Jingjok
Landmarks beat street names
dtrong-kâam see-wên
Ask for directions in Thailand and you will seldom hear a street name. You will hear landmarks: ตรงข้ามเซเว่น "opposite the 7-Eleven", หน้าวัด "in front of the temple", ข้างๆ โรงพยาบาล "next to the hospital". Taxi and Grab drivers think the same way. The name of a condo, a mall, a hospital or a skytrain station means far more to them than a house number. So build a small landmark kit of your own: the name of your building, the nearest main road, the soi number, and one place everybody knows nearby. Save it in Thai script on your phone too, because a driver can read it at a glance, while a romanised spelling may mean nothing.
Try this today
Pick the best-known landmark near your home and practise saying อยู่ใกล้… or อยู่ตรงข้าม….
The words that carry it
Your first 90 days of Thai
Culture cards in Jingjok are tied to the words that carry them, each ending in one thing to try today.
- WEEKS 1–2 · SURVIVEGreet anyone, pay, and order food and 7-Eleven exactly how you like it.
- WEEKS 3–6 · SETTLE INGet around by taxi, Grab and skytrain, find anything, and handle your landlord.
- WEEKS 7–12 · RUN YOUR LIFEPharmacy, bank, SIM and apps, how you feel, and a weekend away, all in Thai.
The first week is free.