MASSAGE BASICS

History of Thai massage

Thai massage has a long history of approximately over 2,500 years. Over this long time, Thai massage changed and was influenced by Chinese, Indian and further Southeast Asian medicine. The most credit for it deserves a legendary physician, Mr. Shivago Komarpa, from northern India. Following the Second World War and particularly during the Vietnam War, Thailand became a popular destination for tourists. These visitors appreciated the massage and helped it spread to America ad Europe. Massage is a big part of Thai medical culture and helps in various situations such as relaxation, blood circulation, dissolving energy blockages, treating dysfunctional organs and loosening stress and tension.

Basics of Thai Massage

It helps a lot to understand the basics of Thai massage and its theoretical foundation to see the impact and usability of wooden massage tools. Thai massage is build on the concept of invisible energy lines which run through our bodies. There are certain parallels given to the yoga philosophy. This philosophy states that we need life energy, in yoga called Prana. This energy we get through the air that we are breathing and our diet. 

Prana may be an Indian expression but many old religions and cultures knew a similar concept all over the world. Polynesians, Amerindians, Chinese and European tribes such as in ancient Germany all these cultures believed in an all-pervasive 'organic' energy. Eventually, this made it easier for Westerners as well being easily convinced in the advantages of massage. In Indian belief the Prana is flowing through a network of energy lines through our body. Thai massage focuses on the main lines which include important acupressure points.

Massage tools

Traditionally, the massage is given by using fingers and particularly thumbs along those above mentioned main energy lines. However, the thumb and the fingers are rather elastic and so the grandfather of my wife was looking for a natural material to enforce more pressure. The obvious was quickly found in using rosewood and other hardwood. Massaging of the lines is an exchange with the surrounding environment and it should be done through natural means. This is one of the reasons that we do not want to produce massage tools from metal or even plastic. This would be counterproductive to a natural progress. The wooden massage tools can be used easier for the massage giver and are still very pleasant for the massage receiver. Their application can solve the disturbance of energy flow and five practical treatment for the whole body including internal organs. Therefor, working with the tools on the energy lines can break energy blockades and stimulate the free flow of Prana.

 

Handheld Massage tools

There are many different kinds of massage tools on the market. We at Nongluk Thai Wood & KHT focus on the distribution of wooden massage tools made from rosewood, Thai monkey puzzle and palm wood. These massage tools come in different sizes. They are for different purposes and our smaller tools can be divided into three different classes.

Prana reflexology tools help the blockades of the flow of prana by stroking by causing pressure over the important energy lines. The most popular are the foot reflexology stick, the cross and the bird. The later two are applied on limbs but can be used for the back as well.

 

 

The second category are the facial rollers. They are rather smaller rollers compared with the back rollers. At the moment we produce them from two different materials, Thai monkey puzzle and palmwood. The daily appliance of them can support ant-aging and keep your facial skin really smooth and young.

 As you can see from following two macro pictures, it is unfortunately not possible t produce them y using only wood but the portion of used metal is minimal.

The third category of smaller handheld devices are our items for own hand massage. Our family created these items only recently, particularly impressive is their application for people who work longer time on computers. They are applied by kneading them in your palm. They immediately have an impact in the case of cramps and tiredness and help to dissolve Prana blockades in the hands quickly. The three most popular items are the prism, the satellite and the stick with branches.

There are nowadays many different types of massage tools available and in afollowing article we will describe our gua sha tools to you.

Helpful links: 

History of Massage Thai Way - http://www.thaimassagesandiego.com/history.html

 

History and origins of traditional Thai massage -

http://www.sunshine-massage-school.com/history_of_traditional_thai_massage.html

WHY IS THAI HANDICRAFT TOO CHEAP?

There are some people that state...

...quiet the opposite of my heading and claim that they are always ripped off in Thailand. Well, Thailand is probably not the only Third World country to be accused of this. Holiday makers from all over the world seem to consider their visit to the country as some kind of development help. Certainly, many Third World countries live better with the tourism factor and can improve over time. However, it does not seem fair that the ordinary tourist expects then to get quality products of the country at minimum expenses. 

I would like to debate a bit the hypocrisy of complaining about different prices for the local population and tourists. Usually these foreign visitors who complaint are on the low budget level. These people want on one hand the same prices as the residents but are not ready to spend time and effort to achieve this. At least here in Thailand, it is not a general fact that they have to pay automatically more money. Usually they are just too lazy to look around. Let's take for example Khao San Road in Bangkok. Of course you will have to pay more money there compared with Jatujak. So, go to Jatujak. Then you go to the market and you see that you have to pay more money than a Thai shopper.  Hang on, do you think that there are no differences between shops on a massive market like that? First, not all shops overcharge you. Second, shops have different prices. So, if you saw that the Thai paid 50 Baht but you had to pay 70 at a different shop, then blame the shop but not the attitude of Thai people. How can you know that the Thai was not a regular customer? You know, maybe it is difficult to understand but wholesale customers just pay less money and some just need sometimes a single item. Third, how can you dare to complaint paying 20 Baht more? Spend just a second to think what you get from 20 Baht in your own country. So, I am sorry to say that but you should get your act together before raising your voice to judge this condition. Or even easier, just stop going on holidays into foreign countries!

Now, even conditions like this have their origin not in Third World countries but the First World countries. It is a continuation of colonialism, to exploit poor countries because the people there need the money. So, the development that foreign tourists are asked for more money is slightly correcting the imbalance in worldwide unequal distribution of resources.

At the beginning was the backpacker

Well, actually even not. At the beginning was the American soldier, during the Vietnam war. However, that would make it too easy for my story. The US soldier was here, yes okay, but this did not start tourism in Thailand. It just gave Thailand the idea to make some good money by focusing on the male sex drive. The Vietnam war created Pattaya but the soldiers on their leave were hardly interested of breaking down the prices of the local traders. They were rather happy to have a break from the war and did not count their pennies. So, after all at the beginning was the backpacker.

The backpackers alone would have been not that bad. I can hardly accuse peaceful hippies and the first travelers of having brought a bad condition on Thailand and destroying prices. Unfortunately, these early visitors of the country had hardly any money, well like at most other places when you meet them. They started to buy cheap stuff and resold it in their own countries to finance their journeys. Again, I still do not see any problem with that. However, now something started that brought the entire system out of balance. As usual, the price on the market depends on the conditions of supply and demand. The demand on Thai products was high but not many people traveled to Thailand and sold then their souvenirs in western countries. This made the prices climb in the West at stagnating prices in Thailand. Now, smart business people saw an opportunity to export from Thailand for high profit margins. The backpackers had started the trade with Thai goods but were now no longer parts of the game.

In Thai perspective

The average Thai person that is manufacturing handicraft is not very educated and does not understand business on an advanced level. The whole concept of trading, export and market laws have been long time only visible for the educated and financial powerful classes of the country. Some of these people have tried to make business with other countries but usually do not focus on handicraft. They are in natural resources trading, food processing and other rather lucrative kinds of business. So, the western trader or exporter who came to the country around thirty years ago, had the advantage of information, education and  business experience. This put him into an overpowering position towards his Thai business contacts. The Thai manufacturer and seller had first to learn a lot and it stayed over a too long time an unequally balanced business relationship. The Thai was happy to get enough money to feed his family and was not aware how he got exploited by his western customers. 

The western business person was quickly able to dictate the prices. Additionally, other Thai people saw that the manufacturers of handicraft were able to improve their families' lives and so over the time more people started to craft articles. This competition was of course not helpful for the price level and the articles became even cheaper. 

The travel magazine and book industry

It would have not been easy for western business people if the system had not been strengthened through the right propaganda.  A very malicious role has played the travel magazine and book industry. A lot of these books like to depict the beautiful sides of Thailand, give some information about the country and embrace the foreign tourist. Now, what should be wrong with this?   Actually nothing, but in the end everything. 

First, these magazines and books advise the traveler to haggle and barter hard to get good discounts. Now, that sounds initially good if you just keep it as shallow as these books. People who follow these advises can of course get some discount but it is an urban myth that you get on single articles a discount of 30%. You will also not make yourself particularly popular if you haggle aggressively in Thailand. Well, yeah, I forgot you are only on holiday and so you maybe don't care about the feeling of the people as you brought your money to the country. They should be happy these locals that you spend your money. Well, if that is really your attitude don't complaint that people don't like you. Probably, you will trust then these magazines and books that Thai people don't appreciate foreigners. Frankly, Thais like foreigners but are not that crazy to like assholes!

Second, these books and magazine raise the interest in Thai handicraft and so they help the keen business people to expand their markets. Unfortunately, it hardly helps the local producers a lot. As liberal they may present themselves they are only contributing to ongoing exploitation.

The contradicting delusional tourist

 It is not that extreme even that it is really bad. I think most people on this world are trapped into conditions that they are not able to reflect anymore. Most people learn from their childhood that they support countries when they travel to them. This is only limited correct. If you are traveling to a country like Thailand, please accept the offered prices. It is okay to barter and haggle a bit but don't expect that everybody falls to your feet and has to follow your price offers. Now, you think that you are a liberal thinking person but you are proud of your haggle skills. Hang on, you are just contradicting yourself. Probably opposing concepts that you grew up with, you think that your haggling is only an expression against capitalistic conditions. How wrong you are! You are probably used to that capitalistic powers dictate the prices in your country. Here, in Thailand, your haggling has only one impact, to make the life of a struggling family even harder. So far with your liberalism, instead of supporting poor people, you just help to exploit them. what kind of liberal are you then? So, you maybe slowly start understanding that these travel magazines and books are only an instrument of western no-colonialism. 
Further, think one more time as above already mentioned about the twenty Baht that you wanted the item being reduced. First, an item declared on 70 Baht and being reduced to 50 Baht means a discount of 30%. When do you get that in your own country? Let me know and I will visit your place. Second, the 20 Baht compared to your flight is minimal. You will also hardly have any meal in Thailand which cost you only 20 Baht as you are scared of hygienic measures. A Thai person indeed sometime seats for 20 Baht a meal. So, thinking in the extreme you just took away the meal of a local person because you could not give a part away from your own. That does not sound fair!

So, you eventually understand if I call you a contradicting delusional person not understanding life and the world. Please, follow in future my advice to haggle and barter a bit out of fun or just admit that you are a capitalistic conservative person. 

What do I make out of it?

 I hope that you understand now, that Thai handicraft is too cheap. It has an excellent quality but struggles to fight against conditions implemented by western tourists, business people but particularly travel literature. There is as well a hidden agenda connected with. If you are part of exploiting people in the Third World on a small scale by your too fierce and aggressive haggling then you probably will not say too quickly something against exploitation committed by large companies. You just support an existing system and are rather ready to close your eyes opposed with daily committed injustice on this planet. So, please, wake up and stop supporting a system that you are actually criticizing in your person surroundings.

October 2016 Online Selling from Thailand

About this post

We had started online selling again in June 2016 after a break of almost five years. First, we started to sell from Germany as I saw it as a chance to visit my parents. We had definitely planned to continue then from Thailand but there should be quiet a few differences.

Goodbye Germany

The four months in Germany were an interesting time but it was time to return home, to Thailand. We had not sold that much in these four months in Germany but we still fulfilled basic standards. We had not earned that much but also hardly lost anything from our investment. We had just hit target. So, we were already extremely curious if we could continue that well in Thailand.

Online Selling from Thailand

The biggest difference between selling from Germany or Thailand is out of my view that the trust of the customers seems to vary depending on the article location. I am not sure if the only reason is the shipping duration. I ask myself if the customer is rather skeptical if the article is located in an exotic country. As we sold in Germany, it seemed a sound understanding local customers considered it as safer that the article is send within the country or from abroad. Generally, customers evaluate consciously or unconsciously the 'risk' to order from different places. Well, frankly spoken to point out extremes would you rather order an article from Syria or Liechtenstein? You might not even know where is the second country but you will probably try to avoid choice one. Trust me, all of us follow a sub- or unconscious evaluation.  

There is a further obstacle through semi-professional competition within Thailand. This has on one side brought down quality trade and on the other hand risen questions about reliability. We see sadly that Thailand and good handicraft from Thailand seems to be sold at too low prices at many places. There is nothing wrong about sales margins that are multiple times higher than the production price. Do you believe that the prices of your clothes were arranged to a 100% profit? Then you are, excuse me, dreaming a lot. Thai handicraft unfortunately is sold at these too low margins. No entrepreneur in Europe or America would even open an own company if he had to face from the beginning this range of margins.There are many reasons for that and I will go into detail in a later post. In short, the travel magazine and books authors brought down the prices by suggesting travelers that they could get the items to a third of the declared price. Then, some backpackers so the opportunity to finance their journeys by bringing handicraft home and selling it cheap on flea markets. Another group of these backpackers takes it home and sells it as well online. I am sometimes shocked to see items cheaper on the net than at some tourist places within the country. Unfortunately, we have to follow this trend as it looks really unbelievable if we as manufacturer offered articles more expensive than the online retailer. Therefor, this existing semi-professional competition has brought down the prices that much that we can hardly make any more profit but can only use the internet as further advertisement. Honestly, we are even not that much interested in online retail but hope to open up contact with professional whole sale. 

A third issue connected to semi-professional sellers from Thailand is that their reliability is not very high. There are for sure some buyers on the net who try to get 'free-bees' by claiming that the item has not arrived after a long time. On the other side, we know as well that there are really quiet a few sellers in Thailand that just start to try buying the article after they have already sold it. This are the two reasons why you can hardly see any seller from Thailand on ebay with a 100% positive feedback. This is unacceptable as it does not only harm this seller but affects all other sellers from Thailand, too.

Expectations

We know that it will be difficult to sell from Thailand. On the other hand, there are also some online traders here in the country who have been successful, so we do not see any reason why we should fail in our project. We have the advantage of not being only the seller but also to manufacture most of our articles. Therefor, we do not think that we will be climbing to the peak over night but that we will have a long and tough path to success but we will go for it. One of our main objectives will be to convince customers to buy from us and that is only possible if we provide quality and are reliable.

EASY THAI FOR TRADING - PART II

INTRODUCTION TO PART 2

In part I, I introduced to you questions and answers for building up a business conversation. This part will deal with making the price and some negotiations. I will include a large part to explain the Thai numerical system to you as well. The methodology remains the same as in part I. In the first row, I will write the English question, the translation to Thai and then the phonetics for pronunciation in English build on similar English words. Row two will repeat the Thai but shorten the English phonetics build up as in row one. The negotiations for the price do not only include haggling and determining the price. At the end of this part, I will go as well on wholesale, actually my focs in doing business from and in Thailand. This Blog is not to teach you perfect Thai, it shall only provide you with some guidance and to make trading in Thailand with Thai people easier. You will discover with the time that I have not written 100% pefect English phonetics which is not even possible and so you will adapt sooner to the Thai language as your business partners will handle it. Please, be aware that there is not only one Thai but that this language even more than English is spoken in different dialects, often even with different vocabulary. I base this guide here on Thai as it is spoken in Central Thailand but understood throughout the entire Kingdom of Thailand. 

LET'S GET STARTED

This should give you a brief overview about what is going to happen in this part. Well, you have decided which articles you would like to purchase. As mentioned in part I, always keep your cool, be friendly and realistic and particularly, do not trust your travel guide book. I cannot say it often enough, these books can be confusing and about trading they have frankly spoken some ancient ideas. These books give you only partly some protection when you have gone already for a rip off as you were blinded by promises of 30% discounts. These reductions in prices NO serious and honest trader will offer you on individual pieces! The number of shops on Jatujak that have no intention of ripping you off has increased with the years as most people have figured by now that the best business is made by returning customers. There are of course still some really cut-throats around but this kind of pests and plagues you can find anywhere if you look thoroughly enough. So, please be considerate and do not try to offend honest traders.

Zuerst fangen wir mal ganz einfach an und bauen dann dieses Gespräch weiter auf. 

How much is this piece?	ชิ้นนี้ราคาเท่าไหร่	shin knee la(st) car  tou(as in loud with t) lie
	ชิ้นนี้ราคาเท่าไหร่	shin knee la-car tou-lie

VERY IMPORTANT - NUMBERS

I would like to introduce you now to the Thai numbers. Then we will continue in our trading conversation. I have seen often that in many language guides the numbers are not explained in real detail. If I should go too much into detail, please feel free to skip this part. Well, I admit that here my side as educator has gone through with me a bit. So, my apologies in advance if it is just too long and boring. Otherwise, I hope that you will understand the Thai number clearly and without facing further problems. This is very important to guarantee that trades do not break down because of misunderstandings. Knowing the numbers helps as well to avoid the awkward using of calculators to show them. I will try to explain the structure in a logical approach which I have established in education over the last twenty years. So, please do not be surprised at the beginning and I hope you will be able to adapt and apply the system. 

One	หนึ่ง	nüng (n-ypsilon-ng)*
	หนึ่ง	nüng
Two	สอง	song
	สอง	song
Three	สาม	zarm (as in arm with z)
	สาม	zarm
Four	สี่	see
	สี่	see
Five	ห้า	har(d)
	ห้า	har
Six	หก	hock (as in shock without s)
	หก	hock
Seven	เจ็ด	jet
	เจ็ด	jet
Eight	แปด	pad (bad with p)
	แปด	pad
Nine	เก้า	car-oh
	เก้า	car-oh
Ten	สิบ	zip
	สิบ	zip
Eleven	สิบเอ็ด	zip et(like in bet)
	สิบเอ็ด	zip-et
Twelve	สิบสอง	zip song
	สิบสอง	zip-song
Thirteen	สิบสาม	zip zarm (arm + z)
	สิบสาม	zip-zarm
Fourteen	สิบสี่	zip see
	สิบสี่	zip-see
Fifteen	สิบห้า	zip har(d)
	สิบห้า	zip-har
Sixteen	สิบหก	zip hock(as in shock)
	สิบหก	zip-hock
Seventeen	สิบเจ็ด	zip jet
	สิบเจ็ด	zip-jet
Eighteen	สิบแปด	zip pad (bad with p)
	สิบแปด	zip-pad
Nineteen	สิบเก้า	zip car oh
	สิบเก้า	zip-car-oh
Twenty	ยี่สิบ	yea(st) zip
	ยี่สิบ	yea-zip
Twenty-one	ยี่สิบเอ็ด	yea(st) zip et(as in bet)
	ยี่สิบเอ็ด	yea-zip et
Twenty-two	ยี่สิบสอ	yea(st) zip song
	ยี่สิบสอง	yea-zip song
Twenty-three	ยี่สิบสาม	yea(st)zip  zarm(arm with z)
	ยี่สิบสาม	yea-zip zarm
Thirty	สามสิบ	zarm (arm with z) zip
	สามสิบ	zatm-zip
Forty	สี่สิบ	see zip
	สี่สิบ	see-zip
Fifty	ห้าสิบ	har(d) zip
	ห้าสิบ	har-zip
Sixty	หกสิบ	hock(as in shock) zip
	หกสิบ	hock-zip
Seventy	เจ็ดสิบ	jet zip
	เจ็ดสิบ	jet-zip
Eighty	แปดสิบ	pad (as in bad with p) zip
	แปดสิบ	pad-zip
Ninety	เก้าสิบ	car oh zip
	เก้าสิบ	car-oh-zip
One hundred	หนึ่งร้อย	nüng loi(n)
	หนึ่งร้อย	nüng-loi**
One hundred and one	หนึ่งร้อยเอ็ด	nüng loi(n) et(as in bet)
	หนึ่งร้อยเอ็ด	nüng-loi et
One hundred and five	หนึ่งร้อยห้า	nüng loi(n) har(d)
	หนึ่งร้อยห้า	nüng-loi har
One hundred and ten	หนึ่งร้อยสิบ	nüng loi(n) zip
	หนึ่งร้อยสิบ	nüng-loi zip
One hundred and thirty-five	หนึ่งร้อยสามสิบห้า	nüng loi(n) zarm(arm + z) zip har(d)
	หนึ่งร้อยสามสิบห้า	nüng-loi zarm-zip har
Two hundred	สองร้อย	song loi(n)
	สองร้อย	song-loi
Two hundred and forty	สองร้อยสี่สิบ	song loi(n) see zip
	สองร้อยสี่สิบ	song-loi see-zip
Two hundred and forty-five	สองร้อยสี่สิบห้า	song loi see zip har(d)
	สองร้อยสี่สิบห้า	song-loi see-zip har
Three hundred	สามร้อย	zarm(arm + z) loi
	สามร้อย	zarm-loi
Four hundred	สี่ร้อย	see loi
	สี่ร้อย	see-loi
Five hundred	ห้าร้อย	har loi
	ห้าร้อย	har-loi
Six hundred	หกร้อย	hock(as in shock) loi(n)
	หกร้อย	hock-loi
Seven hundred	เจ็ดร้อย	jet loi
	เจ็ดร้อย	jet-loi
Eight hundred	แปดร้อย	pad (bad with p) loi
	แปดร้อย	pad-loi
Nine hundred	เก้าร้อย	car-oh loi
	เก้าร้อย	car-oh loi
One thousand	หนึ่งพัน	nüng pun
	หนึ่งพัน	nüng-pun
One thousand and one hundred	หนึ่งพันหนึ่งร้อย	nüng pun nüng loi
	หนึ่งพันหนึ่งร้อย	nüng-pun nüng-loi
One thousand and two hundred	หนึ่งพันสองร้อย	nüng pun song loi
	หนึ่งพันสองร้อย	nueng-pun song-loi
One thousand two hundred and fifty	หนึ่งพันสองร้อยห้าสิบ	nüng pun song loi har(d) zip
	หนึ่งพันสองร้อยห้าสิบ	nüng-pun song-loi har-zip
One thousand two hundred and sixty	หนึ่งพันสองร้อยหกสิบ	nüng pun song loi hock(as in shock) zip
	หนึ่งพันสองร้อยหกสิบ	nüng-pun song-loi hock-zip
One thousand two hundred and sixty-five	หนึ่งพันสองร้อยหกสิบห้า	nüng pun song loi hock zip har(d)
	หนึ่งพันสองร้อยหกสิบห้า	nüng-pun song-loi hock-zip har
One thousand two hundred and sixty-nine	หนึ่งพันสองร้อยหกสิบเก้า	nüng pun song loi hock zip car-oh
	หนึ่งพันสองร้อยหกสิบเก้า	nüng-pun song-loi hock-zip car-oh
One thousand three hundred	หนึ่งพันสามร้อย	nüng pun zarm (arm + z) loi
	หนึ่งพันสามร้อย	nüng-pun zarm-loi
One thousand four hundred	หนึ่งพันสี่ร้อย	nüng pun see loi
	หนึ่งพันสี่ร้อย	nüng-pun see-loi
One thousand five hundred	หนึ่งพันห้าร้อย	nüng pun har loi
	หนึ่งพันห้าร้อย	nüng-pun har-loi
One thousand six hundred	หนึ่งพันหกร้อย	nüng pun hock loi
	หนึ่งพันหกร้อย	nüng-pun hock-loi
One thousand seven hundred	หนึ่งพันเจ็ดร้อย	nüng pun jet loi
	หนึ่งพันเจ็ดร้อย	nüng-pun jet-loi
One thousand eight hundred	หนึ่งพันแปดร้อย	nüng pun pad (as bad with p) loi
	หนึ่งพันแปดร้อย	nueng-pun pad-loi
One thousand nine hundred	หนึ่งพันเก้าร้อย	nüng pun car-oh loi
	หนึ่งพันเก้าร้อย	nüng-pun car-oh-loi
Two thousand	สองพัน	song pun
	สองพัน	song-pun
Two thousand one hundred	สองพันหนึ่งร้อย	song pun nüng loi
	สองพันหนึ่งร้อย	song-pun nüng-loi
Two thousand two hundred	สองพันสองร้อย	song pun song loi
	สองพันสองร้อย	song-pun song-loi
Two thousand three hundred forty	สองพันสามร้อยสี่สิบ	song pun zarm (arm with z) loi see zip
	สองพันสามร้อยสี่สิบ	song-pun zarm-loi see-zip
Two thousand four hundred and fifty-six	สองพันสี่ร้อยห้าสิบหก	song pun see loi har(d) zip hock(as in shock)
	สองพันสี่ร้อยห้าสิบหก	song-pun see-loi har-zip hock
Three thousand	สามพัน	zarm (arm +g) pun
	สามพัน	zarm-pun
Four thousand	สี่พัน	see pun
	สี่พัน	see-pun
Five thousand	ห้าพัน	har(d) pun
	ห้าพัน	har pun
Six thousand	หกพัน	hock(shock) pun
	หกพัน	hock-pun
Seven thousand	เจ็ดพัน	jet pun
	เจ็ดพัน	jet-pun
Eight thousand	แปดพัน	pad (bad with p) pun
	แปดพัน	pad-pun
Nine thousand	เก้าพัน	car-oh pun
	เก้าพัน	car-oh-pun
Ten thousand	หนึ่งหมื่น	nüng mün
	หนึ่งหมื่น	nüng-mün
Eleven thousand	หนึ่งหมื่นหนึ่งพัน	nüng mün nüng pun
	หนึ่งหมื่นหนึ่งพัน	nüng-mün nüng-pun
Twelve thousand	หนึ่งหมื่นสองพัน	nüng mün song pun
	หนึ่งหมื่นสองพัน	nüng-mün song-pun
Twelve thousand one hundred	หนึ่งหมื่นสองพันหนึ่งร้อย	nüng mün song pun nüng loi(n)
	หนึ่งหมื่นสองพันหนึ่งร้อย	nüng-mün song-pun nüng-loi
Twelve thousand two hundred	หนึ่งหมื่นสองพันสองร้อย	nüng mün song pun sorng loi(n)
	หนึ่งหมื่นสองพันสองร้อย	nüng-mün song-pun song-loi
twelve thousand two hundred and ten	หนึ่งหมื่นสองพันสองร้อยสิบ	nüng mün song pun song loi zip
	หนึ่งหมื่นสองพันสองร้อยสิบ	nüng-mün song-pun song-loi zip
twelve thousand two hundred and twenty	หนึ่งหมื่นสองพันสองร้อยยี่สิบ	nüng mün song pun song loi yea(st) zip
	หนึ่งหมื่นสองพันสองร้อยยี่สิบ	nüng-mün song-pun song-loi yea-zip
Twelve thousand two hundred and twenty-five	หนึ่งหมื่นสองพันสองร้อยยี่สิบห้า	nüng mün song pun song loi yea(st) zip har(d)
	หนึ่งหมื่นสองพันสองร้อยยี่สิบห้า	nüng-mün song-pun song-loi yea-zip har
twelve thousand two hundred and thirty-six	หนึ่งหมื่นสองพันสองร้อยสามสิบหก	nüng mün song pun song loi zarm(arm +z) zip hock(as in shock)
	หนึ่งหมื่นสองพันสองร้อยสามสิบหก	nüng-mün song-pun song-loi zarm-zip hock
thirteen thousand	หนึ่งหมื่นสามพัน	nüng mühn zarm (arm + z) pun
	หนึ่งหมื่นสามพัน	nüng-mün zarm-pun
twenty thousand	สองหมื่น	song mün
	สองหมื่น	sorng-mühn
thirty thousand	สามหมื่น	zarm mün
	สามหมื่น	zarm-mün
forty thousand	สี่หมื่น	see mün
	สี่หมื่น	see-mün
One hundred thousand	หนึ่งแสน	nüng sen(d)
	หนึ่งแสน	nüng-sen
One hundred ten thousand	หนึ่งแสนหนึ่งหมื่น	nüng sen(d) nüng mün
	หนึ่งแสนหนึ่งหมื่น	nüng-sen nüng-mün
One hundred twenty thousand	หนึ่งแสนสองหมื่น	nüng sen song mün
	หนึ่งแสนสองหมื่น	nüng-sen song-mün
One hundred twenty-four thousand	หนึ่งแสนสองหมื่นสี่พัน	nüng sen song mün see pun
	หนึ่งแสนสองหมื่นสี่พัน	nüng-sen song-mün see-pun
One hundred twenty-five thousand and five hundred	หนึ่งแสนสองหมื่นห้าพันห้าร้อย	nüng sen song mün har pun har loi
	หนึ่งแสนสองหมื่นห้าพันห้าร้อย	nüng-sen song-mün har-pun har-loi
Two hundred thousand	สองแสน	song sen
	สองแสน	song-sen
Three hundred thousand	สามแสน	zarm sen
	สามแสน	zarm-sen
One million	หนึ่งล้าน	nüng larn (as darn with l)
	หนึ่งล้าน	nüng-larn

  * A small remark here. In part one, I have explained you that the English language is unfortunately missing the 'Umlaut' which is a part of German. I have explained you there as well how to deal with it. Now, just as I am writing this part, following might help additionally. You know the sound of'Y' in ypsilon or upsilon. That sound of the first letter comes amazingly close to the Thai sound. Unfortunately, as you know it is hardly never used in clean English in the middle of a word with being pronounced that way. Therefor we will continue as in part I with using the 'u' Umlaut, as well as in other case the 'o' Umlaut.

**As in English, Thais like to keep themselves short, so often will not said one hundred but only hundred.

A further remark for people who teach English in Thailand. If you use the methodology as I have used it above, then I guarantee you success. You have to imagine that Thai learners have similar problems in understanding the concept of numbers, same as we have it with the numerical system of the Thai language.

As you have maybe observed by now, the teens and the tens can actually be understood easily. You have only to take attention of the position of the Zip (สิบ). If used at the beginning of the word than it is a teen such as in  Zip-See(สิบ), fourteen. If it is used at the end of the word then we have a ten such as in See-Zip (สิบ) forty. 

BARGAINING

Let's look now at an answer for our initially asked question. Then we continue with further inquiries.

The price is one hundred fifty Baht	ราคานี้หนึ่ง ร้อยห้าสิบบาท	la(st) car knee nüng loi(n) har(d) zip Baht
	ราคานี้หนึ่ง ร้อยห้าสิบบาท	la-car knee nüng-loi har-zip Baht
That is too expensive	แพงไป	pang pie
	แพงไป	pang pie
How many pieces would you like?	คุณต้องการกี่ชิ้น	coon(but with short vowel sound)  torng(tor n+ g, so with ng at the end)  garn(yarn with g)gui(tar) shin
	คุณต้องการกี่ชิ้น	coon torng-garn gui shin
Only one	ชิ้นหนึ่งเท่านั้น	shin nüng tau nun
	ชิ้นหนึ่งเท่านั้น	shin nüng tau-nun
or	ชิ้นเดียว	shin dea(n) ou(ch)
	ชิ้นเดียว	shin dea-ou
Then this is the price	ก็ราคานี้	gore la(st)car knee
	ก็ราคานี้	gore la-car knee
And..if I take two?	และ ถ้าผม(ฉัน) เอาสองชิ้น	le(t)tar pom(eranian)(shun) ou(ch)  song shin
	และ ถ้าผม(ฉัน) เอาสองชิ้น	le tar pom(shun) ou song shin
Then I can give you a discount	ผม(ฉัน)สามา รถลดราคา	pom(eranian)(shun)samart(smart plus an added a) lot la(st)st
	ผม(ฉัน)สามา รถลดราคา	pom(shun) samart lot la-car
more common	รถลดราคาได้	lot la(st) car die
	รถลดราคาได้	lot la-car die
How much does it cost then?	ก็ราคาเท่าไหร่	gore la(st)car tau lie
	ก็ราคาเท่าไหร่	gore la-car tau-lei
Then, the price is 140 Baht per piece	ราคาเป็น 140 บาท ต่อชิ้น	la(st)car loi(n)see zip Baht
	ราคาเป็น 140 บาท ต่อชิ้น	la-car loi see-zip Baht
Can I get it a bit cheaper?	ลดอีกครั้งหนึ่งได้ไหม	lot eek nüng krung(wrung with k) die my
	ลดอีกครั้งหนึ่งได้ไหม	lot eek nüng krung die my
No, I am sorry	ไม่ ผม(ฉัน)ขอโทษ	my pom(eranian)(shun)) core tot(as in tomato, ending with t))
	ไม่ ผม(ฉัน)ขอโทษ	my pom(shun) core tot
Please, only a little bit	โปรดนิดหน่อยเท่านั้น	prot(as in rot with p)knit noy (soy with n)  tau nun
	โปรดนิดหน่อยเท่านั้น	prot knit-noy tau-nun
Okay, but 135 Baht is really the best price	โอเค แต่ 135 บาท เป็นราคาดีที่สุด	Okay ta(cking) loi(n)zarm(arm +z)  zip har(d) Baht pen la(st) car dea(n)   tea sut(as in put but with s)
	โอเค แต่ 135 บาท เป็นราคาดีที่สุด	okay ta loi zarm-zip har Baht pen  la-car dea tea sut
I have a look for some more items	ดูสินค้าของคุณต่อนิดนึง	do sin car corng(as in corn + g)  coon(short o sound) tore noy(soy with n) nüng
	ดูสินค้าของคุณต่อนิดนึง	do sin-car corng coon tore noy-nüng
Yes, of course	แน่นอน	ne(t) norn(norm ending with n)
	แน่นอน	ne-norn

GETTING READY TO PAY

After you have chosen all the article that you would like to purchase, exchanged a few more compliments and made some more inquiries(as in Part One), you are ready to pay. Of course this is displayed here again as a small dialogue.

That's all	นั่นคือทั้งหมด	nun kö tarng(tar + ng) mot(not with m)
	นั่นคือทั้งหมด	nun kö tarng-mot
You can make the total now	คุณทำให้ผลรวม	coon(with short o sound) tum hi pon(d) loo um(as in yum)
	คุณทำให้ผลรวม	coon tum hi pon loo-um
Okay, let's have a look	โอเค ลองมาดู	Okay long ma(rk) do
	โอเค ลองมาดู	okay long ma du
This piece was 140 Baht	ชิ้นนี้ 140 บาท	shin knee loi(n) see zip Baht
	ชิ้นนี้ 140 บาท	shin knee loi see-zip Baht
Excuse me, you said 135 Baht	ขอโทษ คุณบอกว่า 135 บาท	core tot(as in tomato ending with t) coon(short o sound) bork(as in cork with b) war(as in bar with w) loi(n)  zarm (arm with z) zip har(d) Baht
	ขอโทษ คุณบอกว่า 135 บาท	core tot coon bork war loi zarm-zip har Baht
Oh, that's right. Excuse me	โอ้ ถูกต้อง ขอโทษ	oh took torng (torn + g) core   tot(tomato, ending t)
	โอ้ ถูกต้อง ขอโทษ	oh took torng core tot
No problem	ไม่มีปัญหา	my me pun har(d)
	ไม่มีปัญหา	my me pun har
And four of them	และสี่ของชิ้นนี	le(t) see corng (corn + g)shin knee
	และสี่ของชิ้นนี	le see corng shin knee
That makes a total of 670 Baht	ทั้งหมด 670 บาท	tarng(tar + ng) mot(not with m) hock(as in shock) loi(n) jet zip Baht
	ทั้งหมด 670 บาท	tarng mot hock-loi jet-zip Baht
Is 600 okay?	หกร้อยได้ไม่	hock loi die my
	หกร้อยได้ไม่	hock-loi die my
No, is 650 okay?	ไม่ได้ หกร้อยห้าสิบได้ไม่	my hock loi har zip die my
	ไม่ได้ หกร้อยห้าสิบได้ไม่	my hock loi har zip die my
Okay, thanks a lot	ได้ ขอบคุณมาก	die cop coon(short o sound) mark
	ได้ ขอบคุณมาก	die cop coon mark

I made the ending of the conversation on purpose short. Of course, you may haggle a bit at the end. Just keep in mind the entire conversation should be civilized. Havin respect is important in any interactions. Just look, the sales person has given twice a discount. First, on the single piece and then on the total again. Every civilized person should be happy about that. Particularly, in the case that there is a price declaration in the shop. So, you may of course put pressure on the sales person but then just do me the favour and do not read my blog anymore. Because, then probably you actually do not even care about other people but are just too egocentric. In any personal interaction are in my view respect and politeness two of the most important attributes. In the case that you picture other nationalities as mean and evil creatures then just do your surrounding environment the favour and stop traveling in the world. 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

It is impossible to cover on this blog all occurring questions and answers. I would, however, still like to mention one field that I have not dealt with on this post, the wholesale.

What is the wholesale price?	ราคาขายส่งเท่าไร	la(st) car song tou(loud with t) lie
	ราคาขายส่งเท่าไร	la-car song tou-lie
How many pices do I have to take?	ผม(ฉัน)จะ ต้องซื้อกี่ชิ้น	pom(eranian)(shun)) torng(torn+g) ou(ch) gui(tar) shin
	ผม(ฉัน)จะ ต้องซื้อกี่ชิ้น	pom (shun) torng ou gui shin
You have to take 50 pieces	คุณต้องเอาห้าสิบชิ้น	coon(short o sound) torng(torn+g) ou(ch) har(d) zip shin
		coon torng ou har zip shin
Can I take various articles?	เอาสินค้าแตกต่างกันได้ไม่	ou(ch) sin car tack(tackle)tarng(tar + ng) gun die my
	เอาสินค้าแตกต่างกันได้ไม่	ou sin-car tack-tarng-gun die my
Yes, you can mix your articles	ใช่ คุณผสมสินค้าได้	shy coon(short o sound) par som(tom with s) sin car die
	ใช่ คุณผสมสินค้าได้	shy coon par-som sin-car die
But the total value must be 2,000 Baht	แต่ราคารวม สองพันบาท	ta(g) la(st) car loo um(as in yum) song pun Baht
	แต่ราคารวม สองพันบาท	ta la-car loo-um song pun Baht
How long is the delivery time?	เวลาการจัดส่งนานเท่าใด	we(b) la(st) garn(garden without de)   djut(gut with dj sound) song narn(yarn with n) tau lie
	เวลาการจัดส่งนานเท่าใด	we-la garn djut song narn tau-lie
The articles are ready in two weeks	สินค้าพร้อมในสองสัปดาห์	sin car prom(little bit longer o sound) nie(as in vie with n) song sub dar(t)
	สินค้าพร้อมในสองสัปดาห์	sin-car prom nie song sub-dar
Can I pick up my goods at 5 p.m.?	รับสินค้าบ่าย ห้า โมง ได้ไม่	lup(as in yup with l) sin car bye har moong(moon, short o sound +g) die my
	รับสินค้าบ่าย ห้า โมง ได้ไม่	lup sin-car bye har moong die my
Can you bring the goods to the cargo company?	คุณส่งสินค้าไปขนส่งได้ไม่	coon song sin car pie con song die my
	คุณส่งสินค้าไปขนส่งได้ไม่	coon song sin-car pie con-song die my

So that should cover now the most common phrases. I believe, if you have followed my methodology and comprehended it, then I should have no worries about you anymore on the market. If you still need an interpreter, feel free to contact me, that is of course not free of charge. Otherwise, I wish you best of luck and fun in trading on a Thai market. You will see soon that the Thais will be impressed by you.

WHAT'S NEXT?

I had promised you three parts. The third will consist of exemplatory conversations. As you have seem, it took me some time to publish this post. Well, first of all I need some distance on my own and will first continue on my '20 Years Thailand' blog. But it should not take me too long to publish the third part, I hope sometime next week. So, enjoy trading and buying stuff in Thailand and we will be around soon again.