Personal Letters to Rural Thailand

[Guest thaiworthy]

I have been writing letters to Boy Special for about a year now. Once a month, I send my original English personal correspondence to a translator based in the U.K. and they send me a letter in Thai Script. I live in the U.S.

 

My boyfriend lives in Samchuk, Suphanburi. He claims there are no internet cafes in Samchuk. I have been to Samshuk once, in 2002 to visit his family, and the only commercial enterprise I noticed was a 7-11. So I believe him. I am stuck with sending letters to him via snail mail only. But that takes 2 weeks in either direction. Using Fedex or any other faster means is cost-prohibitive. It is expensive enough to pay for the translations, which average $20 per letter, to say nothing of how much it could cost to send it.

 

Then I found thaitranslation.biz. You email your letter to them and for $3.50 they post it for you. This cuts down the time considerably since they are based in Bangkok, and for the first few months it seemed to work marginally well. But they are slow and undependable. It may take them days to acknowledge receipt of your letter. By the time they get around to mailing it, I may just as well have posted it myself for 97 cents. Last time it took them a whole week to acknowledge my letter and they still hadn't mailed it because a flood damaged their printer! Last month, their mail server was down. I am now looking for an alternative.

 

I have searched and scoured the search engines only to find dead-ends. I would think there would be many businesses that offer such a service. It would be so easy for a Thailand-based business. You get the email, you print it, you mail it.

 

I am at my wit's end finding a suitable means to sending him these letters. In the age in which we live, with all the technology we have available, there has to be a way to do this and I'm just not finding it.

 

If any one here has any ideas at all, I would be extremely grateful. Thanks!

[Gaybutton]

If any one here has any ideas at all, I would be extremely grateful. Thanks!

I see signs in the windows of many travel services, legal services, and language schools that offer translation service.

 

Also, you might be able to do it in a different way. Are there any Thai restaurants in your area? If there are, maybe someone in the restaurant would be willing to do it for you, especially for a fee. Then you could send out the letter yourself.

[bedbugy]

you can translate here yourself for free

 

http://translate.google.com/

[Guest thaiworthy]

Getting the translation done is not a problem. I get less than a 24-turnaround on that, so I'm happy.

 

The problem is the sending of the letter. Thaitranslation.biz just happen to do translations. But I am only interested in their mail forwarding service. And it makes sense. Why wait for a whole 2 weeks to send a letter by snail mail when you can send an email to someone instantaneously? But BS has no email. He cannot even get access to one. It would be very difficult for him to find one unless he drives some place else, whereever that may be. So, I send the email to someone else. They print it, mail it to him with an address I provide, and from here on, it only takes 2-3 days for it to get to him via conventional postal mail.

 

They charge me $3.50 to do this. But they are undependable and slow.

 

I am looking for another company, a dependable one, that offers a similar service. Compare 14 days versus 3 days to send a personal letter. Do you see what I mean? There has to be a way.

 

Any other ideas?

[Gaybutton]

Any other ideas?

Yes, but first, regarding bedbugy's suggestion of using Google translations, forget it. Try copying a sentence or two written in Thai and pasting it into the Google translation. The English that comes out is incomprehensible. Most likely the reverse would be true and the Thai that comes out would be just as incomprehensible to a Thai person.

 

Go to http://www.thaivisa.com and write 'translation' in their search. Many items will come up. Perhaps one of them will be what you seek.

[Guest thaiworthy]

Thanks, Gaybutton, I've already tried Google and discovered what you had.

 

Second, I also already tried ThaiVisa and lots came up, but nothing to solve the pertinent question.

 

I think what I will end up doing when I get to Bangkok next month is to simply ask translations businesses 1) what they charge for translations and 2) if they would be willing to accept my emails for future translations and then send them to BS in regular mail. I don't see why they wouldn't agree.

 

The translations service I now use is based in the U.K., so I can't ask them to mail it. It wouldn't get there any faster than if I mailed it myself. Any new Bangkok-based translation services would be more motivated to mail the letter for me if they knew they were getting paid for the translation work, as well. As long as they are dependable, and acknowledge receipt of the emails I send them and/or a note they had mailed it within a reasonable time frame.

 

Thanks for your suggestions. Maybe there will be more replies later. I was thinking others might have encountered this problem before.

 

 

[KhorTose]

My boyfriend lives in Samchuk, Suphanburi.

 

I just googled Samchuk Supanburi and found 3 individuals on the first page that live there and have home internet access. Two of them, appear to speak good english. Why not try and get one of them to act as your go between? Maybe offer so much cash per letter and when it gets to a certain amount send them a Western Union draft.

 

[colmx]

This is the internet age - so i think you should abandon the letter writing in favour of:

 

VOIP - I call my BF 5-6 times a day over VOIP, using services like Voipcheap and voipstunt - the call never costs me more than 1c per minute

 

On the other hand if you really prefer the written medium of communication - you could pick up ur BF a brand new netbook at around 10,000B on you next trip (or a second hand one even cheaper)

 

Thailand has a great GSM network so your BF would be able to access the internet using a GPRS or 3G modem (300B per month on True)

 

You could even use MSN and communicate with him real time - or even better with webcams and see him real time

 

The 10,000 could be quite quickly recouped in postage/translation (and stress!) costs

[Guest thaiworthy]

Thank you Colmx, that was an excellent idea! I'm going to investigate this.

 

I never would have thought of it. The house he now lives in with his mother has a squat toilet and no kitchen. It is hard to envision him without the basic necessities, and yet owning a laptop.

 

He does want one, though. I was saving to get him some bridgework done. I will be in Bangkok next month and we'll shop around.

 

Thanks again!

[Guest Astrrro]

Try finding a small business, such as a travel agent, that has a computer and printer. Pay them an advance, email the translated letter and have them mail it..

 

 

[Guest GaySacGuy]

If you are sure you want to do letters, then proceed with some of the above.

 

What I do when I visit the US is call my boyfriend here in Thailand...usually about once a day. I have a "phone card" that I call from the US to Thailand for about four cents per minute, or less than $2.50 per hour. You dial a US number (either local or 800), put in a pin, and then dial the number here in Thailand. It works very well, and will go to any Thai cell phone.

 

If you want more info, let me know.

[Guest Astrrro]

I have a "phone card" that I call from the US to Thailand for about four cents per minute, or less than $2.50 per hour. You dial a US number (either local or 800), put in a pin, and then dial the number here in Thailand. It works very well, and will go to any Thai cell phone.

 

If you want more info, let me know.

 

I was using the Mega Clean and Stable card. Which one do u use?

 

[Guest lvdkeyes]

I was using the Mega Clean and Stable card. Which one do u use?

If you use Skype, PC to land phone it costs .021/ minute. PC to PC is free. You can download Skype free from internet.

[Guest jtrack33]

If it's only once a month, e-mail to me (jtrack33 at hotmail) with the address...written in Thai preferably...and I will EMS to your friend free!

[Guest GaySacGuy]

I was using the Mega Clean and Stable card. Which one do u use?

 

I am really not sure. I have all the numbers, and I did it from the states on my other computer, and I can't find the info here in Thailand. But, I have an 800 number that can be called and they will help.

[Guest Soi10Tom]

You can also buy minutes for pennies from PennyTalk.com, or Thaitel.com. Penny Talk is better and cheaper.

[Guest Astrrro]

If you use Skype, PC to land phone it costs .021/ minute. PC to PC is free. You can download Skype free from internet.

 

Lvdkeyes, That's the price to call landlines in the USA. It's significantly higher to call Thailand on Skype. Yahoo Voice is about 60% cheaper than Skype.

 

Skype Rates To Thailand

[Gaybutton]

It's significantly higher to call Thailand on Skype.

It just might be worth it to get the boy a computer. If you both have Skype you can talk for free any time you want, for as long as you want. That's how I talk with my family in the USA and the connection is almost always perfect and actually even more clear than using a telephone.

[Guest thaiworthy]

It just might be worth it to get the boy a computer. If you both have Skype you can talk for free any time you want, for as long as you want. That's how I talk with my family in the USA and the connection is almost always perfect and actually even more clear than using a telephone.

 

Many thanks to all for their suggestions. We went to Pantip Plaza, where I was told is the best place to buy. It is a dizzying multi-level maze of shops under one roof here in Bangkok. It is all electronics and most selling pirated music and software. We bought an Acer Aspire 4730ZG for 20,000 baht. I also bought him an EDGE aircard with a Dtac simm card for 5,000 baht. He also has new games and some music. The OS was in English (Windows) but they changed it to Thai. I am a Mac user, so you imagine the fun we had trying to figure things out. I couldn't read Thai and he couldn't understand what the Thai script meant in terms of what function it performed. We had to make 3 more trips to Pantip before we finally had things working right. Then 3 more trips to the Dtac store which was located in MBK.

 

If you have a friend who is in need of an email account, but does not have access to wi-fi, I am now an expert on the subject. You must buy a late model laptop, an aircard like the EDGE aircard USB Stick, a Simm card and a 199-baht package from Dtac which gives you 40 hours of internet time each month. I topped up to 1800 baht so they will deduct 199 baht each month which will last us till my next trip in November.

 

Now, no more handwritten letters and two week postal delivery time. But his typing is atrocious. He is hunt-and-peck and it will take him many hours just to type a simple note. I expect the letters will be short and less frequent. Next, we'll explore Skype and webcams.

 

All this knowedge did not come easy. At times, I was ready to throw this computer out the window. But was it worth it in the end? YOU BET!

 

[Gaybutton]

At times, I was ready to throw this computer out the window. But was it worth it in the end? YOU BET!

I'm glad you managed to get things set up the way you want and I'm sure your Thai friend is delighted to have a computer. I'm sure between friends, Internet shops, etc, it won't be very long before he's an expert.

 

I hope everything works out well for the two of you and doing this for him really was worth it in the long run. Please keep us informed.

[Guest MonkeySee]

Now, no more handwritten letters and two week postal delivery time. But his typing is atrocious. He is hunt-and-peck and it will take him many hours just to type a simple note. I expect the letters will be short and less frequent. Next, we'll explore Skype and webcams.

 

All this knowedge did not come easy. At times, I was ready to throw this computer out the window. But was it worth it in the end? YOU BET!

Congradulations Thaiworthy on accomplishing your task. Seems like a very expensive solution to staying in touch, but I am sure the BF appreciates the computer and games. For me, VOIP is the only way to go. From the US, I can call the BF on his cell phone and hear his sexy voice and all for 1.2 cents a minute.

 

 

[Guest thaiworthy]

Congradulations Thaiworthy on accomplishing your task. Seems like a very expensive solution to staying in touch, but I am sure the BF appreciates the computer and games. For me, VOIP is the only way to go. From the US, I can call the BF on his cell phone and hear his sexy voice and all for 1.2 cents a minute.

 

Obviously, your boyfriend speaks better English than mine. In person, we don't have that much of a problem. There are gestures and visual cues that help, but on the phone, communication is horrible. That's why emails have been so important. In the last few days he has managed to eek out two emails of two sentences each. I know in time, that will improve, as Gaybutton suggests, by seeking out help from his friends. I just have to be patient. However, I can easily send him substantial emails in Thai script, asking pointed questions, which he can answer if he's stuck for words.

 

Small steps. Success is the progressive realization of your goal. I do wish he had more ambition to learn English. Right now, he's just lazy. He lives in rural Suphanburi, so he has no need for English other than to talk to me.

 

We tried Skype today but the audio was horrible. I have problems enough understanding him on the phone without the cracking, feedback squeals, and echoes Skype had to add to the problem. The video was acceptable. We tested this in at our hotel before we left and it seemed to work fine. I used wi-fi and he used his aircard. Today, I was able to see his video, but for no more than 10-15 seconds before a disconnect. He started getting frustrated and it was time to quit. Well, what do you expect for free? His aircard has a download speed of 236.8 kbps, and I think the signal strength was better at the hotel in Bangkok than it was from his home in Samchuk, hence the disconnects. But for email and internet, I tested it at his house last week and it worked just fine.

 

I also tried sending him some money using Paypal. He doesn't have a verifiable credit card, so he has to manually accept it via an email, which is a pain because he can't read English. I have his user name and password, so I log in and accept it for him. I also have access to his bank account, and it hasn't showed up yet. It was only 350 baht. I guess I will have go back to wire transfers, which cost me nothing. I can view the wire transfers online after he gets them, so I can text message him and tell him it's there. I also noticed there doesn't seem to be a fee for receiving the wire transfer, so I guessing it's built into the conversion rate, which wasn't too bad.

 

One another thread I posted a topic about ATM cards. He too, loves that ATM card. He doesn't realize it costs him 20 baht every time he uses it. In one day though, he used it three times! With a little planning, I'm going to suggest he minimize the use of the card, or simply walk into the bank and fill out a withdrawal slip (ostensibly, for free).

 

So you see I am saving him money, we're communicating better, and I think he retains more of what I tell him from an email than by a conversation. Plus, in a conversation, he may tell you he understands something, but in reality, he doesn't. Email solves that problem.

 

All in all, I do not regret this one little bit. There are different solutions for different people in different situations. This is mine.

 

Thanks to all for your input.

 

[Gaybutton]

For Email, some people have suggested using Google Translate to convert English to Thai. I'm not so sure that works very well. I often use Google Translate when I look at gay personals sites. Sometimes I get a good translation, but most of the time I get gibberish. In other words, Google Translate seems to have a little room for improvement.

 

Here's a few examples of the translation results I got from Gboysiam personal ads:

 

1. White Man, I move this Chinese boy last rain other benign whose isolation Talk

 

2. Reserve the right ... only celibate.

 

3. We discuss availability of the new bridge

 

4. Eager children less than 20 rows Hat Yai - Songkhla talk to restrict.

 

5. Want to have real people working age factors, age, or union with more than talk.

 

Lord only knows what results your Thai friend will get when trying to use Google Translate to convert your English to Thai, whether he does it himself or you do it for him prior to sending him an Email.

[Guest thaiworthy]

Yes, Google Translate may not be the best solution. Today I received an email from a company that does translations. They claim to use live people. You get unlimited emails sent to your Thai friend for a very nominal cost. I haven't signed up yet, but I am thinking about it. Looks pretty good though. You can write as long an email as you like, as many times as you like, because the pricing structure is based on a monthly, quarterly or annual subscription.

 

http://www.thailand-translator.com/transla...sonal-email.php

 

1 month unlimited emails is $69.

3 months unlimited emails is $147, which works out to less than $50 a month.

They can also translate a single one-page letter for $9.

 

I'm already spending $50 a month with my current translator who charges by the word, which works out to two letters a month, (one to the bf and one back to me). Now that email has entered the picture, it might be more cost effective. Now I don't have to wait two weeks for a letter to arrive in the mail, so I can write more of them. (And sometimes I do write long letters.)

 

For $20 they will also explain to your bf how to use the same service under your plan at no cost to them!

 

This appears to be a new service from the same people at sms-thailand.com. The yearly plan is expensive, but on a monthly basis works out very well. I would suggest a monthly plan first to see how it works. I will try it out and let you know the results. I've been using them for SMS in the past and the bf has had no complaints.

[Gaybutton]

One of the major frustrations that can happen with long distance relationships when there is a serious language barrier is finding a solution to effective communication. Years ago, before I could speak Thai and when I would only be in Thailand during holidays, I solved the problem by going to a local Thai restaurant, explaining the problem, and asking for help. I was lucky. The people at the restaurant were very sympathetic and even refused to take any money to help me. They greatly enjoyed doing that for me.

 

What I would do was write my message, take it to the restaurant, and they would call me when they had finished the translation if they didn't have time to do it while I was there. Now I had my message written in Thai. I would scan that into my computer, attach it to an Email, and send it out to my boyfriend. When my boyfriend would write to me in Thai, I would print out his Email, take it to the restaurant, and they would simply tell me what he had written, right then and there.

 

Something else you can do (as long as it's not too often) is to send your message to me in an Email. I'll be happy to call your boyfriend for you, tell him what your message says, and send you his response in an Email. If you decide to do that on occasion, please use my gaybutton@gmail.com Email address rather than via a PM. If I'm traveling I can access my Email on my mobile phone, but I can't access a PM unless I go to an Internet cafe, which I rarely do when I'm out of town.

 

If your message is too complex for my ability to speak Thai, you still don't have a problem. I know plenty of Thai people whose English is nearly fluent.

 

I'll be glad to do the same thing for anybody else who is having communication difficulties. And don't worry . . . I know that the policy is "hands off my boyfriend!"