The Heat And Sun?

[Aujuba]

I've been staying upcountry for a couple weeks now away from my air con and boy I can tell you that the heat and sun can really get to me at times. If I ride the motorcycle to the town to buy something I add a new shade of red to my skin! I also feel like I want to sit in front of the fan most of the midday. In addition, I've found myself napping waking up weak from the heat. I know its not always like this but the past few days have been really hot without rain. How do you fell about the heat here. Does it get to you? What do you do to deal with it?

[rychrde]

Where are you? Here in the east rains pretty much every day, but still very hot.

Take a few showers and do very little! :-)

rych

[spot]

It does get to me sometimes. I try to not sit in aircon all day, but some days I have to turn it on.

Plays havoc with my thinning frizzy hair too..

[soundman]

Wait until March / April.

Humid weather takes some getting used to. Usually one full season is enough to aclimatise.

Soundman.

[CarlBkk]

If I begin to get frustrated with sweating in the heat, before a grumble I grab myself by the collar and quickly realise how ###### lucky I am to wake up to warmth, be able to wear a T-shirt all year long, live with fans and not heating, enjoy bright blue skies and go swimming outside.

I soon have a smile on my face while I sweat my testes off. Then I head into somewhere with a/c and everything is perfect again.

[dominique355]

I am living in Bangkok and the last few days have been rather pleasant here. OK, no rain, but no direct sunshine, only clouds, so it's not so hot. I did not turn on the A/C for days and even in the night, the ceiling fan is enough for our comfort.

My inhouse weather station says: 30° C and 68% humidity.

[kankaroo]

If I begin to get frustrated with sweating in the heat, before a grumble I grab myself by the collar and quickly realise how ###### lucky I am to wake up to warmth, be able to wear a T-shirt all year long, live with fans and not heating, enjoy bright blue skies and go swimming outside.

I soon have a smile on my face while I sweat my testes off. Then I head into somewhere with a/c and everything is perfect again.

LUCKY BASTARD !

[ColPyat]

How do you fell about the heat here. Does it get to you? What do you do to deal with it?

I have no aircon, and don't want one.

It's a lot easier to adapt this way.

[PeaceBlondie]

I think most people take a year to acclimate their bodies to much more heat or cold. Some of us just seem to tolerate one or the other. I never could tolerate cold, so I kept moving closer to the equator. Some folks are happy as can be in the Shetlands or northern Manitoba.

[uptou]

naw,i remember waking up in the uk at 6.30am,lifting a curtain,wiping the fogged window,& looking at the frost on the grass.putting off getting out of bed,because of the damp chill in the air.scraping the ice of the car windscreen.getting to work & dealing with miserable sun starved people.

[lazeeboy]

naw,i remember waking up in the uk at 6.30am,lifting a curtain,wiping the fogged window,& looking at the frost on the grass.putting off getting out of bed,because of the damp chill in the air.scraping the ice of the car windscreen.getting to work & dealing with miserable sun starved people.

if your from a cold country like the uk you should never moan about the heat and sun ,take a cold shower relax or dive in your swimming pool if you have one .

[uptou]

i'd rather have sweaty balls than frozen.

[a2396]

I lived most of my life in frigid climates, so SE Asia is welcome change. Wear the proper clothes. No heavy clingy cottons & synthetics. Breathable Supplex nylon the best. No exposed skin for long during the heat of the day. Wear a hat. No aircon? Why not? Use it to keep cool at times & in bedroom for sleeping. For me, one of the best things about living here is the climate, no snow or cold temps, lots of sunshine - perfect.

[Gary A]

I lived in Ohio for about 2/3 rds of my life. Hot and humid in the summer and VERY cold in the winter. I never got used to the cold and now my body is not happy at all when it is cold. Aches and pains don't totally disappear here but it is MUCH better. I have air con in my bedroom but seldom turn it on. The heat is easier to get used to than the cold. My computer room has no air con and I really don't want or need it.

[Tattoo180sx]

i live in australia, summer here is brutal at times. it gets to me here, especially when you walk outside into nature's oven and melt in the car.

in thailand it never really gets to me, dunno why? it even got to my ex gf, who was born in thailand, lived there for 15 years and aust for only 4.

[uptou]

i found being out in the sun in oz & especially nz felt worse.a sort of prickly feeling on your skin.

[Sanpatong]

1. Stay out of the sun

2. Plan any physical activity in the morning or late afternoon.

3. Pick a place to stay/live that keeps cool, see * below.

4. Wear loose cotton clothes, take lots of showers.

5. Don't drink alcohol during the hottest time of the day.

6. Careful what you eat: Generally not being over-weight is good, but also if you ARE over-weight then you do get immediate benefit from not eating so much food; everything you put in your mouth is like putting a log on the fireplace and it will generate heat for your body. Avoid foods that raise your temperature even further; already mentioned alcohol but also caffeine and chilli peppers (and, say, durian) are best avoiding during hot times. Eat foods that cool you down and drink a lot of water.

7. After having picked that cool place to stay/live, add CEILING fans. Not those plastic Hatari standing fans. Also there's always ways to improve cooling; Our living room is attached to a TV room that's a single level extension to the house so with the roof directly above it, AND on the side where the afternoon sun is. The main living room has a whole level above it, so by adding a closeable partition (wooden windowed panels, looks rather nice) it keeps the living room cooler because heated air from the TV room doesn't enter the main living space anymore. That's a far better solution then just run the airconditioners. Then by the time the sun sets I open all doors and windows on the TV room and it airs out quickly. When daily rain/wind arrives, check which windows you can keep open to let the air trhough to cool everything down without getting water in. Also consider awnings to keep water out but allow air to flow through.

* There's a LOT to say about picking/establishing living spaces that keep as cool as possible without having to resort to active cooling like airconditioning. It involves positioning to catch the breeze, architecture to keep the sun off your walls & windows and general area around the house, and passive ventilation systems to get the heat out from your roof. Adding 'mass' to the foundation of your house also helps, and a tile floor keeps you cool providing you sit on it or near it. So forget beds & sofas, especially fluffy ones.

Again, there's a lot more to say about it. Let me check the room thermometer: 27 degrees.. (Ok it's 9:30pm, but still, with a ceiling fan that makes you perceive the temperature as a couple degrees cooler still, that's really quite comfortable. )

And waking up in an 'open' room with ceiling fan is so much nicer than waking up in a completely closed refrigerated area..

Edited August 13, 2007 by Sanpatong

[Tinkelbell]

Oh boy, I have to say that I admire some of you guys who can put up with the summer heat and high humidity in LOS.

I love outdoors living. But whenever I'm in BKK (usually Dec.- Feb.) I have to be in air conditioned place, or soak myself in the pool, since nothing much turn-me on anyway.

The post from the Aussie, who said he gets along quite well with TL. heat, I'm quite surprise. Consider I,myself had been living more than half of my life here in BKK.

May be it's same feeling that happened to me when I was in Egypt, touring Luxor, Abu Simbel, Alexandia, Siwa Oasis e.t. for over a month. Everyday the teperature hitted over 100 F, wearing long sleep light color top and long skirt of cotton, I felt fine.

Unlike weather in TL, the heat and the culprit - humidity are the biggest drawback of my moving back to living permanently.

[englishoak]

Never had a problem with the heat in LOS.

Never use Aircon as I find it just makes it worse when you go out.

Just take regular showers and thank my stars I'm never cold

Been back in the UK for a couple of years now, and hate the winter/cold with a passion.

[Pepe']

From , Did You ever feel like you were living in a sauna? thread

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post 2007-08-05 08:02:50

Post #43

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Group: Members

Posts: 152

Joined: 2006-04-22

From: Rayong

Member No.: 29,121

In tropical climes there are certain times of day

When all the citizens retire to tear their clothes off and perspire.

It's one of the rules that the greatest fools obey,

Because the sun is much too sultry

And one must avoid its ultry-violet ray.

The natives grieve when the white men leave their huts,

Because they're obviously, definitely nuts!

Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun,

The Japanese don´t care to, the Chinese wouldn´t dare to,

Hindus and Argentines sleep firmly from twelve to one

But Englishmen detest-a siesta.

In the Philippines they have lovely screens to protect you from the glare.

In the Malay States, there are hats like plates which the Britishers won't wear.

At twelve noon the natives swoon and no further work is done,

But mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun.

It's such a surprise for the Eastern eyes to see,

that though the English are effete, they're quite impervious to heat,

When the white man rides every native hides in glee,

Because the simple creatures hope he will impale his solar topee on a tree.

It seems such a shame when the English claim the earth,

They give rise to such hilarity and mirth.

Ha ha ha ha hoo hoo hoo hoo hee hee hee hee ......

Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun.

The toughest Burmese bandit can never understand it.

In Rangoon the heat of noon is just what the natives shun,

They put their Scotch or Rye down, and lie down.

In a jungle town where the sun beats down to the rage of man and beast

The English garb of the English sahib merely gets a bit more creased.

In Bangkok at twelve o'clock they foam at the mouth and run,

But mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun.

Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun.

The smallest Malay rabbit deplores this foolish habit.

In Hong Kong they strike a gong and fire off a noonday gun,

To reprimand each inmate who's in late.

In the mangrove swamps where the python romps

there is peace from twelve till two.

Even caribous lie around and snooze, for there's nothing else to do.

In Bengal to move at all is seldom ever done,

But mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun.

[Aujuba]

Great info from everyone. I like sanpatong's house ideas. The poem is great too. I'm up in Surin and the last few days have been pretty warm. Surprisingly the nights cooled off pretty quickly. We had decent rain a week or so ago for a few days so it was cooler but now its back to the hot and drys.

[Suszzy]

too hot in los.

the heat is just too much even nightime

but i don't mind especially when you're on holiday.

[gampaan]

From someone who works out in the heat and cold in Virginia, from 100F to 0F, it takes me about a month to get used to the constant heat, then I'm OK. I'll take hot over cold anytime. I will note that our daughter, 2yrs. old, doesn't seem to care at all. She would just as soon play in the sun as the shade, even with her dad begging her to come over here under the canopy....

dave

[Scott]

Not sure how I ended up in Thailand. I enjoy the cooler climates. I live in AC here and find the heat insufferable. I can't get anything done when I am hot. It would probably be OK if I didn't have work to do!

[Sanpatong]

I will note that our daughter, 2yrs. old, doesn't seem to care at all. She would just as soon play in the sun as the shade, even with her dad begging her to come over here under the canopy..

Mine too, though she DOES get hot and a bit sweaty. She doesn't SEEM to mind though, I guess she's okay as long as she drinks a lot of water.

[pgs]

The heat isn't so much the problem for me - it's the humidity. We don't have AC - and won't for as long as I can hold out. I'm essentially an 'inside' person, venturing out if I really need to (beer has run out, important things like that). We have the standard small thatch covered room outside that I can hide under if need be - with a good sized wooden table/seat/bed thingy (about 2m Sq) which allows a draft under it. Floors are all tile, so a quick kip there is OK for the cool.

[Sanpatong]

I think the humidity situation is considerably better in the North or North East of the country. Though sea breezes are nice too, if somewhat sticky.

[undercover]

The first 8 years I was in the country I was not in a position to be able to have the benefit of aircon and had to sweat it out. I have never got used to this sweaty heat, even these days when I have the pleasure of aircon in my house going outside is just as bad as it ever was, I think diferent people have different heat tolerances, a friend of mine never feels hot here and never feels cold in a uk winter ?

Edited August 14, 2007 by undercover