recommend school for learning Chinese as an adult?

honestly the best move is to hit up the Chinese language department at Thammasat, they have a community program open to outsiders and the teachers are all mainland trained. it's not super advertised so u gotta email the faculty directly and ask about their adult short courses, last i checked it was like 3,500 per term for twice a week sessions. for private online, i found a guy named Kru Pong through a friend who works in Chinatown, he's been doing it for years and charges 700 an hour, but he's big on homework which some ppl hate, i kinda liked it tho cause u actually retain stuff. one thing nobody mentions is that if u go to Yaowarat and just chat with shop owners, they'll often point u to retired teachers who tutor from home for like 400 baht, way cheaper than anything online, just gotta be patient with the Thai accent some of them have when explaining. my rec is to do a mix, get the textbook basics from a structured place and then do casual convo practice with whoever's cheapest, that combo worked way better for me than any single expensive tutor.

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for online, check out the teachers on italki who are based in Bangkok, you can filter by location and some of them do in person too if u ever want to switch it up. i used a guy named Zhang Laoshi who used to teach at a school near Silom, he's got a solid grasp on thai so he can explain tricky grammar without falling back to english all the time, which helped my brain click better. his rate was like 650 an hour and he's big on shadowing, u repeat sentences after him until your tone sounds natural, feels silly at first but it works.

also, a lot of people sleep on the free resources at the National Library near Sanam Luang, they have a chinese corner with textbooks and audio materials u can borrow, and they sometimes host language meetups on weekends. if u pair that with a cheap tutor, u basically get a full course for under 2,000 a month. just don't expect fancy tech, it's old school but the stuff is solid.

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Try the Confucius Institute at Kasetsart University, they run evening group classes that are surprisingly cheap, around 4,000 baht for a full term, and you get real classroom energy instead of the dead air of a Zoom call. The teachers there are native speakers from China, and they push you to speak from day one, which is what actually sticks. For private online, I'd skip the big platforms and find someone through the "Chinese Learners Bangkok" meetup group, I found a tutor who charges 500 baht an hour and she designs lessons around your job or daily life, so you're learning words you'll use at the office or market, not just textbook filler. One tip, ask any potential teacher if they can do a free 15 minute trial first, the good ones always say yes.

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Krua Dok Mai Kao is solid but I've always found their som tam a bit tame on the pla ra. If you want the real funky version, try the shophouse spots along Soi Udomsuk 26, near the night market end. They pound it fresh with fermented fish that'll clear your sinuses, and it's like 60 baht. Different style from the On Nut places, more Lao-leaning.

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for som tam specifically i'd say the Isaan spots in Chatuchak are underrated, weekdays only though since the weekend crowd ruins the vibe. there's a stall near gate 2 that does tam pa with fermented bamboo shoots, super sour and funky, not something you see much in On Nut. if you're already heading north for Or Tor Kor anyway its worth the detour.

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honestly the som tam at Krua Dok Mai Kao is good but what got me hooked is their nam prik pla raa dip with the raw veggies, that funk hits way harder than the papaya does. think most people sleep on it cuz they just order the som tam and gai yang. also pro tip, go before noon on weekdays, after that teh pla ra gets milder cuz they batch it for the lunch rush

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