How did you manage to learn the Thai language? Perhaps you haven't yet.

Images came to mind of my time spent wandering around my Thai condo in Bangkok, a Linguaphone cassette-player dangling around my neck and a set of flash-cards in my back pocket.

Sure, I might now be able to ask the way to the train station, or where the tourist information office is, but to have learn sufficient Thai to deal with the government officials & scammers is momentarily beyond me. And anyway, why should I waste my time talking to people who are clearly less intelligent than me.