Thailand Visa Exemption (60 days) and Visa On Arrival (VOA) (15 days)

[Tomtomtom69]

3 hours ago, transam said:

Spoil sport, Mrs.T calls the cold months winter, so there..........

 

Those aren't cold months. They're dry months with cooler, drier nights but during the day, it's still hot most of the time anywhere in the country that isn't in the mountains. 

[Tomtomtom69]

2 hours ago, dinsdale said:

I think you need to re-think this post. Two seasons in Thailand? Songkran starting early? April to October is the hottest? Well sure April is the hottest but after that it's the long hot and humid build up to when the real wet season starts full on in July/August. There are usually some storms in May but these reduce through June and July until the real rainy season starts. Last couple of years this has been late August/early September. I'm guessing you don't live here full time. As for getting cold up in the north it certainly does but this also goes for the NE. People in Thailand die from both the heat and cold exposure. 

 

 

There are summer thunderstorms, mainly in the north and north-east between February and April. They tend to be isolated at first, then become more widespread, especially after Songkran. The occasional thunderstorm may hit central Thailand including Bangkok too, but in my experience, they tend to be more widespread and stronger up north and north-east vs Bangkok during that time of year.

 

Then, around mid-May you start to experience almost daily thunderstorms, which last into early June. That's followed by light or moderate rain, generally without thunderstorms, until early July when there's a mini dry season lasting 1-2 weeks (speaking of Bangkok and anywhere east of the Dawna range). West of the Dawna range, along the border with Myanmar, it's far wetter and June, July tend to be VERY wet. 

 

Mid July until late September tends to be rather wet in Bangkok and much of upper Thailand.

 

2021 was VERY, VERY wet in Bangkok at least, beginning in mid July and lasting until mid September or so, but the wettest period was during the Tokyo Olympics until roughly, mid to late August. 

 

Depending on the year, the rain reduces significantly starting in the 2nd to 3rd week of October. This year, at first it seemed like the rainy season was over around September 27 or 28, but a few days later, the rains returned. While it's been mostly sunny most days since the second week of October, there has also been a bit of rain here and there and it continues to be humid, so feels like the season change isn't going to be upon us until maybe mid November this year. 

 

Unusually, February 2022 was very wet, with 10 consecutive days where there was some rain, at least in central Thailand. All the smaller canals filled back up and the humidity was as high as in September, so it can definitely rain at anytime of year in this part of the world, even during the so called "dry season". 

 

As for cold exposure - this is only an issue at higher elevations or sometimes, in the north or north-east among poor, elderly villagers who can't afford blankets or warm clothes and live in houses, which get cold during the night in those areas during December or January cold snaps because they aren't insulated. 

 

The south has a different climate, with a second, wet monsoon season beginning in December, particularly on the east coast. 

Edited 9 hours ago by Tomtomtom69

[kwilco]

2 hours ago, dinsdale said:

I think you need to re-think this post. Two seasons in Thailand? Songkran starting early? April to October is the hottest? Well sure April is the hottest but after that it's the long hot and humid build up to when the real wet season starts full on in July/August. There are usually some storms in May but these reduce through June and July until the real rainy season starts. Last couple of years this has been late August/early September. I'm guessing you don't live here full time. As for getting cold up in the north it certainly does but this also goes for the NE. People in Thailand die from both the heat and cold exposure. 

 

you don't live in the South, do you?

[Lorry]

21 minutes ago, ikke1959 said:

the weather can't be postponed by Thailand.. It is uncontrolable although Thailand wants to control everything. Climate change will be the cause that weather is changing and the the cold season is maybe taking longer than expected.. No Thai expert can change that

You farang, you not understand. 

Thai can do.

[mran66]

1 hour ago, theblether said:

 

No. The declaration of winter alerts NGO's and other social agencies to be prepared for warm clothing and bedding distribution. Localities prone to cold weather are visited by charities donating both. 

 

The coldest temperature I experienced was 4 degrees, that would have been January 2016. To be fair I was a guest of a Karien hill tribe family on a mountain top. Around the same time a cold snap hammered Chiang Mai, that was worse as the provision of warm clothing etc didn't stretch into the urban areas. I, and several others, bought blankets for locals. I can't remember if that was 2016 or 17, what did stand out was the number of farang pensioners who were suffering due to the extreme cold. 

 

Blankets and warm clothes are always welcome, warm shoes a very welcome bonus, especially for kids. There's nothing sadder than seeing youngsters shivering while wearing flip flops. So if any of you are looking to make a charity donation this winter, go into the second hand shoe shops first and buy up all the training shoes ( sneakers ) etc you can find. Brand new if you like. 

 

Why do I say second hand? A certain coterie of hill tribe people are not above receiving the warm clothing etc then selling it on. Cruel? Comical? or poverty needs/must? 

 

Whatever. But you'd be surprised at the social structures that kick into place during cold weather snaps. 

 

#justsayin'  

 

I understand public announcements and warnings of cold weather periods. But that has little if anything to do with 'official winter season', especially a canceled one. 

[theblether]

26 minutes ago, ikke1959 said:

the weather can't be postponed by Thailand.. It is uncontrolable although Thailand wants to control everything. Climate change will be the cause that weather is changing and the the cold season is maybe taking longer than expected.. No Thai expert can change that

 

Where does it say that Thailand is trying to control the weather? 

[theblether]

3 minutes ago, mran66 said:

 

I understand public announcements and warnings of cold weather periods. But that has little if anything to do with 'official winter season', especially a canceled one. 

 

Where did they say winter was cancelled? 

 

".........delayed announcing the start of winter due to unusual weather conditions throughout the country. The department expected winter to begin on October 29."

[G Rex]

In Kanchanaburi we have 3 seasons. 

Hot ,  Really Hot & Really Hot with rain.

[dinsdale]

4 minutes ago, Tomtomtom69 said:

 

There are summer thunderstorms, mainly in the north and north-east between February and April. They tend to be isolated at first, then become more widespread, especially after Songkran. The occasional thunderstorm may hit central Thailand including Bangkok too, but in my experience, they tend to be more widespread and stronger up north and north-east vs Bangkok during that time of year.

 

Then, around mid-May you start to experience almost daily thunderstorms, which last into early June. That's followed by light or moderate rain, generally without thunderstorms, until early July when there's a mini dry season lasting 1-2 weeks (speaking of Bangkok and anywhere east of the Dawna range). West of the Dawna range, along the border with Myanmar, it's far wetter and June, July tend to be VERY wet. 

 

Mid July until late September tends to be rather wet in Bangkok and much of upper Thailand.

 

2021 was VERY, VERY wet in Bangkok at least, beginning in mid July and lasting until mid September or so, but the wettest period was during the Tokyo Olympics until roughly, mid to late August. 

 

Depending on the year, the rain reduces significantly starting in the 2nd to 3rd week of October. This year, at first it seemed like the rainy season was over around September 27 or 28, but a few days later, the rains returned. While it's been mostly sunny most days since the second week of October, there has also been a bit of rain here and there and it continues to be humid, so feels like the season change isn't going to be upon us until maybe mid November this year. 

 

Unusually, February 2022 was very wet, with 10 consecutive days where there was some rain, at least in central Thailand. All the smaller canals filled back up and the humidity was as high as in September, so it can definitely rain at anytime of year in this part of the world, even during the so called "dry season". 

 

As for cold exposure - this is only an issue at higher elevations or sometimes, in the north or north-east among poor, elderly villagers who can't afford blankets or warm clothes and live in houses, which get cold during the night in those areas during December or January cold snaps because they aren't insulated. 

 

The south has a different climate, with a second, wet monsoon season beginning in December, particularly on the east coast. 

I mostly agree. Good summary. Where I am just SW of BKK the daily storms finished last week but didn't really start until late August early September. Same as last year. This makes me wonder if April next year will mirror April this year. Bloody hot. Really, really hope not. >37°C/100°F almost everyday was terrible.  BTW  do you think the wet season starts in May as the TMD says or July/August? When I say I mostly agree I reckon the May storms drop off late May early June when the horrible (IMO) hot and humid build up to the wet begins. Always so happy when the build up breaks and the real wet season (IMO) starts.

[dinsdale]

28 minutes ago, kwilco said:

you don't live in the South, do you?

No I don't but the majority of Thailand has 3 seasons.

[Puccini]

What difference does it make to the natives and to the foreigners whether or not we are in the government-declared winter season?

[Luuk Chaai]

10 hours ago, kwilco said:

THere is no "winter" in Thailand - there are  3 (sometimes 2) seasons - they are ta;king about the change from Southwest to Northeast monsoons.

 

They are called 

Hot Season (ฤดูร้อน - Ruedu Ron): Roughly from March to mid-June, this season is characterized by high temperatures and dry conditions.

Rainy Season (ฤดูฝน - Ruedu Fon): From mid-June to October, the rainy season is influenced by the southwest monsoon, bringing frequent rains, especially in the southern and central regions.

Cool Season (ฤดูหนาว - Ruedu Nao): Lasting from November to February, this season is the mildest, with cooler temperatures, particularly in the northern and mountainous region

 

 To call a season "winter you need 4 seasons - and Autumn/fall before it and spring after - this doesn't happen in the Tropics 

my friends ask how many seasons there are in Thailand ...

 Hot,  Hot and Rainy, and Really F****** Hot

[Henk Langeweg]

I thought the seasons are determined by the Earth/Sun position ...

[watchcat]

10 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Thailand’s Meteorological Department has delayed announcing the start of winter due to unusual weather conditions throughout the country. The department expected winter to begin on October 29.

 

Never mind, just an missunderstanding happens all the time.

[Woke to Sounds of Horking]

10 hours ago, kwilco said:

Burning season is Jan to March

Nope. Nov-June/July these days?

[waders123]

On Monday, it snowed for the first time this fall in Southcentral Alaska.  Do they declare it winter now, or should they wait for the official announcement out of Thailand?  Will it be in the Gazette?  I'm just asking for a friend. 🥴

[alex8912]

The only thing I get out of this is that British people LOVE talking about the weather no matter where they are. 😂It's cute. 

[alex8912]

2 minutes ago, waders123 said:

On Monday, it snowed for the first time this fall in Southcentral Alaska.  Do they declare it winter now, or should they wait for the official announcement out of Thailand?  Will it be in the Gazette?  I'm just asking for a friend. 🥴

Jeez New Hampshire already had snow. 

[Aussie999]

The headline indicates Thailand can do what no-one else can.... control the seasons.

[Aussie999]

10 hours ago, Kerryd said:

I've noticed there are really only two seasons in Thailand. 

Rainy season - which normally runs from mid-April(ish) to mid-October(ish) and is the hottest part of the year.
Dry season - from mid-October to mid-April and, generally, the coolest part of the year (especially in the Northern provinces).

It's not an exact science of course. This year we didn't get much rain at all at the start of the rainy season but have been getting blasted over the last couple of months.

And I recall last year (2023) commenting in early April that "Songkran" had started early because we were already getting lots of heavy rains well before the actual holiday.

But generally it's "hot and wet" from April to October and "dry and cool" from Oct to April.

I remember it used to be a hoot coming to Thailand (from Canada or another cold place) in Jan/Feb and walking around in shorts and a t-shirt at 2 am while the locals, especially the girls, were wearing sweaters and wool hats and gloves like there was a blizzard roaring through because the temperature was down to 20-22 Celsius (68-72 Farenheit).

My friends make a point of taking a trip "up north" each year so we can go camping "in the cold". I tell them I moved to Thailand to get away from that !
And we end up somewhere like Ban Ja Bo or Ban Rak Thai or even Pai and it really, really re-affirms my decision to move here.

This was the temperature at a resort in Pai in Early Dec 2019. (5.7 Celsius - 42 Farenheit)

Sorry, but officially there are 3 seasons... perhaps a quick google will help you.

[Aussie999]

7 hours ago, theblether said:

 

Where does it say that Thailand is trying to control the weather? 

Read the headline... 555

[theblether]

6 minutes ago, Aussie999 said:

Read the headline... 555

 

Read the article 55555

 

55555

 

55

[kwilco]

1 hour ago, Woke to Sounds of Horking said:

Nope. Nov-June/July these days?

Where? the burning season in th North is Jand to march - you can't burn in the wet

[kwilco]

1 hour ago, Luuk Chaai said:

my friends ask how many seasons there are in Thailand ...

 Hot,  Hot and Rainy, and Really F****** Hot

see my post above - do you speak Thai?

[hotchilli]

12 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Thailand’s Meteorological Department has delayed announcing the start of winter due to unusual weather conditions throughout the country. The department expected winter to begin on October 29

You can declare the start of winter season... irrelevant of the temperatures.

[hotchilli]

11 hours ago, kwilco said:

THere is no "winter" in Thailand - there are  3 (sometimes 2) seasons - they are ta;king about the change from Southwest to Northeast monsoons.

 

They are called 

Hot Season (ฤดูร้อน - Ruedu Ron): Roughly from March to mid-June, this season is characterized by high temperatures and dry conditions.

Rainy Season (ฤดูฝน - Ruedu Fon): From mid-June to October, the rainy season is influenced by the southwest monsoon, bringing frequent rains, especially in the southern and central regions.

Cool Season (ฤดูหนาว - Ruedu Nao): Lasting from November to February, this season is the mildest, with cooler temperatures, particularly in the northern and mountainous region

 

 To call a season "winter you need 4 seasons - and Autumn/fall before it and spring after - this doesn't happen in the Tropics 

Thanks Pof

[cowellandrew]

That's it I will instruct Mrs C

To go to winter entire!

[KannikaP]

12 hours ago, kwilco said:

THere was a Typhoon from the NorthEast

Isn't that what Offshore said?

[BoganInParasite]

An application on my laptop provides online weather updates for my location. It has been noticeable this year that notations of temperature near record or new record (like this morning) were quite frequent. And these have only been for higher temps, not near or new low temp records.