Thailand in October

[arsenal]

A friend of mine is considering going to Thailand at the beginning of October. I've never been there at that time but I do know the rain can be horrendous. I'm interested in anyone's experience of visiting during monsoon season.

All members are welcome to reply to my thread. I would particularly welcome responses from BobSaigon who is always welcome to drop in to my pixels.

[Smiles]

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Couldn't find a diagram of Chonburi/Pattaya, but a good guess would be close to the Bangkok numbers.

[a447]

Well, you haven't given me permission to respond to your thread, but here goes anyway.

I've been in Thailand many times during September/October and can't recall ever being too put out by the weather. I've certainly never experienced monsoon rainfall in October, only the odd heavy downpour.

Oh, and one thing I've learned throughout my travels is not to rely too much on weather forecasts, even those from the BBC. The forecasters need to invest in a new set of darts.

[Smiles]

I recall last October in Hua Hin it was a series of deluges for most of the month, tapering off during the last week. However, in 2015 October it was very dry with only a very few days of heavy rain ... most folks were somewhat astounded.
It's like that here all the time, and really, expecting a perfect answer for a vacation is a mug's game ... you'll always get it wrong some of the time.

[bobsaigon2]

Thanks, Arsenal. My input about rain in October would be the same as Smiles: one cannot state a constant pattern. It could be one deluge after another or just a few light showers. But as someone else said somewhere, Bring an umbrella. The boys will be especially grateful that you have come to seek them out during the rain.

[Oliver]

I'm in October every year. The only time the rain impinged on our enjoyment was four years ago when we were in a beachfront hotel in Krabi. Continuous rain over four days meant that that there was very little to do...no boat- trips were operating, the beach was miserable and the town had little to commend it. Rain in Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Pattaya can be a nuisance but it doesn't spoil it..
I can't think of another October that caused us problems.

[cdnmatt]

Maybe I'm delusional, but I can't really ever remember the rain being overly bad in October. Right now is the rainy season, not October. October is when the rain has dissipated a decent amount, and the weather begins to cool down a little.

Then again, it seems to be different every year. This year it began raining every few days back in February, which is much earlier than normal. However, last year it didn't start raining daily until around June I think, which is way later than usual.

Nonetheless, unless there's floods or something, I can't really see rain hampering an enjoyable time much. Even when it rains, it's still like +32C out, so it's hardly uncomfortable.

EDIT: I don't personally do this, but if it's raining, may want to wear shoes instead of sandals, especially if you're walking around markets where things like raw chicken and pork are being sold.

[newalaan2]

A friend of mine is considering going to Thailand at the beginning of October. I've never been there at that time but I do know the rain can be horrendous.
Not sure exactly what your friend wants/needs to know. Weather conditions or ability to have fun and enjoy the holiday? First is where he plans to go as there's a bit of a difference between Phuket/very rainy, Pattaya/Bkk moderately to very rainy and Issan/Chiang Mai much less rainy. If he is planning visiting Pattaya/Bkk as with Oliver I visit every October (sometimes partly with Sept) for last 17 or so years, and never had any reason to reconsider visiting at that time of year. I just accept what the weather brings and react accordingly. As in June Pattaya is usually quite wet but this year it hardly rained, but even if it does in terms of visiting bars it makes no difference to me whatsoever. An umbrella, as others have stated, is all you need to go about your business. In fact most of the sunee bars have 'spare' umbrellas lying around and very happy to lend one if downpours during bar times.

Even on last visit in June one of the nights we were at BzBzBz there was a downpour as we were leaving at 1am, and was handed a large umbrella by one of the managers..."don't worry about taking it back". The only thing it does is seem to put off other visitors or expats from hitting the bars and the atmosphere in the bars can be affected. But the boys will be there for work rain or not, and there is little difference in staff numbers around Jomtein Complex, Sunee or BzTown from other times of the year. If you like the late night clubs a SongTaew taxi can be hired direct from outside BT or sunee to Tam Nan Issan, NAB or wherever and once inside it matters not what the conditions are outside.

Unfortunately nobody can predict conditions, but if I were your friend I would certainly 'take a chance'. There are a lot of benefits of 'low season' as i'm sure you/he will already be aware of. I'm booked for late September this year, flight from UK on KLM 150GBP cheaper than 17 years ago. We are even going to Phuket Sept/Oct for a short break and it's the rainiest time of the year down there...but we're not fazed, Bt1200 each way from Suvarnabhumi.

[arsenal]

Cheers everyone for your replies. I'll tell my friend, she's a she so probably not too interested in the steamier side of Thailand. I'm there in September and then probably Japan in October. Osaka most likely.

[a447]

If you want some fun in Osaka's gay bars, I suggest you start brushing up on your Japanese!

Oh, and apart from the odd typhoon the weather is beautiful at that time of the year.

[christianpfc]

October has religious holiday(s?) and several festivals all around the country for end of Buddhist Lent.


EDIT: I don't personally do this, but if it's raining, may want to wear shoes instead of sandals, especially if you're walking around markets where things like raw chicken and pork are being sold.

Au contraire! I wear flip-flops all the year, and in rainy season they are particularly useful because I can walk through flooded areas, and the water will just flow in and out. Once home, I rinse my legs and feet, and done! However, this can mean that I'm in ankle-deep water and can't see the ground because the water is so dirty, so it's not recommended if you have open sores on your feet.