Asian Institute of Technology (AIT)

The international students could choose a Thai language course where we acquired an everyday knowledge. This was actually pretty helpful in certain situations, as lots of Thais just speak a little English. And with our knowledge at the end, we managed to get along pretty well. That's especially important at the market, as bargaining is much easier in the local language. At university, everyone speaks a rather good English, although some dialects are hard to understand. I had quite a hard time to understand the Indian people. But after a while you'll get used to it.

Even new text books are really cheap in Thailand. So it makes sense to buy new books.

Thailand as well as the neighbouring countries are worth a stay. Still, as concerns Thailand, you should try to tolerate the annoying sex tourism as you'll get to see Thai women and foreigners almost everywhere. It's also important to accept that most Asian people have a different attitude towards work and are usually rather quiet till they get to know you. Just remember not to lose your patience and stay friendly.

As concerns nightlife, you should buy the Metro magazine, which lists the best restaurants, clubs, bars and so on monthly. There are different sports possibilities on campus, like swimming pool, golf course, tennis courts, badminton courts, squash courts, football grouds, table tennis and gym. Therefore, it is not necessary to go somewhere else. If you are interested in culture, you can find temples and buddhas almost everywhere in and around Bangkok. But also a visit in Ayutaya, Chang Mai and Chang Rai is of interest. If you have some time off, you can easily go travelling to one of Thailand's beautiful islands (Kho Chang or Kho Samui are rather pieceful with less tourists, whereas Kho PhiPhi or Phuket are filled with tourists) or spend some time in neighbouring countries, like Laos (absolutely the most amazing in my opinion), Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore or Myanmar. Moreover, as flights are quite cheap, you can book a flight to exciting Hong Kong.

Compared to the Thai standard, the on campus accomodation has been alright. Of course, they are not comparable at all to European standards. The standard accomodation is a small room with shared toilet and shower. But there is also the possibility to get an appartment in the student village with two other students, where rooms are bigger. Moreover, there is kind of a living-room and a gas stove for cooking. As to cleanliness, the charwomen come twice a week. Nevertheless, big cockroaches, spiders and ants are a common thing. Anyway, after a while you get used to it. The water is always cold, but you can get along with it for some time. Finally, there is no air-condition, just fans and it takes some time to get used to the high humidity. As there are no window grates, it can be quite noisy from time to time. All in all, the accomodation was alright after getting used to different standards.