And The Heat Goes On And On And On

[Manforallseasons]

After living in Pattaya for coming up on 12 years this season has been the hottest I've experienced with the daily heat index hovering around 37C or 99F and the drought continues bringing no relief. The evenings offer little no relief as the humidity increases (I'm in Pattaya) and find myself running some quick errands daily and returning drenched to the joys of a well air conditioned condo. I thought as one ages the heat is less of an issue not so with me; I hear Bangkok is hotter but they do get the occasional rain shower, could global warming be for real?

[cdnmatt]

It's been pretty decent here lately -- generally mid 30s during the day, plus we've been getting a decent amount of rain so that helps keep it cool. The hottest part of the year is thankfully over now.

What's your alcohol consumption like? If it's high, try going 2 or 3 weeks without a single drink, and I bet you'll notice you sweat less and can handle the heat much better. If it's by chance really high, you may want to see a doctor before stopping, as alcohol withdrawals can be fatal.

Are you overweight? If so, maybe try to drop some pounds. There's a reason most Asians are skinny. Being fat here just doesn't work. :)

What's your diet like? If you're by chance eating a bunch of pizza, fried chicken and greasy burgers, that's only going to make the heat 10 times worse. Make sure you get lots of greens, and switch over to things like chicken caesar salads, fish, shrimp, etc. Clogging up your system with a bunch of fatty foods is not good for weather like this.

Another thing you could maybe try is only use air-con in the bedroom, and fans in the living room. It'll help you acclimatize.

[Surfcrest]

Excellent advice Matt, I drink a bit back home but only rarely now while in Thailand and I've found myself much more comfortable in the heat.

Another important one that I see a lot of people get wrong is with materials. Loose fitted cotton materials breathe a lot better than polyesters or synthetic materials.

If you use a moisturizer for your skin back home, switch to powder when you are in Thailand. A moisturizer will prevent your skin from breathing. The boys will tell you "it's good" when they see it in your bathroom.

Surfcrest

[attachment=0:3ie0oejw]Snake Brand.jpg[/attachment:3ie0oejw]

[anonone]

Hotter then Hell in Isan last week, at least near Sakon Nakhon. "Real feel" temp of 111 degrees Fahrenheit when I checked one day after feeling particularly wilted. Also, pretty dry lately and rice crop suffering from lack of rain.

I actually found Pattaya pretty comfortable for this time of year, but maybe I was having too much fun to notice?

[cdnmatt]

Another important one that I see a lot of people get wrong is with materials. Loose fitted cotton materials breathe a lot better than polyesters or synthetic materials.

heh... issue is, Thais are very opinionated on outwards appearance, and how you dress. Can't leave the house looking like a slob, type of thing.

I always have an extra set of clothes at the ready, hanging from one of the chairs in my office. They generally consist of long jeans, and a heavy shirt, so I look proper while out and about. Whenever I leave, even if it's just for a quick 5 mins, I throw that set of clothes on. When I get back home, first thing I always do is strip down and throw on my other clothes -- generally a pair of basketball shorts and a loose fitting shirt that breathes easily. Might not look quite as respectable, but I don't care, it's more comfortable. :)

[francois]

When I get back home, first thing I always do is strip down and throw on my other clothes -- generally a pair of basketball shorts and a loose fitting shirt that breathes easily. Might not look quite as respectable, but I don't care, it's more comfortable. :)

Do you go commando, it's more comfortable ?

[cdnmatt]

When I get back home, first thing I always do is strip down and throw on my other clothes -- generally a pair of basketball shorts and a loose fitting shirt that breathes easily. Might not look quite as respectable, but I don't care, it's more comfortable. :)

Do you go commando, it's more comfortable ?

What's wrong with the membership of this forum? What kind of comment is that to make?

[francois]

Relax matt, it's just another way of keeping cool in hot weather. Just some advice such as was given by you on alcohol consumption, over eating, bad diet plus others' advice on prickly heat powder and cotton clothing.
A true kilt wearing Scotsman knows the advantage.

[Smiles]

Very hot and very humid here in Hua Hin. Great big black clouds over the city this afternoon ... everyone expected a downpour but didn't happen as it drifted out over the gulf, miserly.
I've been 'Going Mexican' since I got back and take a daily siesta around 2 in the afternoon with the bedroom aircon on and a jug of cold water beside the bed. Doing so revitalizes the spirit and rehydrates the body.
Being back in Canada in May it was also extremely hot this year, one day I had a quite nasty bout of heat exhaustion ... it wasn't pretty. I learned a good lesson on that one.

When I get back home, first thing I always do is strip down and throw on my other clothes -- generally a pair of basketball shorts and a loose fitting shirt that breathes easily. Might not look quite as respectable, but I don't care, it's more comfortable. :)

Do you go commando, it's more comfortable ?

What's wrong with the membership of this forum? What kind of comment is that to make?I thought it was fabulous.

Very hot and very humid here in Hua Hin. Great big black clouds over the city this afternoon ... everyone expected a downpour but didn't happen as it drifted out over the gulf, miserly.
I've been 'Going Mexican' since I got back and take a daily siesta around 2 in the afternoon with the bedroom aircon on and a jug of cold water beside the bed. Doing so revitalizes the spirit and rehydrates the body.
Being back in Canada in May it was also extremely hot this year, one day I had a quite nasty bout of heat exhaustion ... it wasn't pretty. I learned a good lesson on that one.Go on Smiles, I'll bet you're down at the beach every day helping those boys get the sand out of their bum cracks.

And the water gets less and less and less http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/water- ... ge-to-come (http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/water-expert-warns-of-the-worst-water-shortage-to-come)

[thaiguest]

On a more serious note the Issarn rice season is about to be declared a failure due to a derth of rain.

The countryside from the finish of the Chao Pray Ya basin to and beyond the Cambodian border and all over the north east is a sea of brown earth instead of a lush green rice crop.

To make matters worse the fertilizer has been spread and is now being blown away -much of it bought with borrowed money.

I fear a lot of hardship and discontent at the back-end of this year.

[Phred]

cdnmatt wrote:


тАжtry going 2 or 3 weeks without a single drinkтАж

W. C. Fields:

Reminds me of my safari in Africa. Somebody forgot the corkscrew and for several days we had to live on nothing but food and water.

Surfcrest wrote:

тАж switch to powder when you are in Thailand

A bottom, lately overactive on vacation in Pattaya, walks into a store seeking relief. He is greeted by queeny salesclerk.

Customer: тАЬDo you have any talcum powder?тАЭ

Clerk: тАЬYes, walk this way.тАЭ

The clerk begins to sashay over to the medicine counter.

Customer: тАЬIf I could walk that way I wouldnтАЩt need the talcum powderтАЭ.

But seriously folksтАж

How are the humidity levels? I find this is key. High temps I can deal with just fine under the shade of a beach umbrella. ItтАЩs when the humidity rises that things get uncomfortable.

I pity the poor farmers and hope they get relief first.

I pity the poor farmers and hope they get relief first.
If they're in Pattaya they could hand relief if nothing else.

[newalaan2]

Hotter then Hell in Isan last week
In bf's village about 70km out of KhonKaen they've had a good lot of rain for about 5 days now and the rice crop is looking ok. In fact having just complained about lack of rain...and being sooooo hot! just a few days ago......according to him it's now "too muddy" everywhere!....can never win!

There's been some very nice warm sunny weather coupled with nice breezes here in Northern Scotland over the last few weeks, but would be quite happy to 'put up with' MFAS's on, on, on-going heat 'problems' in Thailand......something I never complain about when there...the weather...whether too sunny or too rainy, just being there is enough.

[cdnmatt]

Hotter then Hell in Isan last week
In bf's village about 70km out of KhonKaen they've had a good lot of rain for about 5 days now and the rice crop is looking ok. In fact having just complained about lack of rain...and being sooooo hot! just a few days ago......according to him it's now "too muddy" everywhere!....can never win!

I can attest to that. Rainy season has been really weird here this year, but thankfully getting a decent amount again now. But yeah, it's been on and off.

There are some weeks where it's simply unbearably hot, and other times where it's perfect for white folk like me. :)

I can say, my lawn is currently a darker green than it's been in the 8 months I've lived here. Now I just need to convince the "gardener" (ok, some guy who owns a weed wacker) not to chop the yard down to 5mm. It's fine for now, but later on in the year is just going to burn the hell out of the yard.

EDIT: Not sure it matters, but we've also had far more thunder & lightening this year compared to previous years.

[thaiguest]

Hotter then Hell in Isan last week
In bf's village about 70km out of KhonKaen they've had a good lot of rain for about 5 days now and the rice crop is looking ok. In fact having just complained about lack of rain...and being sooooo hot! just a few days ago......according to him it's now "too muddy" everywhere!....can never win!

There's been some very nice warm sunny weather coupled with nice breezes here in Northern Scotland over the last few weeks, but would be quite happy to 'put up with' MFAS's on, on, on-going heat 'problems' in Thailand......something I never complain about when there...the weather...whether too sunny or too rainy, just being there is enough.

Looks like KhonKaen is the exception then.

Last evening BBC Asia reported a rice crop crisis now facing Thailand and Cambodia with nowhere near like enough rain falling or in the immediate offing.

[cdnmatt]

No, the report is right, I'm sure, especially for farmers. We have been getting decent rain, but it comes in spurts. Generally at this time of year it rains basically every day between 4 - 6pm. That's not happening this year though.

Now, we get a good 3 or 4 days of rain, then it's totally dry for the next 10 days, which isn't normal for here.

That, and when it does rain, it's alot more "vicious". We get a lot more thunder & lightening compared to previous years.

[Surfcrest]

This year is an El Ni├▒o year meaning the Pacific Ocean is warmer than usual and that will affect weather all over the Pacific including South East Asia and Thailand. The link attached talks about what weather we should expect leading into the Spring of 2016.

http://www.weather.com/news/climate/news/el-nino-outlook-strong-possible-may2015

Surfcrest

[christianpfc]

Traveling by car between Sakon Nakhon and Khon Kaen, I saw lush green rice fields everywhere. But maybe visible wet soil (i.e. field not flooded) alone is an indication for lack of water? But then on the flight to Bangkok, more grey/brown fields visible from plane.

No complaints about heat from me at all, when sky is covered by clouds it's fine for me (sure I would prefer 5 degress less, but the temperature is in my comfortable range, I don't think about it).

[anonone]

Agreed it has been a crazy season. BF now says downpour of a huge amount of rain has left the crop with too much water. Not sure if the newly transplanted rice will survive. (They took some rice from their small farm, which had good water, to plant in their large farm with the hope of re-invigorating it as it was too dry since originally planting).

Something tells me they will need to supplement their supply of rice for eating this year.

This is between Udon Thani and Sakhon Nakon.

[Manforallseasons]

We've had here in Pattaya for the last few days complete cloud cover and a few drops helping the situation.