phoot Thai mai dai

That means "I can't speak Thai", according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand's very helpful and informative site. Important phrase, that is. Must find out how to pronounce that properly and commit it to memory. Also found out that I will miss the Buddhist Lent celebrations by about four days.

over at Lonely Planet, I begin to have doubts about traveling alone again:

Although Thailand is a safe destination, travellers should be aware of occasional violence and banditry in some border areas, petty theft in cities and resort areas, and security issues on public transport, particularly those affecting women travelling on their own.

and a sentence down:

In Bangkok, unlicensed taxis, recognisable by their black and white licence plates, should be avoided. This is most relevant for solo women travellers arriving at night....

and these are just from the introduction to the site. Sigh. I'm definitely going to take them seriously, especially as they seem to be the most updated site online, with a little info and warning about the unrest in the south. Most sites also note malaria as a significant problem, esp in the Kanchanaburi region, so I'll be going to the pharmacy later to get my malaria pills. Hope its not too late to start the course (2 weeks before, right? Its too late then, but better late than never).

speaking of courses, I'll get back to the subject of language. The younger ET has offered to attempt to teach me a little Thai. I suppose the combination of my known antisocial tendencies coupled with my weakness in languages can be rather worrying...