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Off the top of my head, I can't remember exactly when the flood problem was pretty much over, but it was going pretty strong in October and November which wasn't the best time for visiting in 2011. Earlier, in July and August, Chiang Mai and Sukhothai had flood waters in parts of those cities. The famous Night Bazaar area of Chiang Mai was under water because its elevation isn't very high and it's not too far from the Ping River.
After the flooding was pretty much over in the BKK area, there were still low spots and swampy areas with standing water. There was a concern that mosquitoes could potentally turn into a big problem (perfect breeding places) and bring in diseases. But it didn't seem to get any worse than normal, and areas were sprayed as a means of prevention.
If you or anyone else are interested, below is a link to a collection of YouTube vids captured by a buddy of mine in BKK. They show his perspective of what he saw of the 2011 flooding in and around BKK. it was pretty bad, but life still carried on for the locals.
Yes I remember watching the news footage of the event. It was pretty full on. Right after the flood though was a pretty good time to visit I suppose, and Thailand still needed tourists. Like after the tsunami they were still encouraging people to visit. It was already the beginning of the dry season, and all I saw were clear skies and relatively comfortable, dry conditions. In fact I remember going late home one night and catching a tuk tuk, in what I considered a pleasant, balmy 20C or so with a light breeze, and the tuk tuk driver was like 'it's cold isn't it? For us this is cold'...lol.
Yes I remember watching the news footage of the event. It was pretty full on. Right after the flood though was a pretty good time to visit I suppose, and Thailand still needed tourists. Like after the tsunami they were still encouraging people to visit. It was already the beginning of the dry season, and all I saw were clear skies and relatively comfortable, dry conditions. In fact I remember going late home one night and catching a tuk tuk, in what I considered a pleasant, balmy 20C or so with a light breeze, and the tuk tuk driver was like 'it's cold isn't it?' I was like, 'no not at all.' and he was like 'for us this is cold' lol.
Yes I remember watching the news footage of the event. It was pretty full on. Right after the flood though was a pretty good time to visit I suppose, and Thailand still needed tourists. Like after the tsunami they were still encouraging people to visit. It was already the beginning of the dry season, and all I saw were clear skies and relatively comfortable, dry conditions. In fact I remember going late home one night and catching a tuk tuk, in what I considered a pleasant, balmy 20C or so with a light breeze, and the tuk tuk driver was like 'it's cold isn't it?' I was like, 'no not at all.' and he was like 'for us this is cold' lol.
The middle of the Hot Season (dry) is around mid-April. Thailand has 3 seasons: Hot, Hotter and Hottest. Actually It's Hot, Rainy and Cool seasons. Cool is a relative term though. You must've been there around February or March if it was the Hot Season. The rice crops have finished being harvested by then, and things are fairly dry. The flood did a lot of severe damage to the rice crops that year though. Rice likes to be flooded for irrigation, but the flood brought too much water for too long, drowning the plants.
Up north at Chiang Mai we called the tuk-tuk guy we met to pick us up in the morning about 5 or 6 AM to take us to the airport. We were headed back Don Muang Airport in BKK. That was in December or January - Cool Season in Thailand. It was a pretty chilly ride. I was thinking I should've brought a jacket along. And one time in BKK, it was cloudy and a bit of a drizzle in the morning and a brief rain around noon or so. We were at the Phrakanong District Office, and ran for cover at a nearby food stall. In the morning though, it felt a bit chilly for BKK so I wore a leather jacket that I brought along with me to Thailand.
If you haven't yet looked at the flood vids, I'd recommend it. It gives a look at the scene that you wouldn't have seen in the news footages. I've seen most of the news footages that were shown on Thai News TV channels.
The middle of the Hot Season (dry) is around mid-April. Thailand has 3 seasons: Hot, Hotter and Hottest. Actually It's Hot, Rainy and Cool seasons. Cool is a relative term though. You must've been there around February or March if it was the Hot Season. The rice crops have finished being harvested by then, and things are fairly dry. The flood did a lot of severe damage to the rice crops that year though. Rice likes to be flooded for irrigation, but the flood brought too much water for too long, drowning the plants.
Up north at Chiang Mai we called the tuk-tuk guy we met to pick us up in the morning about 5 or 6 AM to take us to the airport. We were headed back Don Muang Airport in BKK. That was in December or January - Cool Season in Thailand. It was a pretty chilly ride. I was thinking I should've brought a jacket along. And one time in BKK, it was cloudy and a bit of a drizzle in the morning and a brief rain around noon or so. We were at the Phrakanong District Office, and ran for cover at a nearby food stall. In the morning though, it felt a bit chilly for BKK so I wore a leather jacket that I brought along with me to Thailand.
If you haven't yet looked at the flood vids, I'd recommend it. It gives a look at the scene that you wouldn't have seen in the news footages. I've seen most of the news footages that were shown on Thai News TV channels.
No I was in BKK in early December. Typical weather was clear skies and about 19-30C, felt just like a Perth summer really.
Just before arriving in BKK I was in Hanoi where it really was quite cool...actually similar to Perth in winter, with temperatures more in the range of 13-18C. Many people were wearing jackets.etc and it did feel quite cool after the rest of VN. Central Vietnam was very wet with highs in the mid 20s celsius, and people were already wearing jackets. At time it could feel a little cool.
No I was in BKK in early December. Typical weather was clear skies and about 19-30C, felt just like a Perth summer really.
Just before arriving in BKK I was in Hanoi where it really was quite cool...actually similar to Perth in winter, with temperatures more in the range of 13-18C. Many people were wearing jackets.etc and it did feel quite cool after the rest of VN. Central Vietnam was very wet with highs in the mid 20s celsius, and people were already wearing jackets. At time it could feel a little cool.
Okay, then you were there in the Cool Season. Temps in December can be a bit lower, usually in the mornings, even with a clear sky, but usually jumps back up by late morning. Cold fronts dropping down from China and farther north can influence temps in Thailand making it feel rather chilly. Another thing too, can be adjusting to temperature differences. I'm not sure, but it's possible Thailand felt a bit cooler because of moisture (from the flood) rising up by evaporation. Higher humidity would also be pretty noticable.
I was just thinking, when we leave the US in the Winter to head for Thailand, it can be rather cold in the Pacific Northwest. When we land in BKK around midnight, and get to the door of the plane, we're greeted by a blast of hot, humid, tropical air getting off the plane. Welcome to Thailand! I love it. LOL!
Flooding did persist in some areas up through mid-January, 2012. It took time for all that water to drain out. Most of BKK fared out much better than expected, with only a very small portion that was actually flooded and that was due largely to areas with lower elevations. Your timeline might also explain why BKK may have seemed a bit deserted. It took time for tourism to build back up. Floods of that magnitude are very rare, occuring maybe once every hundred years or so. 2011 Thailand floods - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Okay, then you were there in the Cool Season. Temps in December can be a bit lower, usually in the mornings, even with a clear sky, but usually jumps back up by late morning. Cold fronts dropping down from China and farther north can influence temps in Thailand making it feel rather chilly. Another thing too, can be adjusting to temperature differences. I'm not sure, but it's possible Thailand felt a bit cooler because of moisture (from the flood) rising up by evaporation. Higher humidity would also be pretty noticable.
I was just thinking, when we leave the US in the Winter to head for Thailand, it can be rather cold in the Pacific Northwest. When we land in BKK around midnight, and get to the door of the plane, we're greeted by a blast of hot, humid, tropical air getting off the plane. Welcome to Thailand! I love it. LOL!
Flooding did persist in some areas up through mid-January, 2012. It took time for all that water to drain out. Most of BKK fared out much better than expected, with only a very small portion that was actually flooded and that was due largely to areas with lower elevations. Your timeline might also explain why BKK may have seemed a bit deserted. It took time for tourism to build back up. Floods of that magnitude are very rare, occuring maybe once every hundred years or so. 2011 Thailand floods - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Yes, still it was pretty warm, Bangkok never really gets cold. I think temperatures were typical for that time of year, the Thais just consider it cold since it's their 'winter.' Not sure about moisture, but I didn't see any sign of flooding when I was there. Humidity seemed fairly low. When I land in Singapore or Malaysia I'm always hit by a wall of heat and humidity, but in Thailand it felt dry, as is befitting for the dry season there. Phuket's regime is a bit different, and it was actually raining quite a bit when I was down there, but plenty of sun too.
Yes, still it was pretty warm, Bangkok never really gets cold. I think temperatures were typical for that time of year, the Thais just consider it cold since it's their 'winter.' Not sure about moisture, but I didn't see any sign of flooding when I was there. Humidity seemed fairly low. When I land in Singapore or Malaysia I'm always hit by a wall of heat and humidity, but in Thailand it felt dry, as is befitting for the dry season there. Phuket's regime is a bit different, and it was actually raining quite a bit when I was down there, but plenty of sun too.
BKK is pretty warm much of the time. A lot of it is from heat trapped by the buildings and concrete, and from the traffic. Sometimes temps can drop though. With enough of a variation between a high daytime temperature and a low nighttime temp, even though the low might be considered warm under other circumstances, that drop can make it feel almost cold. Our bodies get acclimated to the warm temps. Maybe it wasn't very humid when you were there. It's certainly possible. But I've felt the humidity there plenty of times, not so noticable during the day, but mostly at night. Of course, it helps to have air-conditioning or fans to cool off. Oddly out in the sticks of the Central Plains, you'd think the breezes would help cool things down during the day. Depending on the time of year, it can feel like a blast furnace, with the winds blowing across the dry rice fields. At night the wind fells cooler, but there's still that stifling humidity that makes your skin feel sticky. But there are times of the year when the winds are a cool, refreshing delight that just feels great.
When you were there, most of the signs of the flooding was pretty well over. A lot of cleanup of trash, mud and debris in various areas. Areas that were still waterlogged were those in low lying swampy areas, around the outskirts. So, I'm sure you probably didn't see any sign of it. As I also said most of BKK was untouched by the flood, although some of the canals were pretty full. In a nutshell, most of the flood water drained out into the Gulf.
Loving everything so far....only downside is that I have hardly exercised at all while I've consumed twice the amount of food, snacks, desserts and drinks (non-alcoholic) that I normally do. Not a very good formula...
Since my last checkin I returned to Hong Kong for one more eventful night, goodbyes to many friends, then onto Penang to visit some very close relatives who were more than happy to guide me all over the island and show me how much has changed in the decade since I last visited. I must say I really like Penang, love Georgetown, and the only drawback is the lack of efficient or effective public transit.
Then onto Singapore where I really felt like I was visiting a totally new place. My previous trips all were very brief and occurred before I was 16. Plus I'm told its radically different now than it was just ten years ago. Really love it here and if not for the outrageous housing and alcohol costs (not to mention oppressive govt with its pros and cons) I would definitely live here for a year or two. Maybe I still might.
Last night was goodbye to my last travel companion, the rest of the way i will go it alone. Tomorrow is onto Bangkok and then back to Penang for the weekend.
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Originally Posted by NightBazaar
LOL! Glad you popped in. Just keeping the home fires on the thread burning for you. Regarding Thailand, which is about all I'm good for in SE Asia, hopefully it expands a bit more as to the wider variety Thailand has to offer, apart from the usual touristy or flashy destinations around the country, not that there's anything wrong with those. There are a lot of interesting things to see and do that are sort of off-the-beaten-path. Speaking only for myself, I've seldom found a dull moment.
You must've flown over the the pole. It usually takes us almost 11 or more hours, depending on the trade winds, just to fly from PDX on the west coast to Narita in Japan. By the time we arrive in BKK, the time is about midnight so we get some sleep and are ready to go in the morning. We don't feel much jet-lag going westward. For us jet-lag really kicks in heading back to the US. We leave BKK about 6 AM and arrive at PDX about 8 AM. Feeling sleepy just as the day is beginning. If we could arrive at PDX at night, jet-lag probably wouldn't be as much of a hassle.
Lol ic. Yeah we did fly over the pole....heading back to the states will be a different story as I leave fri night out of Tokyo but arrive late afternoon into LA and need to be rested and ready to party for the wknd!
Loving everything so far....only downside is that I have hardly exercised at all while I've consumed twice the amount of food, snacks, desserts and drinks (non-alcoholic) that I normally do. Not a very good formula...
Yeah, it's pretty easy to pig out. The food is so tempting and good all over. Sounds like you better start walking some of those calories off. You don't want to have to spend extra fare for an extra plane seat. I don't know why, but I can eat nonstop like there's no tomorrow (in Thailand), but for some reason I tend to lose a bit of weight. We do spend a lot of time walking around, so maybe that has something to do with it.
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Originally Posted by projectmaximus
Quick update #2
Last night was goodbye to my last travel companion, the rest of the way i will go it alone. Tomorrow is onto Bangkok and then back to Penang for the weekend.
Kick back a few icy Chang's in BKK. LOL! Not too many though. One beverage I like in Thailand is M-150. Nice chilled fruity-tasting picker-upper. Krating Dang (Red Bull) is a good second. I don't like the taste of Red Bull in the US though - too much carbonation and a bit sour. Same company but made different supposedly for western tastes. Have a great time there.
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Originally Posted by projectmaximus
Lol ic. Yeah we did fly over the pole....heading back to the states will be a different story as I leave fri night out of Tokyo but arrive late afternoon into LA and need to be rested and ready to party for the wknd!
I figured you probably went over the pole judging the time it took from the East Coast. Getting to LA in the late afternoon shouldn't be too bad for you, but I'd bet you'll feel some jet-lag. When we're heading back to the US, we land in Tokyo around 5 PM or so, then depart about 7 PM for the US. Arrive in the US about 8 AM Pacific Time. It's a real hassle for us because the day is just getting started and we're feeling sleepy. We spend most of the first week up and down day and night. It's nuts. We're somewhat okay after that but we still feel it, dragging around like a couple of zombies for another week or so.
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