Best time to travel to Thailand
In almost every travel guide you will read that the best time to visit Thailand is between November and March. It rains the least and it is not too hot. There are also many festivals (including Loi Krathong) and holidays in Thailand during those months.
Foon tok in Isan
Splashing rain falls from the sky, for the umpteenth time. In the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening. The showers alternate, the dry periods are too rare to do anything, nothing gets time to dry up a bit. It is going to be a heavy rainy season. And despite the wetness it is warm, not really in terms of temperature that usually sticks around thirty degrees, it's the humidity that makes you sweat like an otter.
A week of rainy season in Isaan (Sunday and closing)
The sun is back for the first time in days. A bit watery at first, but the clouds finally lose the battle, around ten o'clock it is tropically sunny again. And immediately much warmer. The pleasant six, twenty-seven degrees of the last few days were a treat, now it is already thirty-two at eleven o'clock. And that is warm when you go to mow the grass.
Saturday morning, just like earlier this week, it was again quite a hit in the capital. At 37 locations, roads were under water (5 to 20 cm) of water. Shops near Siam Square were also flooded but Pathumwan district was worst hit with 72mm. The municipality has now installed 1.400 water pumps in the city.
A week of rainy season in Isaan (Saturday)
The sun is back for the first time in days. A bit watery at first, but the clouds finally lose the battle, around ten o'clock it is tropically sunny again. And immediately much warmer. The pleasant six, twenty-seven degrees of the last few days were a treat, now it is already thirty-two at eleven o'clock. And that is warm when you go to mow the grass.
A week of rainy season in Isaan (Friday)
Despite the Duvels, we both wake up fresh and cheerful at the same time. Happy mood too, it was fun yesterday. Only, there is no electricity. Hello, is that already from seven o'clock last night? Apparently not, the first customer in the shop tells us that the power was back around ten o'clock last night. But no one knows when it fell out again. The people here don't really lack electricity.
On Wednesday evening, extreme rainfall fell in Bangkok, as much as 100 mm per hour, a record in 20 years. And you guessed it: floods therefore a traffic chaos. Governor Aswin has apologized for this.
A week of rainy season in Isaan (Thursday)
An ordinary morning is about to start, De Inquisitor thinks. But that's not counting dear-dear. Her sister from Bangkok, who is also a cosmetics consultant after work, has left a large banner. Because those cosmetics are also offered in our shop. The Inquisitor is very cynical about this: nobody is going to buy it here, much too expensive. A bar of soap for one hundred and fifty baht next to the one for fifteen baht, what do you think they will take? Ditto with toothpaste, one hundred baht for fifty grams. Face cream, no matter how much 'whiter than white' they promise, one hundred grams for three hundred baht – they never buy. But yes, family, do everything for yourself.
A week of rainy season in Isaan (Wednesday)
The Inquisitor cannot contain himself: he wants to know how things are going in the village during that rainy weather. Because the work in the fields has come to a standstill, which is quite logical because the showers fall regularly, and heavily. Only the heavier tractors can still maneuver on the flooded plots and in the sticky mud, but there are too few of this size in the region. What are those people doing now, where are they? And he goes for a walk, despite the rain. He thought he was well provided for because of the umbrella and the slightly thicker T-shirt. But made the mistake of going in flip flops.
A week of rainy season in Isaan (Tuesday)
The Inquisitor wakes up early again. Less than six hours, but fully rested. His first thought goes to the pond. From his upper terrace he can already see that everything is in order, the fish are not desperately gasping for air, the water is already of much better quality after a night of filtering. Can The Inquisitor wake up nice and lazy. He knows his friend is coming to visit this afternoon, so no big projects today.
A week of rainy season in Isaan (Monday)
The rainy season is in full swing. The annual return of a few drizzly days on which there is hardly any sun. Just now, The Inquisitor has entered a 'wake up early' phase. And he leaves the box bed around six o'clock.
The water sector in Thailand
We are here in Thailand in the middle of the rainy season and so (!) we get the annual lamentation about the flooding caused by the rain. The storm ball has been raised in many provinces of the country and television and other media (including on this blog) show images of many flooded streets or entire areas.
Rainy season in Isan
Rainy season. An average Belgian or Dutch person probably has the jitters when they hear that word. Do you get a lot of rainy days all year round and then they have an emphatic rainy season here? No thanks.
Lots of rain and flooding in Bangkok
It is rainy season in Thailand and it shows. Bangkok has experienced heavy rainfall in recent days, causing fourteen major roads to be flooded. The Highways Department works 24 hours a day to pump out the water.
Thai Meteorological Department: Heat wave ends in May
Those who have had enough of the heat in Thailand (who isn't?), have to persevere for a while. The heat wave will be over by mid-May, says the Thai Meteorological Department (TMD).
Hurrah? The rainy season is here again... with consequences for Lung Addie and his female visitor
Yes, here in Chumphon province, and probably elsewhere, the annual rainy season has arrived. Here, on the palm oil plantations, people begged for water.
Reader question: Which region in Thailand should we avoid in the June/July rainy season?
We would like to travel to Thailand at the end of June/beginning of July. Given that this falls in the middle of the rainy season, we would have liked to know which places we should avoid due to heavy rainfall and where (mainland and islands) we could best stay.