Planning for the next smog season

[Hummin]

4 minutes ago, rumak said:

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

 

(IMHO)

It is worth a stop. It is all about timing, and the people you meet along the road.

[rumak]

34 minutes ago, Will B Good said:

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.

uhhh,  why do you choose to live in that "god forsaken place"  ?   

 

( cm , as some long timers know....... usually has at least 8 months of good AQI ,  been in the green almost every day for a while,  gets enough rain,  nice cooler and less humid months Nov thru Jan , ............. but,  i too get psssst off every feb when aqi shoots up .     Nothin's perfect .   ( beaches for all time have drawbacks )

[rumak]

2 minutes ago, Hummin said:

It is worth a stop. It is all about timing, and the people you meet along the road.

i did stop there once.    not long ago .     I don't travel to meet people along the road.

Thais like me more than Farangs do   555    

 

[LALes]

I've pondered this dilemna for over 10 years.  Smog season used to be just January and February.

Now, it starts right after XMAS and goes to Songkran.  That's over 3 months of crappy air to deal 

with.  I tried getting out to Vietnam, but Danang and Saigon have their awful air days, too.

You have to go south, young man, to get out of the zone.  At least as far south as Phuket.  I have a

place in mind for next season that is way south and hopefully out of the zone.  Don't ask where.

[motdaeng]

13 hours ago, rumak said:

uhhh,  why do you choose to live in that "god forsaken place"  ?   

 

( cm , as some long timers know....... usually has at least 8 months of good AQI ,  been in the green almost every day for a while,  gets enough rain,  nice cooler and less humid months Nov thru Jan , ............. but,  i too get psssst off every feb when aqi shoots up .     Nothin's perfect .   ( beaches for all time have drawbacks )

 

unfortunately, this is incorrect. good air is a pm 2.5 less than 12 µg/m3 (green color).

chiang mai and the whole north experience around 4 months of "good air", while the rest

of the year ranges from moderate to hazardous.

 

the pm 2.5  of 35 µg/m3 (orange color) for  a 24 hour period is considered as unhealthy ...

 

 

 

 

[rumak]

54 minutes ago, motdaeng said:

 

unfortunately, this is incorrect. good air is a pm 2.5 less than 12 µg/m3 (green color).

chiang mai and the whole north experience around 4 months of "good air", while the rest

of the year ranges from moderate to hazardous.

 

the pm 2.5  of 35 µg/m3 (orange color) for  a 24 hour period is considered as unhealthy ...

 

 

 

 

i live in the real world ..............

 

hellllloooooo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[UbonEagle]

That’s why I’d never sell my place back in Australia, even in retirement I clearly never plan to be here March-May due to the heat/haze.

fortunately here in Ubon we don’t suffer too much from the early season haze in Jan-Feb, in fact that is possibly the best months of the year here for cool clear weather.

but come March 1…get the hell out 😊

[rumak]

59 minutes ago, UbonEagle said:

That’s why I’d never sell my place back in Australia, even in retirement I clearly never plan to be here March-May due to the heat/haze.

fortunately here in Ubon we don’t suffer too much from the early season haze in Jan-Feb, in fact that is possibly the best months of the year here for cool clear weather.

but come March 1…get the hell out 😊

 

Yep.....  pretty good in  CM  , actually very good many days..... until the usual time, just about beginning of March.    

If i moved elsewhere.......  i would be giving up other priorities that are met in present location:   quiet,  good neighbors, peaceful,  green,  lower humidity than close to beach,  cooler mornings and evenings,  many food items pesticide safe , organic,  fresh from farm eggs 5 minutes away,  small public pool well maintained and cheap ! ,  local Northern people still my favorites,  country living but 15 minutes to city center , good service options ( car,  cycle,  builder that i can trust ) ..... 

and......... get to take a nice break, get away to a beach area when the pollution really hits........ "and that's all i got to say about that"

 

[motdaeng]

25 minutes ago, rumak said:

 

Yep.....  pretty good in  CM  , actually very good many days..... until the usual time, just about beginning of March.    

If i moved elsewhere.......  i would be giving up other priorities that are met in present location:   quiet,  good neighbors, peaceful,  green,  lower humidity than close to beach,  cooler mornings and evenings,  many food items pesticide safe , organic,  fresh from farm eggs 5 minutes away,  small public pool well maintained and cheap ! ,  local Northern people still my favorites,  country living but 15 minutes to city center , good service options ( car,  cycle,  builder that i can trust ) ..... 

and......... get to take a nice break, get away to a beach area when the pollution really hits........ "and that's all i got to say about that"

 

 

i fully understand your point and do as well agree with you on this.

 

however, i don't agree if people do deny or play down the real extent (and resulting health issues) of the air pollution ...

[Lorry]

1 hour ago, rumak said:

i live in the real world ..............

 

hellllloooooo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some data from the real world:

 

Neighbour in my home country (in a big city)

[Lorry]

Prachuap:

[Lorry]

Bangkok:

[rumak]

1 minute ago, motdaeng said:

 

i fully understand your point and do as well agree with you on this.

 

however, i don't agree if people do deny or play down the real extent (and resulting health issues) of the air pollution ...

 

i really came close to moving.    but i am probably more health conscious than many.

Unless one has millions of dollars ....... we must make "trade offs" .

 

eat good food !   don't take all those pills from med establisment .   there are many ways to stay healthy.     breathing clean air is one consideration,   for sure

[Lorry]

I don't care so much about statistical health risks.

Before,  I have never looked at the statistics above (rumak's "real world" motivated me ).

I might ignore them. 

But smog season in Bangkok is just too "in your face" for me to ignore it.

 

I see the smog from my window when I wake up.

I smell it when I go out.

I taste it when I open my mouth.

I feel the sticky film on my skin (no, this is not sweat) and my eyes are burning. 

 

I know many people don't care,  but I have had enough. 

[rumak]

3 hours ago, Lorry said:

I don't care so much about statistical health risks.

Before,  I have never looked at the statistics above (rumak's "real world" motivated me ).

I might ignore them. 

But smog season in Bangkok is just too "in your face" for me to ignore it.

 

I see the smog from my window when I wake up.

I smell it when I go out.

I taste it when I open my mouth.

I feel the sticky film on my skin (no, this is not sweat) and my eyes are burning. 

 

I know many people don't care,  but I have had enough. 

in your situation......... i would move !

 

put on the old song by the Animals.    pack your stuff.    just do it .

 

[rumak]

3 hours ago, Lorry said:

I don't care so much about statistical health risks.

Before,  I have never looked at the statistics above (rumak's "real world" motivated me ).

I might ignore them. 

But smog season in Bangkok is just too "in your face" for me to ignore it.

 

I see the smog from my window when I wake up.

I smell it when I go out.

I taste it when I open my mouth.

I feel the sticky film on my skin (no, this is not sweat) and my eyes are burning. 

 

I know many people don't care,  but I have had enough. 

 

before you take roots somewhere else...... TRY it for a while.   I am in my 8th location.

"country living"  can offer many surprises .     city living..well, its city living .

and neighbors and dogs and chickens and other noises and and and ...

Try enough ways and places and your priorities should rise to the top.

(btw.... aqi sucks many places .  and at different times .   burning.   spraying ...traffic.. noise pollution .... )      

anyway.... good luck

[simon43]

Same problem for me with the smog in Laos from the tree burning.  I decided that for the sake of my lungs I would move back to south Thailand (I used to live in Phuket 12 years ago).  Phuket is too touristy/expensive for me now, so I'm renting a small house a few hundred metres from Khanom beach.  The air quality is excellent, but actually the location is too dead! So in a week or two I'm going to move over to Koh Lanta which should be slightly more populated 🙂

[KhunLA]

23 hours ago, Lorry said:

I don't care so much about statistical health risks.

Before,  I have never looked at the statistics above (rumak's "real world" motivated me ).

I might ignore them. 

But smog season in Bangkok is just too "in your face" for me to ignore it.

 

I see the smog from my window when I wake up.

I smell it when I go out.

I taste it when I open my mouth.

I feel the sticky film on my skin (no, this is not sweat) and my eyes are burning. 

 

I know many people don't care,  but I have had enough. 

IMHO ... you'll need to got as far south as Chumphon.

 

Hua Hin gets more smog, AQI 100-150 / PM2.5 / 5-10x unhealthy, and for longer periods.   We're 1+hrs below, and we get AQI 100+/- for a few months and very noticeable.  Bang Saphans, about the same.

 

So Chumphon or below to keep AQI <100 & PM2.5 tolerable.

[rumak]

Don't come to Chiangmai !   It's terrible here almost every day !! 

Monday, Jul 15	Good 30AQI US		31°23°	3.6 km/h
Tuesday, Jul 16	Good 26AQI US		33°23°	3.6 km/h
Wednesday, Jul 17	Good 28AQI US		30°23°	0 km/h
Today	Good 41AQI US

[Lorry]

6 minutes ago, rumak said:

Don't come to Chiangmai !   It's terrible here almost every day !! 

Monday, Jul 15	Good 30AQI US		31°23°	3.6 km/h
Tuesday, Jul 16	Good 26AQI US		33°23°	3.6 km/h
Wednesday, Jul 17	Good 28AQI US		30°23°	0 km/h
Today	Good 41AQI US

A bit cold,  isn't it?  

I am watching the sea right now,  34-35°, AQI 17

 

[Lorry]

9 minutes ago, rumak said:

Don't come to Chiangmai !   It's terrible here almost every day !! 

Monday, Jul 15	Good 30AQI US		31°23°	3.6 km/h
Tuesday, Jul 16	Good 26AQI US		33°23°	3.6 km/h
Wednesday, Jul 17	Good 28AQI US		30°23°	0 km/h
Today	Good 41AQI US

PS but thx for your advice,  really appreciate it

[rumak]

24 minutes ago, Lorry said:

A bit cold,  isn't it?  

I am watching the sea right now,  34-35°, AQI 17

 

you sure you are watching the sea ?   how about leaving the internet at home and really getting a taste of life before living on the internet.    maybe you are too young to remember ?

ps:  us "oldies"  get a little slack for wasting time on these forums .

Can't be out living in the real world as often as in our youth.  Even now, when i go out i  see this new species of humanoids .... some weird looking screen stuck onto their faces .  Small hands except for 2 big thumbs .   hmmmm evolution i guess

Edited July 18 by rumak

[rumak]

and...... join us again tomorrow for another episode of  "My aqi is smaller than yours "

Edited July 18 by rumak

[Lorry]

20 minutes ago, rumak said:

you sure you are watching the sea ?   how about leaving the internet at home and really getting a taste of life before living on the internet.

Right eye (short sighted) is on the internet

Left eye (far sighted) is on the sea

It's called anisometropia

[marin]

On 7/15/2024 at 1:27 PM, 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.

If your trip back is like mine you wont be spending pennies you will be spending pounds and lots of them. I was blown away how much California has changed since covid. Hotel and car rental prices doubled at least. $50 for a breakfast for two. Lunch much more, and for a dinner oh boy. Homelessness everywhere, and now litter which I had never seen. At least it was not cold as the UK will be at that time. 

[Will B Good]

23 hours ago, marin said:

If your trip back is like mine you wont be spending pennies you will be spending pounds and lots of them. I was blown away how much California has changed since covid. Hotel and car rental prices doubled at least. $50 for a breakfast for two. Lunch much more, and for a dinner oh boy. Homelessness everywhere, and now litter which I had never seen. At least it was not cold as the UK will be at that time. 

I live with my kids and mix that up with housesits....but yes...you do get through the money at a scary pace.