Mini-Retirement - Learn Thai the Natural Way

Sick of learning languages the traditional way, perhaps it's time to try something completely different. Automatic Language Growth (ALG), is a Thai (Chinese and Japanese also) language course provided by A.U.A.

There are no tests, no homework, an open schedule so you can go when you want (provided the school is open), no books, no exercise, grammar isn't a focus and you are actively encouraged not to speak, and yet, the programme produces many competent students who have near perfect accents. For people, who complete the course (over 1,000 hours), it is said that they have a much better grasp of the language than other language courses.

Instead of the usual language classes, there are some striking differences with AUA's approach. One of the most, is that two native speakers provide the class. In this way, students get to hear realistic conversations (natural language)that are made comprehensible to the students, via visual aids, objects, actions, props, body language etc. Reading about people who have attended the course, they claim to have understood fairly complex stories with almost minimal Thai.

The course was designed by Mr Brown, who based the course approach on how children learned. He didn't develop this method until fairly late in his life. He spent approximately 30 years teaching the traditional way. He was a great believer in practice, practice, practice but after a disastrous review of his course in an American University, he completely revamped his approach. Once he got the ALG course running he knew that the model is much better than the traditional approach.

The basic tenets of the course are;

-- Listening and observation are the primarily tools for learning a language.
-- Speaking too early will damage your long term ability in that language (by this, they mean approx 700 hours for a Western studying Thai)
-- Acquisition and guessing at the meaning of words, are a better model of picking up a language than vocabulary lists and practicing are.
-- Listen first, speak, read and write much later.

Unfortunately, this approach seems to be unique to Thailand. I haven't tried the course but I'd love to. it might not be to everyone's taste (as some people want to speak straight away) but it sounds like the most effective approach so far developed.

To find out more about the course AUA Homepage

Cheap Air Flights Asia

Accustomed to cheap flights in Europe, I was initially disappointed when I moved to Asia in 2005. Taipei is a destination rather than a hub of cheap flights in Asia. It wasn't until 2007 that I discovered cheap flights in Asia and that was primarily through 'attitude travel' website.

Attitude Travel - Asia

They list airlines that are considered cheap. I've used some of the Indian airlines they've listed. Whilst not dirty cheap, they do provide an affordable alternative to a one or two day train ride. For many of the tickets in India the added-on costs were more than the ticket cost, hence no dirty cheap deals.

Since then, the list of airlines have increased alot. Airasia seems to be the leading cheap airline in Asia now, oftering numerous flights from Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok to destinations in SE Asia, China, India and even London.

For expats and travellers, these airline open up huge possibilities for travel in Asia, especially SE Asia. They have opened up much of Indonesia

Lion Air (Indonesian Airline) flies from Kuala Lumpur and Singapore to many destinations in Indonesia. Though I found their website frustrating to use and therefore haven't been able to provide any details on prices.

Some prices from Airasia (food is extra but can be prebooked at a 20% discount) click here to go to Airasia

Kuala Lumpur to Manado (Sulawesi) $105 return (I think with tax included) for flying in a month time.

KL to Guilin (China) $268 return (in one month time)

KL to Hong Kong $265 return (in one month time)

KL to Kochi (Kerela, India) $160 return (in one month time)


I get the feeling that most cheap airlines are primarily regionally focused i.e. SE Asia, the Indian Subcontinent. Attitude Travel said that Airasia has opened several SE Asia to India routes but that others have done this before and failed. I remembered trying to get a NOK flight back from India to Thailand but that route had already closed down.

I will do more investigating into cheap flights in Asia. There's plenty of choice and with time and patience these airlines will open up new distinations for you.

Live Asia, Travel Asia

Hi, I’m a Brit living in Asia. I’m currently based in Taipei, Taiwan, a modern place with the world’s tallest building (opened one at least)), great food and access to some stunning scenery. Saying this I’d love to try out other places in Asia too – Japan – to see if I can comprehend the place; China because increasingly it seems to be regaining its ‘heavenly kingdom’ status and it’s home to an incredible variety of cultures; Bangkok because it’s home to the most unique and maybe the most effective language program around, the Philippines – a tropical paradise, Vietnam, India, Korea – well the list just goes on.

Asia is also a place to gain experience. Many years ago I taught English in a refugee camps in the jungles of Thailand. I’ve never experienced anything like that before or since. Life is very different without electricity and concrete, with a constant threat from a murderous enemy and when your only access to a road is to wade through paddy fields for 20 mins so that you can get a hitch to the nearest town. Other friends have found their footing by trying to transform English Teaching into a more productive and enjoyable experience for kids. One friend has been busy writing and running English theme camps, which uses videos, computer games, real games and various challenges to make English come alive (a welcome break from book learning!).

Other people have become travel writers, photographers, bar owners from salons to girly bars, guest house owners from the luxury to the chaotic, TV presenters, radio stars and so on.


I’ve traveled quite extensively in the Far East and South Asia but there are many gaps even in countries where I’ve spent a lot of time. And despite advances in technology prompting many to say the world is getting smaller, we also have access to much more information than before, which makes me feel that the world is still an enormous place.

Anyway, this blog isn’t meant to be for me. It’s meant to explore the possibilities of living and traveling in Asia. The orient will be the focus but I’m open to Central Asia, the Subcontinent and the Middle East. It will provide information and access to cheap flights, travel and opportunities through the region.
One thing I’m especially interested in is learning in different places – or something called ‘mini-retirements’. This is when you take anything from a few months to a year off to pursue a life dream, which could be to learn another language, learn to cook, learn a marital art, become a dancer, do a photography project or whatever it is that makes you tick. Many Asia countries are ideal for these mini-retirements as they have a low cost of living and yet can still provide all of life’s necessities.

Also I would love to find out what other people are doing in Asia and how they are making Asia their own.