Top products from r/learnthai

I have some good links if you actually can read the alphabet. If you can't yet, that's going to be your first hurdle to cross.

http://readingthai.wisc.edu/index.htm: From my alma mater--these may be difficult if you don't read the script yet.

http://sealang.net/: A good dictionary, plus some texts and other resources to poke around in.

http://www.omniglot.com/writing/thai.htm: The alphabet, plus lots of links.

http://fsi-language-courses.org/Content.php?page=Thai: This is the course diplomats take, I guess. Dates from 1970. Wow.

So a word of warning about this project--you know already that Thai is written in its own alphabet, which is 44 letters long and has sounds that don't exactly always correspond to English (I use this as an example assuming English is your first language, but even if it's not, this is still true). Basically, there are a few different ways to romanize the Thai alphabet (that is, different ways to write it in English--for example, some write ก as "k" while others write it as "g"). One big issue you may encounter if you start to hop between different resources is that you will have to keep relearning the romanization. This will be an issue until you have memorized the alphabet--then you will look at the actual Thai text and understand it directly, without the need for a romanization! So learning the alphabet is a good place to start.

I learned to read using the AUA Thai Reader, but I was in a class at the time (if you have the opportunity, check out SEASSI, as much as I hated it, it's a great place to learn). So other people may have better out-of-class reading resources.

If you are asking for a website, I don't know of any really good free resources online. I learned from Benjawan Poomsan Becker's books, they are still some of the most comprehensive learning materials for "farang" learning Thai.

Thai for Intermediate Learners

The first book (Thai for Beginners) is also great if you really need the basics, however if you are at a place where you can recognize the Thai letters, but you can't read sentences, you may want to start with the Intermediate level. After is Thai for Advanced Readers, as the title suggests, it focuses solely on high-level reading and probably some writing.

I used this book myself:

http://www.amazon.com/Easy-Thai-An-Introduction-Language/dp/0804801592

It is excellent! It's from 1969 though, so you'll learn some old-fashioned words while you're at it, but hey that's a bonus imo.

Thai for Beginners by Benjawan Poomsan Becker

Does a great job explaining tones and pronunciation.

I used this book and really like it. It's one to consider.

http://www.amazon.com/Thai-Beginners-Benjawan-Poomsan-Becker/dp/1887521003

https://www.amazon.com/Outrageous-Thai-Curses-Epithets-Phrasebook/dp/0804848122/

https://www.amazon.com/Making-Out-Thai-Revised-Phrasebook/dp/0804835551/