Weather In Chaing Mai In May

[dazdaz]

What is the weather like in Chiang Mai in May ?

Is it too hot ? I'm kinda sensitive to high temp and UV-Index etc so have to be

careful.

Is it a good or a bad move ?

[Guest IT Manager]

Extremely bad. Don't come here any tme we have sunshine. Quite awful for you.

Try Koh Samui...

[dazdaz]

lol, if I went to Koh Samui then, i'd a couple of sombrero's and few pairs of flares just to stay alive.

God advice ;-)

[george]

Weather in Thailand, forecasts and historical data from all Thailands' provinces:

http://www.thaivisa.com/weather.0.html

[chanchao]

I think May is very good. Perhaps not early May, but the rainy season will start somewhere in May, which is very nice. (Because of the cooler temperatures compared to the hot season, and when it rains it's like a 1 hour downpoor in the later afternoon or evening. Also, rain means it won't be so dry and dead everywhere like it's now, but more greenery around. AND it's outside the high season. one of the best months to visit in my book.

Cheers,

Chanchao

[mrmnp]

I am very sensitive to heat and have lived in Chiang Mai for two years. The sun and I don't get along as well. This is the first community in which I have lived in my whole life where the locals, bundle up in the hotest weather, to avoid the sun.

Motorcycle drivers with jackets on in the hotest weather, house workmen with, what appears to be ski masks on, avoiding the sun.

A lot depends on what you do when you are here. If you plan to pay tennis daily, sun will be a big problem as well as the heat. On the other hand, if you plan to relax indoors, get spa and massage treatments, liesurely lunches and tours in air conditioned buses, May is great. We had a 100 degree farenheidt day yesterday, but the night got cool and at 7:00am it was in the high sixties. I had the airconditioner on for a couple of hours when the afternoon sun came in through the windows.

I was surprised that the rainy season was not truly "oppressive" as depicted in movies about the tropics. It really is cooler then and the rain refreshing, once you get over getting wet all the time.

I have recently determined by experience that the advice about drinking alot of water to prevent dehydration, while always thought to be good advice, is even more important in keeping cool. I find, as I sit inside in a room that begins to warm up in the afternoon, it is five degrees celsius cooler than outside, that I need the air conditioning less if I keep up with the water intake.

I am not comfortable in 30 degree celsius temperature, (with a fan of course) unless I have taken in the fluids. So I have discovered that there is an element of de-hydration I didn't comprehend, keeping the body cool. I always thought that hydration related to persperation and the ability of the body to cool itself by secreting water onto the skin, that through evaporation cooled you. Little did I realize that there is an element of cooling going on with the skin even without persperation.

High season, is called that because the weather here is delightful, ie. Palm Springs in the winter, and many tourists who live in countries burdend by snow, flock her for the weather. On the other hand, the off season is not a bad as Palm Springs during the summer, as it rarely gets over 100 degrees farenheidt. If you have the capacity or schedule to determine when in the year you can visit Chiang Mai, come between Novemeber and February, otherwise don't worry about the temperature, just "act accordingly".

[p1p]

Likewise, am fair and sensitive to sun. Am also constantly asked by friends from overseas why I have no dark tan.

Take precautions & you can be OK at any time of the year but be aware that even under the clouds the UV can be strong so ALWAYS use high SPF protection and do not take risks.

One of the reasons I live in CM and not near the sea is because I can keep a shirt on at all times without looking out of place. (Farangs who walk around shirtless are normally looked down upon.)

[Ajarn]

"Farangs who walk around shirtless are normally looked down upon"

One might be looking up to a few of them!

[Guest IT Manager]

Only becaue you are 60" tall Ajarn

[ThaiPauly]

I am moving to CM because its better climate wise than BK, it is unbearable today and probably will be tomorrow, no clean air and a stiffling 43 degrees!!!

the first time I ever came to CM I thought "yeah I could cope with this" until you have lived in BK for a long time you do not realise what a "breath of fresh air" C.M. is. CM here I come, I cant wait!!!

[chanchao]

Note that it's May now, and that we indeed had some serious rainstorms which resulted in cleaner air. VERY clear air in fact, you can see Doi Inthanon now again from the city!! During the worst of the haze, you couldn't even see Doi Suthep from as close by as the airport!!

I'll post the Doi Inthanon pic somewhere. (Nothing spectacular, just proof that you can in fact see it, along with the mountain ranges all around the valley. You really do notice we're in a (big) valley these days)

Cheers,

Chanchao

[chokrai]

You can really apreciate how beautiful CM is after it rains and the air is clear and you can see the mountains and all the various shades of green. I spent the last 30 years in Vancouver which has months of cold drizzle every year.i hated it! I like the rain here as it clears the air,cools things down,waters our orchard and fills up our well! I also know that it wont be long before the sun is shining again. Lovely!

[Ajarn]

You can really apreciate how beautiful CM is after it rains and the air is clear and you can see the mountains and all the various shades of green. I spent the last 30 years in Vancouver which has months of cold drizzle every year.i hated it! I like the rain here as it clears the air,cools things down,waters our orchard and fills up our well! I also know that it wont be long before the sun is shining again. Lovely!

Yesterday, early afternoon, I enjoyed the most beautiful day so far this year

Beautiful and huge thunderheads and cumulonimbus clouds contrasted against a truly blue sky- blue sky being something I haven't seen here since last year...

Anyway, looking forward to the rainy season. Always my favorite time of year, when everything is clean and green

[Johpa]

I think May is very good. Perhaps not early May, but the rainy season will start somewhere in May, which is very nice.

Oh yes, you will want to get out into the countryside and up in the hills towards the last week of May or first week of June when the first true rains begin and the termites spawn as lacewing bugs and fill the air with billions and billions of organic matter, flying up your nostrils and onto your food, and down your throat, and then you get to wake up and sweep a 1/2 inch deep carpet of dead bugs off your floor in the morning. Better yet, ride a motobike in the evening thru the critters and experience the next best thing to a snow blizzard with near zero visibility while swallowing an entire meal.

And let us not forget that the end of May is the first solar max of the year so be prepared to sizzle if there is no cloud cover.

Sorry folks, but May is not my favorite month and besides, it always signaled the end of the "summer vacation" for us teachers.

[chanchao]

> Better yet, ride a motobike in the evening thru the critters and experience

> the next best thing to a snow blizzard with near zero visibility while

> swallowing an entire meal.

Or better yet, while with a newbie visitor in the middle of a Maeng Mao onslaught, say in a panicky voice:

"Ohmy GOD.. hold on.. stay VERY still.. one bite is usually not lethal!"

Guaranteed success, especially with people who still get jittery from every jingjok they see.

Cheers,

Chanchao

[Ajarn]

> Better yet, ride a motobike in the evening thru the critters and experience

> the next best thing to a snow blizzard with near zero visibility while

> swallowing an entire meal.

Or better yet, while with a newbie visitor in the middle of a Maeng Mao onslaught, say in a panicky voice:

"Ohmy GOD.. hold on.. stay VERY still.. one bite is usually not lethal!"

Guaranteed success, especially with people who still get jittery from every jingjok they see.

Cheers,

Chanchao

I had to go to three gas stations last night before I found a place where I was willing to open my window..

[chanchao]

Turn off the inside cabin light before opening the door.. Then you should be okay? :-)

Wings, wings, wingss everyewhere wingssszzzzzzzzz!!!

Cheers,

Chanchao