeps track of a student's progress and tailors exercises to reflect needs.

"In the long term computers will become teachers, and that's why we are going there. We want the computer to be able to look at what the student knows, and help them fill in the blanks. No site or program I have ever seen does this well," Towns says.

xtra

Matter of course

>> its4thai courses cost between Bt199 and Bt499.

>> The cheapest option gives students access to 30 words a lesson.

>> The Bt499 option provides unlimited access in 60 lessons.

>> New users get 10 free lessons.

The original article can be accessed on the Daily Express website.

Bike Ride through Nong Chok (Nong Jawk)

Posted by Stuart at 08:24 PM on March 30, 2008

As I have said many times, it's always good to get out of Bangkok to the peace and beauty of the countryside. But as I found out this morning, you don't even have to leave the city limits to find solitude, you just have to go out to the corners.

This morning Chris and I took off on another long bike ride. This time we didn't go with a group, but our friend Markus joined us. We loaded our three bikes on the back of Chris' car and headed out past the airport and Minburi to the northwest corner of Bangkok, to an area called Nong Chok. (At least that is how Google Maps transliterates the name. I think it's closer to Nong Jawk.)

We started at a temple on Klong Saen Sap, the same canal that parallels Petchaburi Road near my house and has the boat service that I've talked about before. I had no idea that this man-made canal continued this far out into the countryside.

Our path was more or less a figure-eight as we followed Klong Sip-Sam (Canal 13) north and then Klong Sip-Song (Canal 12) on the way back. We actually did leave Bangkok for a little bit at the very north of our trip, and rested at a funky temple in Lam Lukka. The temple grounds include an Army helicopter on display, as well as an exhibit of Hell, complete with animatronics of all of the horrible things that go on there, in the basement of the temple. After visiting Hell, you can climb seven flights of very steep stairs to ascend to heaven, in the roof of the temple.

(On the map, the red star is where I live, the yellow star is where we started, and the blue star is the funky temple out in the rice fields. Click the picture to get a bigger version.)

Needless to say, the Hell exhibit inspired us to make lots of bad Hell jokes. A friend called me as I was going into Hell, and when I tried to call him, I realized that Hell doesn't have cell phone reception. When I exited the exhibit, I called my friend back and told him sorry that I missed his call, but I was in Hell.

All in all, it was a great ride, although by the end I was definitely hot and tired and a bit dehydrated. A stop at 7-11 for two bottles of Gatorade and an ice cream solved that problem. The total ride, according to my bike odometer, was exactly 3 hours of riding on 55 kilometers (34 miles).

So after another fantastic long bike ride (to Hell and back), I am very happy with my recent purchase and looking forward to our next trip.

Renting Bikes from Spice Roads and Shopping for New Ones at Pro Bike

Posted by Stuart at 03:48 PM on March 29, 2008

In anticipation of another long bike ride tomorrow with Chris, I rented a bike from a bike tour company here in Bangkok called Spice Roads. From the looks of their website, they have a lot of interesting tours, from one-day bike tours through Bangkok, to 12 days from Hanoi, Vietnam to Luang Prabang, Laos. I would love to do something like that some day.

They also have bikes to rent, for 400 baht per day. That seemed a bit steep to me, but I I figured that it was cheaper than buying my own bike. I thought that maybe I should wait to see if I am really serious about this biking thing before I shell out a few hundred dollars.

So I reserved a bike at the Spice Roads website and went by to pick it up today. I rode it home (about 5 kilometers or so) and I have to say I was very disappointed in the bike. It was pretty beat up and the gears were not working very well.

I had plans later in the day to meet Chris at Pro Bike near Lumpinee Park to do a little window shopping -- just to see what they had available. Well, to make a long story short, due to the prospects of a long ride tomorrow on an old bike in bad shape, I am now the proud owner of a brand new Trek mountain bike.

I think it was a decent deal, from what I can tell. I got a bike, helmet, pump, water bottle, lock, gloves, bell, extra inner tube, and a digital odometer for 12,300 baht (US$390). Now I don't have any excuses for not getting out on the roads and exploring Bangkok on bike!

Dunkin Donuts and Chamchuri Square

Posted by Stuart at 11:36 AM on March 28, 2008

When I was in High School, I was on the local city swim team. Our team was pretty hard-core, and in addition to working out every day after school, we were in the pool practicing 2 or 3 times per week in the mornings before school started. After burning thousands of calories during morning practice, on the way to school, my friends and I would be starving. Our favorite breakfast stops were Hardee's for their awesome biscuits and cinnamon rolls, and Dunkin' Donuts.

One day my health-conscious father gave us a ride from the pool to school, and we convinced him to take us to Dunkin' Donuts. We told him they had nutritious things too, like croissant sandwiches. We ended up eating jelly donuts anyway and I remember him fussing at us a bit for having such a bad diet. Maybe we weren't such hard-core athletes after all.

I was thinking about this as I ate my breakfast this morning at Siam Square... at Dunkin' Donuts. They have whole wheat glazed donuts on the menu now. That's healthy, right? I am not sure about that, but I do know they are delicious. I also had an egg and ham croissant, which was amazingly good. It was much better than the egg and bacon croissants that I have been eating lately at Au Bon Pain.

As I sat at Dunkin' Donuts, reminiscing about high school and enjoying my healthy whole wheat donuts, I gazed across the street at the gleaming glass facades of the newly remodeled Siam Center and brand-new Siam Paragon shopping malls, with the waterfalls and fountains and huge screens playing pop videos and commercials. None of that was there when I moved to Thailand 5 years ago. Siam Center was there, but it was run-down and looking it's age (over 30 years old, by the way). Bangkok certainly has changed a lot since I've lived here, at least on the surface.

New malls and new high-rise condos office buildings are popping up everywhere. One in particular that I've been watching is the new Chamchuri Square shopping center/office building/apartment building combo that has been going up near my office at the Sam Yan subway station. It will be connected by an underground passage to the subway, which is definitely cool.

I am looking forward to a closer, air-conditioned place to eat lunch, instead of having to walk all the way over to Silom if I am not in the mood for the street vendors and outdoor markets in this area. (And yes, sometimes I want to be pampered in the AC!) And even more exciting, is that I have heard that the Chulalongkorn University bookstore will move here, creating Thailand's largest bookstore. I am looking forward to checking that out.

I hope they have a Dunkin' Donuts, too!

The Role of Siam Paragon in Global Warming

Posted by Stuart at 11:12 AM on March 27, 2008

Thailand has never been very keen on environmental issues, but this is slowly starting to change. There is a lot of PR going on now in Bangkok with various "green" campaigns to fight global warming. I am glad to see it, as Thailand has a lot of beautiful natural resources that are being abused by the rampant greed of the tourism industry. And Bangkok itself is certainly not pollution-free. Any progress in these areas are welcomed by me.

But one of the things that always sticks out in my mind is when some famous Thai person (sports figure or pop star or government official) says something like, "Global Warming is real! Everyone can tell that it is a lot hotter in Thailand now than it was when we were kids!"

I don't doubt that it feels hotter now than it did before. But is it because of Global Warming? I don't think so. According to Chongkolnee Yusabye, director of the Meteorological Development Bureau, the average summer temperatures in Tak province had risen from 43.7 degrees Celsius in 1983 to 44 Celsius last April (2006). So, say you were a 10-year old kid in Tak in 1983, you would have been 33 in 2006. Do you really think that you would have noticed a 0.3 temperature rise over those 23 years? Probably not.

But, I don't mean to say that people are lying when they say it seems hotter these days. I bet they do feel hotter. Why is that? I place the blame squarely on Siam Paragon. And the SkyTrain. And the fact that you have to wear a sweater anytime you go to a movie in Thailand because the air conditioning is guaranteed to be set to "freeze".

When some many homes now have AC in the bedrooms (as opposed to the case in Tak in 1983, I would guess), and when most office buildings and shopping centers and transportation are air conditioned, it really does make it that much hotter when you finally do step outside.

So is it getting noticeably warmer in Thailand due to Global Warming? I don't think so.

Are we getting noticeably more pampered and wimpy? There's no doubt!

Note: The figures from K. Chongkolnee was from the Nation newspaper's website at http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/10/09/headlines/headlines_30051806.php

Blogging and Bangkok Beauty

Posted by Stuart at 12:04 PM on March 23, 2008

It's been a full week of daily posts here, and I have to say that this took me by surprise perhaps as much as it did you. As I have been working on my company getting our first release out the door, my output on this blog site has been steadily decreasing, and basically came to a complete stop. But I started to realize that my life was getting a little out of balance. And to me, this website is one hobby that I really enjoy investing a little time in, so I thought that maybe I could try to find that time.

Although I have to admit I felt a little strange with that last post, for whatever reason. Perhaps it was because it was about topics that I don't really talk much about on such a public forum. The "Why do you still live in Bangkok?" question is always circling around my head. And so some of the last week's posts have addressed those thoughts in two of the things that are important in life: health and finance.

Plus, the point of that last point is that I find the Zopa loan/CD model so interesting, I just wanted to share. I love learning about new business models that are popping up due to the efficiencies of the Internet. My expat lifestyle has been made so much easier due to the Internet and other technologies. It's hard to imagine living on the other side of the world away from my family and my culture without email, cnn.com, banking websites, etc.

(And I'll make one more sales pitch for my company and the Zopa website. Click here to learn more about Zopa or to get a great deal on a bank CD investment and help me with my business loan at the same time. :)

I thought that I didn't really have much to say today. Originally I was just going to post a picture that I took on my bike ride last week. This is a shot from Suan Rot Fai ("Train Park") which is next to the famous Chatujak Weekend Market.

I certainly don't consider Bangkok to be a beautiful city, but every now and then, I get a surprise peek. Just another small reason to stick around for a while...

Beat the US Recession by Investing With Zopa and Me

Posted by Stuart at 04:01 PM on March 22, 2008

Continuing the theme from the last couple of days, I am in "thankful" mode for how good the past few years have been for me living as an expat in Thailand. Another area of my life that has been going well is my finances. Now I am by no means rich (by American standards... it's all relative isn't it?), but at least I am not getting any poorer. I have been able to make a livable salary and continue to pay off debts over the past few years. For example, my college loans will be completely paid off this year. (And that only took me TEN YEARS to get rid of! Yes!)

But let me stop here, because in all honesty, that last paragraph should have been written in past tense. Over, those last ten years since graduation, I have steadily worked myself into a better financial situation. However, that has come to an abrupt halt for me in 2008. One US dollar used to buy me 42 baht, whereas now I can barely get 30. (That means my cost of living has gone up a stunning 28% percent over the past year or so.) My stock portfolio has been getting pounded as well, of course. Likewise, my renewable CDs are getting 2+% interest when they used to get 5+%.

And when I read the news about the American economy, I can see that I am not the only one in this situation. Thankfully I don't have an expensive mortgage at the moment. I am guessing that most people reading this might be facing a similar scenario.

So... I want to offer everyone a novel way to invest your money. It will give you a decent guaranteed rate of return (relatively speaking, for these times), and the bonus is that it will help out me and my fledgling start-up a little bit. Let me explain:

Over the Christmas holidays, I took out a small loan online through a website called Zopa to give me a little cusion in financing my start-up company. Zopa is basically a loan broker that finds customers like me for Credit Bureaus like the one I eventually signed up with.

The cool, revolutionary thing about Zopa, though, is that other people (like you) can invest in a CD through their website. When you do this, you select a Zopa customer (like me) who then gets a reduction on the interest rate for their loan.

The best part about it for you is that Zopa is currently offering the highest interest rate in the U.S. for their CDs. The rate is currently 4.25% APY for a one-year CD. They say that it's not going to last thanks to the Fed's rate reduction this past week, so if you are looking for a good investment in this uncertain time, I recommend checking out Zopa ASAP.

If you are at all interested in this offer or interested to learn more about the interesting new business model at Zopa, please click the yellow button below. This should take you to my profile page (my nickname is "farang"). Once you are there, you can click on the "Help Now" button to help me and my company (and lock yourself in to a good interest rate too!)