Thai Reference Grammar - The Structure Of Spoken Thai - Good Book ?

[mynextgig]

I would like to hear from other forum members on their opinions of a book by James Higbie & Snea Thinsan - Thai Reference Grammar - The Structure of Spoken Thai.

I have seen some comments on other forums, in fact one from Meadish, saying that the examples are straight translations from english as opposed to colloquial thai.

My opinion is that for anyone with a good grasp of the thai language, but who is not fluent (cannot speak without translation thought first) then this is probably a very good book to learn sentence structure from.

I personally have found it an invaluable resource. I wouldnt say i have learned any new words from the book, but have definately learned how to form sentances more appopriately, and also learned new meanings for many of the words i already knew which has expanded my understanding of thai considerably.

Thoughts ?

[kriswillems]

Have both books:

Thai an essential grammar (David Smyth)

Thai reference grammar (James Higbie and sea Thinsan).

Before I liked the book of David Smyth more because it's very well structured but now I start to like the book of James Higbie and Sea Thinsan because it just more information.

I think they are both very good books. I just think the book of James Higbie and Thinsan offers better value for your money, because it's cheaper (in Thailand) and has more information.

If I would just start with Thai I would buy the book of David Smyth because it's more readable.

[mynextgig]

The Structure of Spoken Thai is quite a difficult and lengthy read and takes some time to digest. I have read each chapter several times and now refer back to it almost like a thesaurus.

So would you recommend that i buy the Thai an Essential Grammer book now all will it just repeat what i already know ?

** in writing this reply, i spotted a one of the many anomalies of the english language which must annoy the hel_l out of those learning english !! READ spelt exactly the same way, but pronounced completely differently **

Edited June 27, 2008 by mynextgig

[kriswillems]

So would you recommend that i buy the Thai an Essential Grammer book now all will it just repeat what i already know ?

No, I think for you it offers little or no additional value. I wouldn't buy this book if I were you.

But for people that are beginners and still need to buy their first grammar book, the book of David Smyth might be a bit easier to digest

[Lithobid]

** in writing this reply, i spotted a one of the many anomalies of the english language which must annoy the hel_l out of those learning english !! READ spelt exactly the same way, but pronounced completely differently **

REASONS TO HATE ENGLISH

Ms. Nitpicker is not alone in her grammar-induced misery, as evidenced by these gems that appear in various forms in e-mail and on web sites.

HOW THE HECK DO YOU SAY THAT WORD?At the Army base, a bass was painted on the head of a bass drum.

<LI>A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.

<LI>After a number of Novocain injections, my jaw got number.

<LI>He could lead if he would get the lead out.

<LI>How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

<LI>I did not object to the object.

<LI>I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.

<LI>I spent last evening evening out a pile of dirt.

<LI>Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.

<LI>The buck does funny things when the does are present.

<LI>The bandage was wound around the wound.

<LI>The farm was used to produce produce.

<LI>The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.

<LI>The insurance was invalid for the invalid.

<LI>The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.

<LI>The wind was too strong to wind the sail.

<LI>There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.

<LI>They were too close to the door to close it.

<LI>To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.

<LI>Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.

<LI>We must polish the Polish furniture.

<LI>When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.

A POEM ABOUT PLURALS

We'll begin with a box, and the plural is boxes;

but the plural of ox became oxen not oxes.

One fowl is a goose, but two are called geese,

yet the plural of moose should never be meese.

You may find a lone mouse or a nest full of mice;

yet the plural of house is houses, not hice.

If the plural of man is always called men,

why shouldn't the plural of pan be called pen?

If I spoke of my foot and show you my feet,

and I give you a boot, would a pair be called beet?

If one is a tooth and a whole set are teeth,

why shouldn't the plural of booth be called beeth?

Then one may be that, and three would be those,

yet hat in the plural would never be hose,

and the plural of cat is cats, not cose.

We speak of a brother and also of brethren,

but though we say mother, we never say methren.

Then the masculine pronouns are he, his and him,

but imagine the feminine, she, shis and shim.

Taken from the introduction to MB>Crazy English: The Ultimate Joy Ride Through Our Language</B>, by Richard Lederer:

English is the most widely used language in the history of our planet. One in every 7 humans can speak it. More than half of the world's books and 3 quarters of international mail is in English. Of all the languages,it has the largest vocabulary - perhaps as many as 2 MILLION words. Nonetheless, let's face it - English is a crazy language. There is no egg in eggplant nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple. English muffins weren't invented in England or French fries in France. Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat.

We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.

And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth beeth? One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese? One index, 2 indices?

Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend, that you comb thru annals of history but not a single annal? If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?

If teachers taught, why didn't preacher praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? If you wrote a letter, perhaps you bote your tongue?

Sometimes I think all the English speakers should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane. In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell?

How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and wise guy are opposites? How can overlook and oversee be opposites, while quite a lot and quite a few are alike? How can the weather be hot as hel_l one day and cold as hel_l another?

Have you noticed that we talk about certain things only when they are absent? Have you ever seen a horseful carriage or a strapful gown? Met a sung hero or experienced requited love? Have you ever run into someone who was combobulated, gruntled, ruly or peccable? And where are all those people who ARE spring chickens or who would ACTUALLY hurt a fly?

You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out and in which an alarm clock goes off by going on. English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race (which, of course, isn't a race at all). That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible. And why, when I wind up my watch, I start it, but when I wind up this essay, I end it.

Copyright © Richard Lederer.

WHY?<LI>Why can't the English language decide how to pronounce the letter combination 'ough'? You know, like tough, thought, through, cough, bough, hiccough, and through.

<LI>Do you find it a bit unnerving doctors call what they do practice?

<LI>How come overtones and undertones are the same thing?

<LI>How do you get off a non-stop flight?

<LI>If a pronoun is a word used in place of a noun, is a proverb a word used in place of a verb? Furthermore, if progress means improvement and advancement, does congress mean the opposite?

<LI>If athletes get athlete's foot, do astronauts get mistletoe?

<LI>If corn oil comes from corn, where does baby oil come from?

<LI>If electricity comes from electrons, does morality come from morons?

<LI>If 'GH' stands for 'P' as in 'Hiccough' and if 'OUGH' stands for 'O' as in 'Dough' and if 'PHTH' stands for 'T' as in 'Phthisis' and if 'EIGH' stands for 'A' as in 'Neighbour' and if 'TTE' stands for 'T' as in 'Gazette' and if 'EAU' stands for 'O' as in 'Plateau' then wouldn't the right way to spell 'POTATO' be 'GHOUGHPHTHEIGHTTEEAU'?

<LI>If horrific means to make horrible, does terrific mean to make terrible?

<LI>If peanut butter cookies are made from peanut butter, then what are Girl Scout cookies made out of?

<LI>If the 'gh' in enough is pronounced like an 'f', and the 'o' in women is pronounced like an 'i', and the 'ti' in nation is pronounced like 'sh', then why isn't fish spelled 'G-H-O-T-I'?

<LI>If tin whistles are made out of tin, what do they make fog horns out of?

<LI>Who decided that live (as in live music) and live (as in being alive) should be spelt the same?

<LI>Why are a wise man and wise guy opposites?

<LI>Why can't you make another word using all the letters in "anagram"?

<LI>Why do "slow down" and "slow up" mean the same thing?

<LI>Why do caregiver and caretaker mean the same thing?

<LI>Why do fat chance and slim chance mean the same thing?

<LI>Why do flammable and inflammable mean the same thing?

<LI>Why do overlook and oversee mean opposite things?

<LI>Why do people sit down during the day and sit up late at night? For that matter, why is it that whether you sit up or sit down, the result is the same?

<LI>Why do they call it "chili" if it's hot?

<LI>Why do they call it a TV set when you only get one?

<LI>Why do 'tug' boats push their barges?

<LI>Why do we drive on a parkway but park on a driveway?

<LI>Why do we say "bye bye" but not "hi hi"?

<LI>Why does "cleave" mean both split apart and stick together?

<LI>Why does the word 'sanction' mean both to permit and to prohibit? How are you supposed to know which it is?

<LI>Why does your nose run and your feet smell?

<LI>Why don't tomb, comb and bomb sound alike?

<LI>Why is it that night falls but day breaks?

<LI>Why is it that we recite at a play and play at a recital?

<LI>Why is it that when you transport something by car, it's called a shipment, but when you transport something by ship, it's called cargo?

<LI>Why is it you can walk down a road, even if it goes uphill?

<LI>Why is the time of day with the slowest traffic called rush hour?

<LI>Why isn't phonetic spelled the way it sounds?

<LI>Why when I wind up my watch I start it, but when I wind up a project I end it?

<LI>Would you rather own a 'genuine imitation' or an 'authentic replica'?

<LI>You can be overwhelmed, and you can be underwhelmed, but can you just be whelmed? Why not?

Source:http://littlecalamity.tripod.com/Text/HateEnglish.html

[meadish_sweetball]

I would like to hear from other forum members on their opinions of a book by James Higbie & Snea Thinsan - Thai Reference Grammar - The Structure of Spoken Thai.

I have seen some comments on other forums, in fact one from Meadish, saying that the examples are straight translations from english as opposed to colloquial thai.

If I recall correctly, I was not quite as categorical and condemning as that.

Anyways, I agree with what kriswillems has said. The Thinsan/Higbie book is useful because of the sheer amount of examples it contains, but there are some sentences in there that I doubt you would ever hear a Thai utter, although strictly speaking, they are gramatically correct.

I think Smythe's book is of more consistent quality; but then again it does not attempt to cover nearly as much ground as Thinsan/Higbie does, so for the intermediate learner Smythe may not be as useful.

[mynextgig]

Lithobid - Great examples of the randomness (is that a real word ?) of the english language.

Being English and obviously speaking it as my native language, i hadnt bothered to learn any other langauge, other than a vague attempt at French at school, until i started learning Thai about 3 years ago.

There are several other threads about how difficult it is to learn, thai ! I take my hat off to any not english speaker that speaks english fluently, and Lithobid's thread is a prime example of why.

I have met so many europeans, german and dutch specifically that speak such perfect english that i have not know they were not english until well into the conversation.

Seriously, Thai follows some very specific rules. The written form is properly phonetic, english proposes to be, but my example of READ is a classic case of why it is not really phonetic.

I will never complain about random grammatical structure in thai when i speak english as a native language !!!

[mike_l]

I would like to hear from other forum members on their opinions of a book by James Higbie & Snea Thinsan - Thai Reference Grammar - The Structure of Spoken Thai.

I have seen some comments on other forums, in fact one from Meadish, saying that the examples are straight translations from english as opposed to colloquial thai.

If I recall correctly, I was not quite as categorical and condemning as that.

Anyways, I agree with what kriswillems has said. The Thinsan/Higbie book is useful because of the sheer amount of examples it contains, but there are some sentences in there that I doubt you would ever hear a Thai utter, although strictly speaking, they are gramatically correct.

I think Smythe's book is of more consistent quality; but then again it does not attempt to cover nearly as much ground as Thinsan/Higbie does, so for the intermediate learner Smythe may not be as useful.

What gets me is the consistent use of เค้า instead of เขา throughout the Thinsan/Higbie book, as that seems most out of place in a formal grammar book to me. In the preface they say they book was proofread by experienced language teachers, but you'd think that would be one of the first things any Thai teacher would pick up on.

[kriswillems]

What gets me is the consistent use of เค้า instead of เขา throughout the Thinsan/Higbie book, as that seems most out of place in a formal grammar book to me. In the preface they say they book was proofread by experienced language teachers, but you'd think that would be one of the first things any Thai teacher would pick up on.

The book is about the grammar of spoken Thai. In spoken Thai you would say เค้า and not เขา.

I actually like this approach. In the introduction on page xvii it is explained the informal spelling is used instead of the formal spelling.

I studied a bit Thai in Europe before coming to Thailand. In the course in Europe we would only use the formal spelling. When coming to Thailand I didn't understand ยังไง because I had been studying the word อย่างไร. But nobody uses the last word when speaking. For most foreigners writing and reading Thai is just a way to learn to speak better. I believe informal spelling is better tool to learn to speak better than formal spelling.

[dotcom]

Why do we call them a "pair" of trousers?

[mike_l]

What gets me is the consistent use of เค้า instead of เขา throughout the Thinsan/Higbie book, as that seems most out of place in a formal grammar book to me. In the preface they say they book was proofread by experienced language teachers, but you'd think that would be one of the first things any Thai teacher would pick up on.

The book is about the grammar of spoken Thai. In spoken Thai you would say เค้า and not เขา.

I actually like this approach. In the introduction on page xvii it is explained the informal spelling is used instead of the formal spelling.

Hi Kris, I'm aware of that and I do agree that's it good they teach the informal way. I wouldn't have any complaints if they just changed the transliteration, but changing the correct Thai spelling to a 'slang' spelling just seems wrong to me - how about if they also changed to ก้อ instead of ก็, ชั้น instead of ฉัน , ด้าย instead of ได้ (when it means 'can'), คับ instead of ครับ , changed all the ร to ล because that's how it commonly pronounced ? I don't really see what's the difference between any of them and เขา/เค้า, and I don't really agree that's right for the book it to 'correct' the spelling of any of them. I think you can draw a parallel with English here, because as the previous posts have pointed out there are also many English words where the pronunciation is not what you'd expect from the spelling. But surely the correct approach for a teaching book to take is to point out where this is the case, rather than actually change the spelling to reflect the pronunciation ?

I studied a bit Thai in Europe before coming to Thailand. In the course in Europe we would only use the formal spelling. When coming to Thailand I didn't understand ยังไง because I had been studying the word อย่างไร. But nobody uses the last word when speaking. For most foreigners writing and reading Thai is just a way to learn to speak better. I believe informal spelling is better tool to learn to speak better than formal spelling.

I wouldn't consider ยังไง as a slang spelling in the same category as เค้า though, as I think it's a commonly accepted spelling.

Edited June 28, 2008 by mike_l

[Samuian]

....... - how about if they also changed to ก้อ instead of ก็, ชั้น instead of ฉัน , ด้าย instead of ได้ (when it means 'can'), คับ instead of ครับ , changed all the ร to ล because that's how it commonly pronounced ? I don't really see what's the difference between any of them and เขา/เค้า, and I don't really agree that's right for the book it to 'correct' the spelling of any of them. I...

it certainly isn't the books fault, guess the authors.

However it seems quite funny to me, that here are communication skills used to communicate, about how to communicate and further how many "errors" are in the "correctness" of the spelling and the pronunciation of words building a sentence, which is a simple bundle of words in a given grammatical order to communicate!

Very funny!

Given that no language ever, except Esperanto, was somewhat "invented" as such , but grown out of a large variety of dialects (what is "English"?), views of the times and finally manifested as a "language", the grammar and laws have been extracted, added and do not really make any impact on communication between any number of people.

all the rest comes down to intellectual humum.

But people who see any fun or intellectual stimulant in this, well keep on doing what you are doing...as long as it seems fun.

c u !

Edited June 28, 2008 by Samuian

[kriswillems]

I agree with you mike, probably เค้า is too informal. It's the kind of spelling you would see in a comic book.

In the book of David Smyth they write:

อย่างไร but in the transliteration they write yang-ngai.

These 2 are very different.

On page 19 it's explained that for some words the writing and pronunciation are different. But อย่างไร is not in the list of examples.

Somewhere the author has to make de decision about this.

As long as there's a remark in the introduction I can live with any decision.

Both books sometimes lack in explaining the difference between the official spelling and the pronunciation.

[Rikker]

I think I bought the Higbie book in 2003, and I've never used it much. Perhaps because I'm lazy as much as anything. However, from my experience with it, I'm on Mike's side re the spelling เค้า. As Mike points out there so many places where spoken Thai divorces from written Thai, where vowel length is "hidden" by the spelling (e.g. ได้, น้ำ = often long vowels, but แห่ง, เล่น = short vowels), not to mention tonal differences in เขา = usually [เค้า], ผม = often [พ้ม], etc.

If the pronoun เขา were always pronounced เค้า, that would be one thing, but it's not. When people are reading aloud from a written document, especially when they are reading deliberately, I regularly hear it read เขา. Yes, that's not spoken Thai per se, but all of this together makes it a little strange to adopt the "slang" spelling, as Mike says. I'm certain that if Thai teachers really did proofread it, they likely complained about this and were ignored, or else this reaction was anticipated, and they were given proofs with the normal spelling, which was changed before going to press.

The pronunciation doesn't bother me a bit, since it's completely normal, nor does using the informal spelling in informal settings. But again, it still strikes me as an odd (and singled out) choice for this book.

Or were there other words they do this to, that I've forgotten?

Edited July 1, 2008 by Rikker

[5tash]

While we are on the subject of Thai grammar books, can I ask your opinions of "A Reference Grammar of Thai (Reference Grammars)" by Shoichi Iwasaki and Preeya Ingkaphirom. Is this expensive book worth splashing out the cash for ? How does it compare to the two previously mentioned books ?

[Tod Daniels]

Lithobid - Good albeit lengthy, off topic dissertation on English ripped shamelessly from the internet, (but quoted as such). English is what it is, idiosyncratic language and pronunciation 'rules'. If it's spoken by as you quoted 1 in 7 people it must not be too bad a language to acquire. I do find it strange how its minimal acquisition is often times sorely lacking here in the glorious "Land 'O Thais" even in international business settings.

Moving back onto the topic of the original post, the book; Thai Reference Grammar - The Structure of Spoken Thai.

I have both the previously mentioned book and Thai an Essential Grammar. For myself I have found the Thai Reference Grammar book to be better, but that is personal preference based on using both books daily.

In my opinion (which I offer freely and often); NEITHER book is for a novice in thai or someone who doesn't possess at least a minimal command of thai vocabulary coupled with some cognizance of sentence structure and at least rudimentary word order in thai.

Another poster mentioned some example sentences are structured in a fashion you wouldn't hear spoken by a 'normal' thai. Please remember this is a pissant developing third world country populated by a preponderance of, while literate in their language, for the most part barely educated people. It is akin to mentioning people from the hard-scrabble Appalachia area or deep rural south in the US don't speak correct English. Lack of higher education does that to people, no matter where they live. It would stand to reason IF you stopped attending school at 6th grade, for the most part you'd be speaking with a sixth grade vocabulary.

That being said; I think Thai Reference Grammar is well worth the price, and my copy's already dog-eared, stained and much worn thru heavy use. I can live with the 'slang' spelling referenced by others. I use the book for sentence structure, word order, NOT as a 'bible' to converse with the diminutive inhabitants here.

[CSS]

Another poster mentioned some example sentences are structured in a fashion you wouldn't hear spoken by a 'normal' thai. Please remember this is a pissant developing third world country populated by a preponderance of, while literate in their language, for the most part barely educated people. It is akin to mentioning people from the hard-scrabble Appalachia area or deep rural south in the US don't speak correct English. Lack of higher education does that to people, no matter where they live. It would stand to reason IF you stopped attending school at 6th grade, for the most part you'd be speaking with a sixth grade vocabulary.

I think the comment was that the sentences were of forced construction to fit grammar models for explanations and thus not things that you would hear spoken. It wasn't related to education level and the grammatical exactness of the sentences.

Side note: Thailand is the 20th most populous country in the world, with the 33rd largest GDP (2007 International Monetary Fund) ahead of such countries as Finland, Portugal, Israel, New Zealand and with a 92.6 literacy rate. "Pissant developing third world country...barely educated people." is a bit of a harsh exaggeration.

[desi]

Thai Reference Grammar - The Structure of Spoken Thai

Today I went to Asia books and Kinokuniya in Emporium. Neither had it, although Kinokuniya had the other grammar book (expensive).

Does anyone know where to get it in BK?

[neilrob]

I live in Chiang Mai and am trying to buy the book. The publisher, Orchid Press, does not reply to e-mails. Anyone know of another source within Thailand where I can order and get it sent to me? Thanks for any help.

Neil

[desi]

I live in Chiang Mai and am trying to buy the book. The publisher, Orchid Press, does not reply to e-mails. Anyone know of another source within Thailand where I can order and get it sent to me? Thanks for any help.

Neil

From what I've been told, they are getting ready for another press run.

If you know anyone in Pattaya, it's at book stores there.

If you want to get it as soon as the press run is available, contact DCO books about getting it for you.

DCO has an amazing service for book lovers in Thailand. Especially BKK. If they have it or can find the book I want, it's on a motorcycle taxi asap.

[mynextgig]

I brought my copy at Phuket Airport, it was a while ago however.

[neilrob]

Thanks to Desi and Mynextgig for the information. Does anyone have a good used copy for sale? If so, please PM me.

Neil

[JetsetBkk]

Thanks to Desi and Mynextgig for the information. Does anyone have a good used copy for sale? If so, please PM me.

Neil

My copy has a sticker on it - 895 baht! How much is it going for now, I wonder...

[Rikker]

Just curious.. how were you contacting Orchid Press that they weren't responding to?

The book is still listed on their website, and clicking the "buy this title" link takes you to their listing on ABEbooks.

This is pricey, though. Based on current conversion rates, ordering through ABEbooks will run you close to 1500 baht for the book. ($39 + $4.75 shipping within Thailand).

[rak sa_ngop]

Thai Reference Grammar - The Structure of Spoken Thai

Today I went to Asia books and Kinokuniya in Emporium. Neither had it, although Kinokuniya had the other grammar book (expensive).

Does anyone know where to get it in BK?

Silom complex (BTS Sala Daeng sky-bridge connection) The small bookshop just round to the left of the sky-bridge entrance (Bookazine I think, although it maybe Asia books) had about 4 copies, although one less now as I bought one last Saturday. I can check again today (if I remember).

[rak sa_ngop]

Thai Reference Grammar - The Structure of Spoken Thai

Today I went to Asia books and Kinokuniya in Emporium. Neither had it, although Kinokuniya had the other grammar book (expensive).

Does anyone know where to get it in BK?

Silom complex (BTS Sala Daeng sky-bridge connection) The small bookshop just round to the left of the sky-bridge entrance (Bookazine I think, although it maybe Asia books) had about 4 copies, although one less now as I bought one last Saturday. I can check again today (if I remember).

It is Bookazine, Silom Complex. 2 copies left.

[MKAsok]

Just curious.. how were you contacting Orchid Press that they weren't responding to?

The book is still listed on their website, and clicking the "buy this title" link takes you to their listing on ABEbooks.

This is pricey, though. Based on current conversion rates, ordering through ABEbooks will run you close to 1500 baht for the book. ($39 + $4.75 shipping within Thailand).

Around the same price as Amazon Marketplace, though obviously delivery to Thailand is not an option since it's not in Amazon's list of 'approved payment countries.' Does anyone know how much it's going for in the shops here?

mk

[rak sa_ngop]

Just curious.. how were you contacting Orchid Press that they weren't responding to?

The book is still listed on their website, and clicking the "buy this title" link takes you to their listing on ABEbooks.

This is pricey, though. Based on current conversion rates, ordering through ABEbooks will run you close to 1500 baht for the book. ($39 + $4.75 shipping within Thailand).

Around the same price as Amazon Marketplace, though obviously delivery to Thailand is not an option since it's not in Amazon's list of 'approved payment countries.' Does anyone know how much it's going for in the shops here?

mk

895 baht and that's for the 2008 reprint.

[desi]

Around the same price as Amazon Marketplace, though obviously delivery to Thailand is not an option since it's not in Amazon's list of 'approved payment countries.' Does anyone know how much it's going for in the shops here?

mk

Is Amazon Marketplace different then amazon.com? I buy from amazon.com all the time and I'm in BKK.

[MKAsok]

Is Amazon Marketplace different then amazon.com? I buy from amazon.com all the time and I'm in BKK.

Yes, with Amazon Marketplace, you're not buying from Amazon, but from independent sellers. You have to be in a county that's on the 'approved list' for 'Amazon Payments.' (the process by which Amazon pays the marketplace sellers). Thailand isn't on the list...

mk