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Don't be afraid of interpretors. There are good ones out there. A few conversational phrases are helpful. Thai is a tonal language and you can end up in real embarrassing situations due to wrong tones. One example I learned was "klai kai kai gai?" " Who has the chicken eggs?" (or something close). Each word sounds the same except for the tone.
We had an interpretor by the name of Sanit. He was Indian, spoke perfect Queen's English, Thai, could communicate with Lao and spoke perfect "GI". He was a real asset.
I remember one time at work a fellow worker made a smart remark to my wife: "What's the matter? Can't you read English?" Without batting an ey she replied by asking: "Can you read Thai?" Written Thai has 47 consonents and including tones I'm not sure anyone has counted the total vowells. I learned to read some words as one would learn to recognize a graphic sign. I know what certain Towns look like on a road sign but could never write them.
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