Thailand, where the sun burns endlessly and the air conditioning kills mercilessly. Not because it has to, but because Thais refuse to sweat like an overweight tourist in a temple staircase marathon. Anyone who has ever entered a shopping mall, cinema, taxi or random bus in Thailand knows: Thais do not like heat, Thais hate heat. And that is why they do not set the air conditioning to 'pleasantly cool', but to freezer storage mode.
You would think that a population living in a climate where you permanently have a clammy back would be somewhat heat-resistant. Nothing could be further from the truth. First heat wave? Within five minutes they are in a cold room where even penguins complain of frozen toenails. Umbrellas, long sleeves, factor 500 on the face, everything to prevent the sun from touching their skin. Not for health reasons, but because a pale complexion is a symbol of status.
In Thailand, there is a simple rule: the colder the room, the fatter the owner's wallet. A sluggish fan? Sheer poverty. An air conditioner that gives you the shivers? Luxury. It doesn't matter how many degrees it is, as long as the visitors feel like they've landed at the North Pole after five minutes. It's no coincidence that you can leave the milk on the shelves in a 7-Eleven: it stays good by itself.
Another reason why Thais love freezing cold rooms: sweat. Or rather: the horror of body odors. In a tropical climate, you can be a walking water ballet after just three steps outside, and that is unacceptable. Thais shower more often than the average European drinks coffee. So the air conditioning should not only lower the temperature, but also limit the chance of an olfactory war. Because in an overcrowded bus, among dozens of people who have just finished a plate of garlicky pad kra pao, a Siberian wind is the only thing that prevents worse.
Thai air conditioners are technically advanced, but they function like a light switch. There is no middle ground. Off? You turn into a sweaty swamp dweller. On? You have to arrange a sled team to get you to the exit. This is not ignorance, this is policy. Ask an employee if it could be turned down a degree? He nods politely, randomly presses a button and changes absolutely nothing.
If you’re in Thailand wondering why the air conditioning is always set to ‘North Pole Storm’, now you have the answer: it’s a deep-rooted cultural phenomenon, a status symbol and a collective obsession. You can complain, but that’s about as pointless as trying to pee into the wind. So put on a winter coat, take a deep breath and let go of the idea of a comfortable temperature. Thailand: where the sun scorches and the air conditioning destroys.
I also notice another phenomenon: the warmer it is outside, the colder the air conditioning is set. While it works much better the other way around. If you set the air conditioning to 40 degrees at 30 degrees, it feels ice cold, but apparently that is not enough. At least 25 degrees seems necessary. And when it gets cooler outside, the air conditioning can also be set a bit higher…
My wife likes to sleep in a nightgown and then also has a blanket over her. She also turns on the air conditioning an hour in advance. I, on the other hand, prefer to lie in bed with only a sarong… So you can imagine that it often gets too cold for me.
We are currently implementing a new policy: before we go to sleep, I turn the air conditioning on for an hour and then off. But at least it is now always set to 29 degrees.
When we stay at a hotel, one of the first things I do is turn off the air conditioning or set it from that icy 21 degrees to a more comfortable 29 degrees.
Whenever I arrive at a hotel room, the hotel clerk invariably sets the air conditioning much too cold, the first thing I do is set the air conditioning to a temperature that is about 8 degrees cooler than the outside temperature, at home in the bedroom usually at 26 degrees, but everyone has their own preference.
7-eleven stores are also a good example of very cold air conditioning. When you enter and leave the store you get a blow from the temperature difference, a nice reason to catch a cold.
Gr. Arno
First of all I think the inventor of the air conditioner should get a statue…. 🙂
But as often, exaggeration is never good of course and from boiling hot to a fridge or the other way around is not pleasant for anyone I think. Many foreigners will also have regretted going to a cinema only in a Marcelleke I think.
In our house it is usually set to 26 degrees which gives a pleasant coolness in the house. It also runs at night, but I usually turn it off in the morning.
Another fact aside. No air conditioning but also something that should provide cooling, namely a fan.
You may have noticed that Thais often give a fan as a gift on special occasions. I always thought it was a rather special gift that you don't get in Belgium, but is customary in Thailand. For example, we once received about 5 at the opening of our house. In that case, you can speak of a very practical gift and better to have 5 fans in the house than 5 toasters 😉
But you also see them sometimes at funerals next to the coffin of the deceased. And then they have a more symbolic meaning. They are then given to help the soul of the deceased find peace and coolness in the afterlife.
It's also a bit of Thai logic. A while ago I was on the bus to Isaan with my love. I had deliberately put on a warm sweater, given previous experiences, but it was freezing cold. So I said to her: "It's so extremely cold on the bus." She said: "We'll get a warm blanket against the cold later..."
I also went to the cinema once spontaneously in a shopping mall, so no cardigan with me. I fled the cinema halfway through the film, so cold.
Maybe they keep it that cold to keep the driver awake 😉
But that's also why I once fled the cinema. I couldn't hold it.
Reason why we always take a jacket with us when we go to the cinema. It is indeed much too cold there.
We, my family and I, live in Chiangrai far away from the air conditioning terror.
We are fortunate enough to live in a teak wooden house built according to Lanna tradition, in a green valley.
No air conditioning, no glass windows. Ventilated by nature (wind).
In the office in Bangkok on the other hand… pure, yes, terror…
great! it's all true that's what makes life in Thailand so wonderful
The air conditioning on 20 and then preferably a thick blanket over them, hahaha
In Phuket it is currently 35-37 degrees during the day.
With all sliding windows open at home during the day, but with mosquito net windows closed against insects and dengue mosquitoes, the windows are closed, the air conditioning is set to 29 degrees when it gets to 30 degrees inside.
When it cools down to below 29 degrees in the evening, the air conditioning is turned off and everything is opened again, with ceiling fans.
Sleeping at 27 degrees, without air conditioning, only under a sarong. We feel good about that.
In the car air conditioning always at 28 degrees. You don't get a 'temperature shock' when getting out.
The smaller you make the difference between non-air-conditioning temperature and air-conditioning temperature, at home and in your car, the better you will tolerate the heat.
The skin also dries out less, something that we older people can suffer from due to skin aging.
It is also special to see empty cars with running engines and air conditioning at shopping centers.
Thais and Russians have a habit of doing that.
I also travel regularly from Pattaya to Si Saket. The only reason I fly liver is the temperature in the Nakhon Chai Air bus. At first I thought Air referred to the fact that the waitress was wearing such a cute stewardess outfit but it is about the AIRCO(LD). These buses have a number displayed in the front. It turns out to be the temperature in the bus.
When we leave Pattaya at 9 pm it is usually around 20 degrees. During the night you see it drop further to around 16 degrees. Unbearable, not even with a blanket. And I can't sleep with such cold.
My partner doesn't allow me to complain about this because it is seen as criticism and rude...
The first thing I do in Thailand is take out the filters, open the flap and pop it out. They are almost always there
completely closed so that all dirt and germs blow into your room.
Night train from Chang Mai to Bangkok in the bar area also very cold because of the air conditioning, while in the sleeping area the temperature was a lot more pleasant.
Haha. I arrived at a hotel with my girlfriend. First thing she did was set the setting to 18 degrees.
Then they go and take a shower. I put it on 25 degrees.
Gets out of the shower, back to dispatch and back to 18 degrees.
Then discussion… result, setting at 20°.
I loose.