Escaping the heat in April

[uttradit]

April, the hottest month of the year is coming up. I'm in the north and looking for best options to escape it. Chiang Mai is hot, Pai is hot. Doi Inthanon looks an option due to altitude. What other options are cooler nearby? Not really planning on going to beach.

[save the frogs]

try taking an ice bath

 

[stoner]

maybe stop blabbering so much. 

[JoseThailand]

39 minutes ago, uttradit said:

April, the hottest month of the year is coming up. I'm in the north and looking for best options to escape it. Chiang Mai is hot, Pai is hot. Doi Inthanon looks an option due to altitude. What other options are cooler nearby? Not really planning on going to beach.

 

You don't have an air conditioner?

[ukrules]

Service the Aircons in March and make use of them.

[uttradit]

29 minutes ago, save the frogs said:

try taking an ice bath

 

Was thinking that. There are 2 I can see.

[Prubangboy]

The smoke will get you before the heat. The higher the mountain, the duller the town.

[JoseThailand]

In my opinion, April's hotness is way overrated. It maybe just a couple degrees Celsius hotter than the other months, not a big difference

[JoseThailand]

Some years, April was even cool

[1FinickyOne]

My office and bedroom have a/c - and my car has terrific a/c... 

 

who could ask for anything more? 

[BangkokHank]

I have been escaping from Thailand during the hot season for decades now. Using the air conditioner is not the same as being able to walk outside in the cool, fresh mountain air.

 

Over the years, I have discovered many places in Asia to escape to. Alas, none of them are in Thailand. My favorites include Mussoorie (in the Himalayan foothills) and Ooty (in Tamil Nadu), both in India. Both of these places have perfect weather in March/April, (cool, and little to no rain) and both of them are resort towns with plenty of hotels. The good thing is that those towns, although they are resort towns, are not in their high seasons during Thailand's hot season. So they experience their best weather of the year in March/April while the hotels are not full - and are therefore more reasonably priced than in THEIR hottest season. Darjeeling and Nainital are other options, although I haven't visited them yet.

 

During this year's hot season, I will be going to Dalat in Vietnam, which is easier to get to than India, and even cheaper. It is possible to get a decent hotel there for about 600 baht a night.

 

Twice I went to Nuwara Eliya in the Central Highlands of Sri Lanka, and last year I spent the entire month of April there. I also once visited the highlands of Myanmar during Thailand's hot season, but I wouldn't go there now due to the political instability. And once I went to the highlands of Taiwan, which is also worthwhile - but a little bit far away.

 

So to summarize and conclude: Your wish to avoid the hot season is understandable, but I'm afraid that there is no place in Thailand to do this - at least no place that I know of. However, there are several suitable places more or less in the region, some of which I have mentioned above, and perhaps more that other people can add to this list. (You can check the temperature and rainfall of just about any place on the internet these days. I go for places that are between 15-25 degrees Celsius with little to no rainfall.) If Dalat works this time, then I will make it my go-to place for future hot-season escapes. (I have been to Dalat a dozen times during my seven years of working in Vietnam, but I have never been there during April, so I'm not sure how it will be.)

[Prubangboy]

29 minutes ago, BangkokHank said:

 (I have been to Dalat a dozen times during my seven years of working in Vietnam, but I have never been there during April, so I'm not sure how it will be.)

What's the air quality like? We nixed India for April for that reason. 

 

Last year, we did The Cameron Highlands. Pretty and mellow, but very dull, Just a strip of samey S.Indian chapati joints. But very cool for most of the day.

(I'll be in Borneo and Sulawesi this year).

[Grecian]

31 minutes ago, BangkokHank said:

I have been escaping from Thailand during the hot season for decades now. Using the air conditioner is not the same as being able to walk outside in the cool, fresh mountain air.

 

Over the years, I have discovered many places in Asia to escape to. Alas, none of them are in Thailand. My favorites include Mussoorie (in the Himalayan foothills) and Ooty (in Tamil Nadu), both in India. Both of these places have perfect weather in March/April, (cool, and little to no rain) and both of them are resort towns with plenty of hotels. The good thing is that those towns, although they are resort towns, are not in their high seasons during Thailand's hot season. So they experience their best weather of the year in March/April while the hotels are not full - and are therefore more reasonably priced than in THEIR hottest season. Darjeeling and Nainital are other options, although I haven't visited them yet.

 

During this year's hot season, I will be going to Dalat in Vietnam, which is easier to get to than India, and even cheaper. It is possible to get a decent hotel there for about 600 baht a night.

 

Twice I went to Nuwara Eliya in the Central Highlands of Sri Lanka, and last year I spent the entire month of April there. I also once visited the highlands of Myanmar during Thailand's hot season, but I wouldn't go there now due to the political instability. And once I went to the highlands of Taiwan, which is also worthwhile - but a little bit far away.

 

So to summarize and conclude: Your wish to avoid the hot season is understandable, but I'm afraid that there is no place in Thailand to do this - at least no place that I know of. However, there are several suitable places more or less in the region, some of which I have mentioned above, and perhaps more that other people can add to this list. (You can check the temperature and rainfall of just about any place on the internet these days. I go for places that are between 15-25 degrees Celsius with little to no rainfall.) If Dalat works this time, then I will make it my go-to place for future hot-season escapes. (I have been to Dalat a dozen times during my seven years of working in Vietnam, but I have never been there during April, so I'm not sure how it will be.)

Omg! This is the perfect IELTS essay!!! Should be given to every student. 😊

[Keeps]

33 minutes ago, BangkokHank said:

Darjeeling and Nainital are other options, although I haven't visited them yet.

 

 

Darjeeling - not my cup of tea....

[BangkokHank]

16 minutes ago, Prubangboy said:

What's the air quality like? We nixed India for April for that reason. 

 

Last year, we did The Cameron Highlands. Pretty and mellow, but very dull, Just a strip of samey S.Indian chapati joints. But very cool for most of the day.

(I'll be in Borneo and Sulawesi this year).

As I'm sure you know, India is a big country with varying conditions throughout. The air quality in the mountains was always fine when I was there.

[BangkokHank]

13 minutes ago, Keeps said:

Darjeeling - not my cup of tea....

Can you explain why? You might just save me an unnecessary trip someday.

[Keeps]

4 hours ago, BangkokHank said:

Can you explain why? You might just save me an unnecessary trip someday.

 

My apologies - it's a Brit thing. The Brits reading will get it. Might not find it particularly funny though although one person apparently has.

 

[chickenslegs]

39 minutes ago, BangkokHank said:

Can you explain why? You might just save me an unnecessary trip someday.

Darjeeling is an area of India famous for its tea. Assam is another (of many). So the tea from those regions is called Darjeeling tea or Assam tea.

 

When ordering a cup of tea, one may be asked to select from a variety of teas. 

 

One could say "Darjeeling is not my preference", i.e. not my preferred cup of tea.

 

The expression (in British parlance) is applied to many situations where there is a choice. For example: I prefer olive skinned girls, white girls are not my cup of tea.

 

 

[scubascuba3]

I'm going to cycle less, heart has to work 10 beats harder in the April heat and humidity

[Walker88]

7 hours ago, BangkokHank said:

As I'm sure you know, India is a big country with varying conditions throughout. The air quality in the mountains was always fine when I was there.

Try Manali in Himachal Pradesh. Absolutely spectacular.

 

Manali is already at altitude and has lovely fresh air, carrying the glorious scent of the deodar cedar trees that pepper the landscape. Though it might be a tourist spot, I've never seen another tourist there. That part of India is predominantly Buddhist, not Hindu. Lots of bell-wearing yaks around town. There are small guest houses and one nice hotel, rooms with a fireplace and a large balcony, where the snow-capped Himalayas are in full view.

 

From Manali it's a gut-wrenching drive up to Rohtang Pass, but well worth it (provided you survive). The road is gravel, winding up another 8-10,000 feet to Rohtang. Boulders sometimes roll down the moutain and cross the road, so one must keep his eyes open. Traffic obviously goes in both directions, but generally there's only space for one vehicle, and there are no guardrails. The traditional wood-framed trucks common to India roads come at you full speed, with Shiva as their co-pilot, so to speak, so caution is not their byword. There are a few spots along the drive where the drop is around 5000 feet, straight as a beggar can spit. Plenty of cars and buses do not make it, and their wrecks are still sitting untouched near the bottom of the drive. So common are bus mishaps that take dozens of lives on India's Himalayan roads, that the reporting makes maybe Page 29 of The Times of India newspaper. It's a 'dog bites man' sort of tale.

 

Keep going after Rohtang and you hit the Ladakh area. The entire area gives one the feel of the Sean Connery/Michael Caine film "The Man Who Would Be King", based on the Kipling tale. In honor of that film, the first time I went I grew the beard as worn by Connery in the movie (the under-chin area clean shaven).

 

There was a TV show in the US called Ice Road Truckers or something like that, and one of the drives they did was up over Rohtang Pass.

 

 

[BangkokHank]

2 hours ago, Walker88 said:

Try Manali in Himachal Pradesh. Absolutely spectacular.

Ah, yes, I am aware of Manali, but I've never been there as it's a bit difficult to get there. Maybe someday though.

 

Anyway, thanks for the reminder.

[Walker88]

2 hours ago, BangkokHank said:

Ah, yes, I am aware of Manali, but I've never been there as it's a bit difficult to get there. Maybe someday though.

 

Anyway, thanks for the reminder.

It is a bit of a trek. I usually do Delhi-Chandigarh, stay a night, then do Chandigarh-Manali. Roads are.....bad, on the second leg.

[Prubangboy]

5 hours ago, Walker88 said:

 

 

"The Man Who Would Be King", based on the Kipling tale.

If you don't want to go there after seeing that film, you're essentially dead.

[Tom100]

Kunming and Xian China. I visited both in 2023 to escape the heat/smog in BKK.

Both had much cooler weather and far cleaner air. 

Both cities are served by AirAsia and return tickets were about 6000 Baht from DMK. 

[CecilM]

Heat, turn on A/C. 
Bad air, buy an extra air filter.

Cheaper than trying to run away every year. 

[BangkokHank]

15 hours ago, Keeps said:

 

My apologies - it's a Brit thing. The Brits reading will get it. Might not find it particularly funny though although one person apparently has.

 

I get it now. Ha. It's what we would call an "inside joke".

[johng]

17 hours ago, 1FinickyOne said:

My office and bedroom have a/c - and my car has terrific a/c... 

 

who could ask for anything more? 

 

What about your carbon footprint...think of the planet and Greta 😋

[ChrisKC]

20 hours ago, uttradit said:

April, the hottest month of the year is coming up. I'm in the north and looking for best options to escape it. Chiang Mai is hot, Pai is hot. Doi Inthanon looks an option due to altitude. What other options are cooler nearby? Not really planning on going to beach.

It is the hottest month of the year everywhere in Thailand. What will you do on Doi Inthanon for a month or more?

 

I live in Northern Thailand and in February so far, nearly every day already 34C (air temperature) - and it is going to get even hotter and may last until October - yes, including the rainy season.

 

Keep going North until you reach somewhere you like - you might need to go 10 degrees of latitude from where you are - that means another country.

[uttradit]

2 minutes ago, ChrisKC said:

It is the hottest month of the year everywhere in Thailand. What will you do on Doi Inthanon for a month or more?

 

I live in Northern Thailand and in February so far, nearly every day already 34C (air temperature) - and it is going to get even hotter and may last until October - yes, including the rainy season.

April is always the hottest month. 37 to 40.

 

Cities are in valleys so resorts in the hills be cooler.

 

 

[ChrisKC]

15 minutes ago, uttradit said:

April is always the hottest month. 37 to 40.

 

Cities are in valleys so resorts in the hills be cooler.

 

 

 

For the last two years the temperature here in April and May has been up to 45C

 

So you have answered your own question - anywhere there are hills will be cooler and if you are in Northern Thailand you won't need to go far!

 

Not all cities even capital ones are in valleys, Chiang Mai for example, right here in Thailand, is 1,000 feet above sea level.