Planning for the next smog season

[Lorry]

If you live in Thailand (Bangkok or anything north/northeast of Bangkok),  what, if any, are your plans for the next  smog season?

 

I have decided I don't want to put up with this anymore.

(I do have a/c, air purifiers and N95 masks))

Moving to the south during tourist season doesn't sound tempting. I dislike tourist places. Hua Hin or Phuket are not for me.

Then, the only option seems to be leaving Thailand roughly from January to April.

I don't know what to do.

 

[newbee2022]

3 hours ago, Lorry said:

If you live in Thailand (Bangkok or anything north/northeast of Bangkok),  what, if any, are your plans for the next  smog season?

 

I have decided I don't want to put up with this anymore.

(I do have a/c, air purifiers and N95 masks))

Moving to the south during tourist season doesn't sound tempting. I dislike tourist places. Hua Hin or Phuket are not for me.

Then, the only option seems to be leaving Thailand roughly from January to April.

I don't know what to do.

 

There are more places than HuaHin or Phuket 😂

[Hummin]

3 hours ago, Lorry said:

If you live in Thailand (Bangkok or anything north/northeast of Bangkok),  what, if any, are your plans for the next  smog season?

 

I have decided I don't want to put up with this anymore.

(I do have a/c, air purifiers and N95 masks))

Moving to the south during tourist season doesn't sound tempting. I dislike tourist places. Hua Hin or Phuket are not for me.

Then, the only option seems to be leaving Thailand roughly from January to April.

I don't know what to do.

 

How old are you, budget and activities? 

 

What do you need around you? 

[harryviking]

4 hours ago, Lorry said:

If you live in Thailand (Bangkok or anything north/northeast of Bangkok),  what, if any, are your plans for the next  smog season?

 

I have decided I don't want to put up with this anymore.

(I do have a/c, air purifiers and N95 masks))

Moving to the south during tourist season doesn't sound tempting. I dislike tourist places. Hua Hin or Phuket are not for me.

Then, the only option seems to be leaving Thailand roughly from January to April.

I don't know what to do.

 

Cha Am is quiet!

[Hummin]

Koh Chang was the destination in 2023 with best airquality in Thailand. My best guess is going to the west coast and find a nice place. 

 

If not there is nice smaller expat villages south of Prachuap, with good or better airquality during the most intense polluted season. Prachuap is a bit more laid back as well, and a nice place to get away from the foreigner "ghettos"

 

https://www.iqair.com/thailand

 

 

 

 

Edited July 15 by Hummin

[Will B Good]

4 hours ago, Lorry said:

If you live in Thailand (Bangkok or anything north/northeast of Bangkok),  what, if any, are your plans for the next  smog season?

 

I have decided I don't want to put up with this anymore.

(I do have a/c, air purifiers and N95 masks))

Moving to the south during tourist season doesn't sound tempting. I dislike tourist places. Hua Hin or Phuket are not for me.

Then, the only option seems to be leaving Thailand roughly from January to April.

I don't know what to do.

 

Going back to the UK January-April.

 

I'll be spending my hard earned pennies there.....not in this god forsaken place.

[rumak]

Thirty years ago i made the mistake of telling people how nice Thailand was .  Then the flood gates opened .

I'm not going to make the same mistake telling AN members where i go to "get away".

 

[Lorry]

1 hour ago, Hummin said:

If not there is nice smaller expat villages south of Prachuap, with good or better airquality during the most intense polluted season. Prachuap is a bit more laid back as well, and a nice place to get away from the foreigner "ghettos"

Thx for reporting about the air quality there.

I know this area quite well, and 30 years ago it was nice and not yet overrun by tourists. I haven't been there for more than 10 years. 

Friends tell me  it's still ok. I should brush up on my Swiss-German, though, to communicate with the locals. 

 

 

 

[Lorry]

1 hour ago, Will B Good said:

Going back to the UK January-April.

 

I'll be spending my hard earned pennies there.....not in this god forsaken place.

That's what I did last smog season. 

Came back Songkran and there was still smog

[Lorry]

1 hour ago, rumak said:

Thirty years ago i made the mistake of telling people how nice Thailand was .  Then the flood gates opened .

I'm not going to make the same mistake telling AN members where i go to "get away".

 

But you are going away, are you?

[Hummin]

2 minutes ago, Lorry said:

Thx for reporting about the air quality there.

I know this area quite well, and 30 years ago it was nice and not yet overrun by tourists. I haven't been there for more than 10 years. 

Friends tell me  it's still ok. I should brush up on my Swiss-German, though, to communicate with the locals. 

 

 

 

It is a few Sweedish settlements down there to

 

 

[Hummin]

2 minutes ago, Lorry said:

That's what I did last smog season. 

Came back Songkran and there was still smog

I came back 20 march, and left after a month, and made the decission, this is it after 8 years. Next now is from middle of september to when ever I have enough, and back to Norway for a few years until my wife get permanent stay and dual citizenship so we do not need to apply for visa and stay apart every time we want to go to Europe. Still got my appartment here, and will invest in a smaller farm at once she is here as well. Need fresh air, and fresh food as well colder climate than Thailand during the hot season. 

[Hummin]

Double post

 

Koh Phangan have more quiet areas to and not to bad actually. 

Edited July 15 by Hummin

[Hummin]

 

[Hummin]

One of my favorite beaches on the way down south before hitting the mountains over to Ranong, the border city to Burma. Rayong on the east coast is also not bad actually

 

https://www.maptrotting.com/thung-wua-laen-beach-thailand/

[mikecha]

2 hours ago, Will B Good said:

Going back to the UK January-April.

 

I'll be spending my hard earned pennies there.....not in this god forsaken place.

Thats even worse than here ,

[Lorry]

2 minutes ago, mikecha said:

Thats even worse than here ,

Can you elaborate?

The air is breathable in the UK. That's a plus.

[Hummin]

4 minutes ago, Lorry said:

Can you elaborate?

The air is breathable in the UK. That's a plus.

Fortaleza great climate and cheaper than UK. Clean air year around

[KhunLA]

There's a lot more south of Bangkok, than just Hua Hin (gets smoggy also).   We go South all the time, and haven't been to Phuket since the tourist returned.   Headed south this week, as soon as there a break in the rain.

 

Probably spent a week to 10 days in Phang-nga province.  Not Khao Lak.  

 

Stay away from Ao Nang, Krabi, Khao Lak, Phang-nga & Phuket, and you'll avoid most of the tourist.  Don't really need to leave the mainland, as we don't.  Take a few weeks in each province, below HH to Malaysia, both sides, Gulf & Andaman.

 

We knock around down there quite a bit ...

[cowellandrew]

2 hours ago, Will B Good said:

Going back to the UK January-April.

 

I'll be spending my hard earned pennies there.....not in this god forsaken place.

I think every thing costs pounds so good luck with that!

😂🙈😳☻🐷😬😁😁

[GammaGlobulin]

41 minutes ago, Hummin said:

 

 

That certainly DOES look wonderful.

I do not go to beaches...because...

I do not enjoy the beach crowd.

 

But, this video looks quite nice.

No traffic to speak of, too.

 

I have no transportation.

I do NOT want to drive in Thailand.

Too much can go wrong.

 

So, this means...using Grab.

 

Also, I think if you are going to search Google for this spot, then use the name HUAI YANG.

 

Also, I would prefer a beach closer to my home in Chiang Mai.

 

ANYWAY:  A truly beautiful place to relax.  I will definitely bookmark this area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 15 by GammaGlobulin

[Skeety65]

I live in pattaya and I’ve been struggling with this issue for a few years now. Last smog season was just awful here and lasted on and off for nearly 5 months so I finally decided to sell up and move south. 
Relocating to Maenam on koh samui in October which is a quieter part of the island where the air quality is good most of the year. 
I did my research before making this decision though as I’ve been monitoring the air there for the last year and there’s a massive difference.

 

Most people including many friends don’t take this issue seriously which is a big mistake as prolonged exposure to this toxic crap will mess up your lungs and cause you major health issues later down the road. 

 

Retired to Thailand to live an healthy lifestyle by the coast and enjoy an outdoors but unfortunately for 4-5 months of the year I’m having to use 2 air purifiers, wear N95 face masks and stay home when the air is extremely bad. 
 

Not an easy decision but for the sake of my health it had to be made. 

 

 

[Furioso]

7 hours ago, Lorry said:

If you live in Thailand (Bangkok or anything north/northeast of Bangkok),  what, if any, are your plans for the next  smog season?

 

I have decided I don't want to put up with this anymore.

(I do have a/c, air purifiers and N95 masks))

Moving to the south during tourist season doesn't sound tempting. I dislike tourist places. Hua Hin or Phuket are not for me.

Then, the only option seems to be leaving Thailand roughly from January to April.

I don't know what to do.

 

I'm almost in lockstep with you as after the brutal heat/smog earlier this year I decided to never spend Mar-May here again. I'll be in S. America on Mar 1, 2025. 

[connda]

7 hours ago, Lorry said:

If you live in Thailand (Bangkok or anything north/northeast of Bangkok),  what, if any, are your plans for the next  smog season?

 

I have decided I don't want to put up with this anymore.

(I do have a/c, air purifiers and N95 masks))

Moving to the south during tourist season doesn't sound tempting. I dislike tourist places. Hua Hin or Phuket are not for me.

Then, the only option seems to be leaving Thailand roughly from January to April.

I don't know what to do.

 

There are a whole lot of rural land outside of big cities. 

[GammaGlobulin]

6 minutes ago, Furioso said:

I'm almost in lockstep with you as after the brutal heat/smog earlier this year I decided to never spend Mar-May here again. I'll be in S. America on Mar 1, 2025. 

 

Patagonia?

 

[Furioso]

6 minutes ago, GammaGlobulin said:

 

Patagonia?

 

Medellin and Rio I might not make it back!

[GammaGlobulin]

3 minutes ago, Furioso said:

Medellin and Rio I might not make it back!

 

Good Luck!

 

[Will B Good]

1 hour ago, mikecha said:

Thats even worse than here ,

The air is infinitely better in the UK, even in central London.....I live in the middle of the sugarcane fields here and it is horrendous AQ.

[Will B Good]

1 hour ago, cowellandrew said:

I think every thing costs pounds so good luck with that!

😂🙈😳☻🐷😬😁😁

Not too bad for me....I have my own property, do house sits and visit all the kids and grandkids......quite a little jolly for me....plus clean air.

[rumak]

2 hours ago, Hummin said:

One of my favorite beaches on the way down south before hitting the mountains over to Ranong, the border city to Burma. Rayong on the east coast is also not bad actually

 

https://www.maptrotting.com/thung-wua-laen-beach-thailand/

that beach is about 8 km north of Chumporn !    and not nearly as nice as the write up.

 

(IMHO)