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I'm heading out of Heathrow tomorrow, bound for Thailand (Pattaya). The weather forecast appears grim for the entire week that I intend to remain in the city.
I'm interested to hear from our esteemed friends who live in Pattaya what I can realistically expect in terms of weather next week. Not sure I trust all these weather apps!
Many thanks in anticipation.
The weather has not been very hot with clouds most days, brief showers some days in late afternoon, heavy rains often very late in the evening.
The REAL serious monsoon time is August, September and October ... not so much right now in June and July.
Some years are better/worse than others but a monsoon is normally, by definition, a downpour of significance which goes on for most of the day(s) and hardly ever stops.
The predictable essence of the Thai monsoon is the life blood of Thai agriculture. You can see quite clearly when the monsoons are slowing down to nothingness when you travel through rice country and see them harvesting the rice which starts around the middle of November.
"a downpour of significance which goes on for most of the day(s) and hardly ever stops."
The average rainy season day in Thailand is pretty nice day that may or may not include a brief heavy thunderstorm.
A hard all-day rain may occur two or three times a year, most often very near the end of the season, like late October.
For a novice traveler to Thailand, it's worrisome to see rain forecast for every day, but that's meant to indicate all-day rain. Not at all. I think most of us grew up with that idea from Hollywood movies, which is where we learned to think that monsoon means endless downpours when it's actually the name of a seasonal shift in winds.
It's been 30°-32° during the day with some evening storms but dryer now than two weeks ago. Sunny at the moment and the TV forecast said "becoming dryer".
I agree with you, and certainly my sentence was quite ambiguous after reading it again.Quote:
Originally Posted by mahjongguy
I meant that a monsoon rain during those months can often rain hard all day ... not all season. Absolutely there are lots of non-rainy days in monsoon season. Heaven forbid that I should scare the crap out of first time visitors.
I said "For a novice traveler to Thailand, it's worrisome to see rain forecast for every day, but that's meant to indicate all-day rain. ".
That was a geezer typo. Was supposed to say "that's NOT meant to indicate all-day rain".
Have people forgotten that the point of Songkran (April) with all the water being thrown around is meant to mark the begin of the rainy season? The Buddhist "Lent" (begins in July) is intended to confine the monks to the monasteries to keep them out of the rain
Many thanks for all the informed comment/observations. There is a good chance then that I may see something of the sun. This is my thirtieth trip to Thailand but I cannot recall visiting at this time of year. I do remember visiting in August many years ago and there was an afternoon downpour that lasted for about an hour.
Three weeks in Laos and Thailand and needed my umbrella once. P and I joked that everytime we took our umbrellas when we went to dinner, it didn't rain. Eventually, I said, "Sod it, ....we don't need them." And that was the only evening, predictably, when it rained. Pretty good, I suggest. for Rainy Season.
Pattaya. May 11 2018.
https://youtu.be/0KaWEgR1v8w
You may meet such weather at time of your travel. But that doesn't means what you will meet such weather. Mostly it is more often at the end of wet season, than at May-July.
If you head behind the screens at Good Boys with a wallet full of THB100 notes, I am sure the guys will collectively produce a monsoon for you irrespective of the weather. Better be quick before the doors close for the last time.
I used to visit during this time when I was in my Bangkok only phase and was pleased that Goden Cock was open - it's where I spent my afternoon downpour. It didn't inconvience me as bit; for Pattaya it's as good a time as any for a massage.Quote:
Originally Posted by poshglasgow