I moved into Bangkok to work for an international NGO some 2 months ago and will be staying here for at least 2 years. I need some expat advice on:

1. Finding a good Thai language tutor and/or finding good Thai language books/audio CDs-- I
2. Finding a live-out household helper to do light cleaning (2 bedroom condo) and ironing 3 times a week--and how much is the normal rate for this service?


Any kind of advice would be much appreciated.

Since I do not know the language it has not been easy to find fun things to do in Bangkok and meet friends to hang-out with. I like to travel outside of Bangkok (Chiang Mai, Krabi, etc) and would like to meet nice people with same interests who might be keen in exploring the countryside with me.

Any ideas?