Writing about learning Thai

The grammar is a holiday. The tones and the script are a wall about a month thick. Which parts are actually hard, and how long the hard bit lasts.

Khob khun, kop khun, khòrp-khun. Why the official system drops tone on purpose, why Phuket does not start with an f, and the four rules that make it stop mattering.

It depends on your gender, not the listener’s, and it never changes. Why women have two of them, why khráp comes out as káp, and how to avoid the beginner tell of using it too much.

From mâi phèt to phèt mâak, with a recording on every rung. Why "not spicy" is a relative measurement, which dishes can actually be changed, and why hot and hot are two different words.