Air-Con Madness In Bangkok

[brahmburgers]

Air-Con is ridiculously overdone in Thailand. R-I-D-I-C-U-L-O-U-S with a capital RID! I was just in Bkk for a harrowing 2.5 days and I felt grievously uncomfortable every time I went in to a building or a vehicle. Nearly FROOOOOOOZE my skinny farang butt off! It was a relief, every time I exited somewhere and went in to the smoggy, yet warm ambient air outside.

I don't go to Bkk unless I absolutely have to have to, but if I do, I'm bringing long sleeved insulated jackets.

[PMK]

Yeah, it is weird, and not just Bangkok. It seems like these huge superstores and malls don't have thermostats -it's either too hot or too cold, although I notice in Pattaya some of them turn off the aircon completely if it is really, really cool outside.

[paulvingt]

Hi,

As a Thai, I prefer the A/C to be super cold everywhere I go. As I also teach, one of my French students asked me to turn the AC off in my classroom! I was completely shocked because I normally turn on all three ACs in my classroom on HIGH and set the temperature to 20 or 15 degree celsius. I guess we're just used to being in very cold places because we won't swet and it's more comfortable.

Thais also tend to not like to eat outdoors or sit outdoors in the hot sun, unlike our Western friends.

Once I had to attend a workshop run by a German woman. We were in a big hall (at Goethe) and she insisted on turning off all the ACs because she was allergic to it or something. It was soooo hot and I could no longer tolerate continuing so left after the first day.

I guess it's difficult to please everyone...

[Musongman]

A jacket and a beanie or a blanket are a must if you go to a cinema in Pattaya. They run the aircon at about 4c, I keep a liberated airline blanket and a lightweight jacket in the car permanently.

[gotlost]

Same thing when you ride NCA 1st class or VIP buses. You have to dress like your in the Antarctica.

[brahmburgers]

A taxi ride was frigid, but the most extreme case was my last hour in Bkk.

I went from the subway station to the Rapid train connection to get to Swampy airport.

I asked directions from a security guard, he motioned me up the steps. It was raining heavily. I asked a pedestrian, he motioned down the road (typical Thai, only give directions for the next step, not good at giving directions with distances for getting from A to . Now I was in the pouring rain with luggage. I asked a vendor at a busy corner, he told me across the street. I asked a man across the street, he pointed to a building 100 meters away.

Anyhow, got to the station sopping wet (could BKK authorities make a covered walkway for the 100 meters from one station to the next?). Inside was as big as two football pitches, the ceiling was 50 meters, all was glass and metal, and SURPRISE! the place was as frigid as a brass monkey on the North Pole. Tens of thousands of cubic meters cooled to near freezing on a cool rainy day - and there were only two other customers in the whole place!

Message to the Thai who responded: I hear that Thais (and fat farang) like mega air-con, but think about the ramifications of using so much electricity. It's not a matter of whether you can afford it or not, it's a matter of the bigger picture. ....of caring a poop for the environment. AC sucks about 40 to 50% of Bkk's power use. Think about where the electric comes from. Today, it's from coal burning and fossil fuel furnaces, tomorrow it's from submerged valleys in Laos, and radiation causing nuclear.

If that doesn't affect your thinking, ponder about the cost of electric. The more wasteful we are, the more we use, the higher the price, and the more valleys get flooded, and the more nuke power plants get built, and the price of electricity goes up for everyone.

Edited October 3, 2010 by brahmburgers

[mojo80]

A taxi ride was frigid, but the most extreme case was my last hour in Bkk.

I went from the subway station to the Rapid train connection to get to Swampy airport.

I asked directions from a security guard, he motioned me up the steps. It was raining heavily. I asked a pedestrian, he motioned down the road (typical Thai, only give directions for the next step, not good at giving directions with distances for getting from A to . Now I was in the pouring rain with luggage. I asked a vendor at a busy corner, he told me across the street. I asked a man across the street, he pointed to a building 100 meters away.

Anyhow, got to the station sopping wet (could BKK authorities make a covered walkway for the 100 meters from one station to the next?). Inside was as big as two football pitches, the ceiling was 50 meters, all was glass and metal, and SURPRISE! the place was as frigid as a brass monkey on the North Pole. Tens of thousands of cubic meters cooled to near freezing on a cool rainy day - and there were only two other customers in the whole place!

Message to the Thai who responded: I hear that Thais (and fat farang) like mega air-con, but think about the ramifications of using so much electricity. It's not a matter of whether you can afford it or not, it's a matter of the bigger picture. ....of caring a poop for the environment. AC sucks about 40 to 50% of Bkk's power use. Think about where the electric comes from. Today, it's from coal burning and fossil fuel furnaces, tomorrow it's from submerged valleys in Laos, and radiation causing nuclear.

If that doesn't affect your thinking, ponder about the cost of electric. The more wasteful we are, the more we use, the higher the price, and the more valleys get flooded, and the more nuke power plants get built, and the price of electricity goes up for everyone.

Fair enough that you dont like using aircons as you gvet to cold, personaly i love my aircon on, and will have my whole home ac'd 24/7...... Global warming is a lie!

[brahmburgers]

Fair enough that you dont like using aircons as you gvet to cold, personaly i love my aircon on, and will have my whole home ac'd 24/7...... Global warming is a lie!

Global warming / glofal schwarming - that's not the issue. The issue is showing a bit of concern for the environment.

Actually, the issue of the OP also posits concern for others. Thais who run taxis or buses, or movie theaters or restaurants should be at least a tiny bit cognizent of what annoys customers. Loud music is the chief way to assault the senses of customers, but overly frigid Air-con is another (tactile senses). It's particularly prescient when the person being annoyed IS THE ONLY CUSTOMER.

There's never, in the history of Thailand, ever been a Thai movie house boss, Thai restaurant manager, or Thai bus driver who has ever asked a customer whether the music is too loud and/or whether the room is too cold. Never.

If I managed a restaurant or any of those other public venues, you can bet your bippy that I would actively tune in to what customers liked and didn't like. Thais just aren't that way. They just assume there's one way (loud music and frigic temperatures) and that's what everyone has to put up with. There's never any objective discussion about it.