Will I ever adjust to the weather?

[sloperating]

I doubt it.

I'm from Florida so Thailand is a lot like home to me = I like the weather.

I worked up near Chicago for 10 years and NEVER got used to the cold.

Anything less than 78F & my teeth start chattering.

I understand that there are several factors that effect climate but most of Florida is much further north of the equator than Thailand. (Southern Florida 25*N, cf. Thailand's south 5*N.)

I suspect that acclimatization is as much about a mental acceptance as it is about a change in physical comfort levels.

[thrilled]

I have trouble with Thailand and Florida heat.With the cold you can put on more clothes to get you warm.If your in hot weather

You can take off all your clothes your still going to be hot.I'm thinking about living in Alaska about 3 months out of the year.

[montrii]

More years ago than I want to say, I came here as a 21-year-old U.S. Peace Corps volunteer. I was young and in great physical shape, but almost the hardest thing to get used to was the heat. After a few months I did get used to it, but never embraced it. It is a pretty ridiculously hot/humid country a lot of the time. I'm still used to it, but it still annoys me - I just hold my tongue, don't complain. However, the Thais themselves don't like it. I just took my wife on her first visit to the States, and she LOVED the weather. Of course, it was summer . . . but she's been talking about going back ever since! Plus complaining about the heat here. I have a lot of Thai friends, and believe me, the heat is not a favorite of theirs, either. They are pretty apprehensive about global warming!

[slipperylobster]

In order to aclimatize, you simply must expose yourself to the elements outdoors, for at least a month. Using aircon is not aclimatizing. In the few months where I am forced to use aircon, I find it becomes harder to stand the heat outside...and I have a hard time even doing our long walks. I was good up until March...then I gave up (first year in 20) and moved all my things up to the bedroom that had aircon. The rest of the house seemed like an oven. Now it's september...and I can get around the lake a few times at 5 to 6 am. Trying to wean myself off the aircon again....and I suppose, in 30 days, I will be handling the midday heat once again. Temperatures should be going down in a few more months anyways. Take advantage and work outside more often, and build up your tolerance as the weather once again becomes hotter.

Aircon gyms, aircon bedrooms, malls, etc... will ruin your ability to withstand heat outdoors. Eighteen years an no aircon in the PI. Same temperatures and humidity as here. First year here I could walk half a day, and carry a backpack. It was only after I spoiled myself with the aircon, that I started having problems.

Age has something to do with it..I suppose..the above sixty crowd (in general)...has a tougher time cooling their butts.

[stereolab]

Too funny to read the Brits posting about how "cold" England is.

Spend a winter in Winnipeg or Moose Jaw, then talk about cold.

Scotland actually, it's a bit colder there than England.

[smokie36]

I could use a fan in the bathroom when I get out of the shower...the gf just doesn't understand this but I sweat like hell every time.

No idea how I could get better ventilation in that part of the condo though....I will have to investigate.

Other than that its no problem at all.

[jaywalker]

I've been trying to adjust for quite some time but I think it'll take years. I also think that (evolutionary) biology has something to do with it as well. My heritage is from cold climates (Northern Canada) and I can handle the cold (or used to be able to) fairly easily but adjusting to the heat (for me) has proven difficult. But it's a hardship I'm willing to endure as I do also recall being absolutely miserable in the cold far too many times as well (mostly while I was still in the army).

Contrast that with, for example, the Thais that installed a roof over my patio a couple weeks ago. I'm outside 10 minutes and my shirt is soaked in sweat. These guys were out there for hours and hours and not a drop of sweat anywhere. (Same thing in Afghanistan - usually so arid that if you were just sitting around in the 40+ weather it didn't look like you were sweating at all. Once you started being active though the sweat would flow like rivers. But not so for the locals. They'd be out in the hot sun all day and (seemingly) never show signs of sweating at all. I'll bet if you stuck them up in Northern Canada during the winter they'd probably turn into Afghani-cicles in no time. Remember the problems not long ago in parts of Thailand when the temperatures dipped near freezing and people were dying. That was normal Fall weather in Canada - a time when people are reluctant to start wearing long pants and a fleece or wind breaker.

I run one air-con at night (set to 24) in the bedroom during the hottest months. During the winter I try to get by just using the overhead fan though occasionally I'll use the air-con (set at 28) for a couple hours in the evening before going to sleep. Part of my problem is my spare bedroom is my "man cave" where not only do I spend a lot of my time, but it's where all my computers are running and they pump out a lot of heat. Even with the overhead fan and a large fan by one of the windows, the temperature inside that room is often 3-4 degrees hotter than outside in the shade (according to my different thermometers). I found that when the temperature (naturally or artificially) is around 30 or less, it's not a problem. When it starts creeping up to the mid-30s is when I notice I'm sweating a lot.

Shower often (get used to not turning on the heater), wear light-coloured clothing (preferably breathable cottons as someone else mentioned, to help wick away the perspiration), lots of water. A little exercise will do more good than harm. The body can handle a lot of different situations if it is fit and rested. I don't worry about my diet too much, but keep in mind that moderation is the key. Too much of a "good" thing is not always good for you !

I am healthy in shape lean.. (high bmi but muscles) (BMI is a useless tool).

We LoL'd hard at the "BMI" when it first became a "thing" back in the 80's while I was station in Germany. Like many tests, it seems it had been developed using college kids as their "baseline" indicators and didn't take into account anything other than your body mass.

In the military we were told if we failed the "BMI" we would have to have a consultation with the Medical Officer and then have 6 months to "remedy" the situation. Needless to say, a lot of our guys were muscle maniacs (a few on 'roids as well as they could apparently get them over the counter in France). Some of the guys were told to lose over 20kgs and they didn't (literally) have an ounce of fat on them ! Some were power lifters, some were bodybuilders. One guy asked which arm the Doc figured he should cut off because that was about the only way he was going to lose 20(+) kgs in 6 months. (That guy actually ended up having muscle cut out of his calves because every time they flexed, like when going up stairs, his skin would start to split.)

(The doctors didn't want to give anyone exemptions because then they'd have to explain each one, in detail, to our National HQ and that would have been a lot of paperwork just for our battalion alone.)

The other problem was, BMI wasn't an indicator of actual fitness. I was in an anti-tank unit. In addition to our normal gear (helmet, webbing with ammo/water/gas mask, etc and weapon) we also had to carry over 25kgs of the various parts of a TOW missile system and hump that over hill and dale quite often on training exercises. A lot of our guys had a hard time passing the BMI but no problem at all doing their jobs.

I could pass the BMI (barely, I was a skinny runt back then and needed to actually add weight as I was on the low side of the Index) but I could also throw 30+ kgs on my back and do a 13km march (in combat boots) in <2 hours (and then do a 16km march the next day with just the weapon, webbing and helmet - but we had an extra 15 minutes !). That was also back in the day when I could crack off 18 proper, full arm chin-ups (not those little "elbow twitches" some guys do).

I think BMI has gone the way of the dodo bird (in the Canadian military at least). They've come up with new ways to determine fitness now (again, using 18-22 college kids as the baseline). Just as well as I'd probably fail (on the high side of the index these days) but at least I can still pick the Harley up from the ground if need be !

Yep. I recall those days when I was 18 & could run 2 miles in 12 minutes (11:35 was my best ever) in the US Army.

I cannot imagine being stationed in N. Canada.

N. Indiana was far enough for me. I went to Kosovo once in February, in a blizzard. Death was knocking at my door.

No I was not SF I was a contractor.

The coldest I have ever been though, was in the Florida National Guard, driving up HWY 19 through the Ocala National Forest, in an open jeep (before they had Humvees) in February.

I had a pair of long underwear pants & shirt, blue jeans, my army uniform and all my MOPP gear (the charcoal suit for chemical attacks), three shirts and a field jacket.

This Florida boy was one miserable Popsicle that night after a 3 hour drive at the torturous convoy speed of 45 MPH.

My old Pappy used to say, "You can always find a shade tree or a water hose or something to cool off. You can't always get warm though".

Wisest words ever spoken in my book.

Edited September 22, 2015 by jaywalker

[ResandePohm]

Too funny to read the Brits posting about how "cold" England is.

Spend a winter in Winnipeg or Moose Jaw, then talk about cold.

The British cold is different.In a dry cold like in Winnipeg you just need to put on a few layers of clothes to stay warm

The British cold is a damp cold and putting on extra layers doesnt help. You still freeze.

[Kerryd]

Too funny to read the Brits posting about how "cold" England is.

Spend a winter in Winnipeg or Moose Jaw, then talk about cold.

LoL -yeah. I was posted to Winnipeg when my unit returned to Canada (from Germany). Being Infantry meant doing PT pretty much every morning regardless of weather. One morning we were out for a jog, nothing unusual, had toque, hooded sweatshirt, scarf wrapped around face, gloves, 2 pair of socks and long underwear under my sweatpants. We'd finish a run and the scarf over my face would be a solid block of ice.

It was -45 (Celsius) that morning and the temperatures had been around that mark for quite a while. During that run one of our guys (Dave) collapsed and was taken to the military hospital (on the Air Force base in a different part of the city). (Dave had a collapsed lung.)

The Base Surgeon (Air Force guy) asked him what he'd been doing and Dave replied we'd just been out on our morning 8k jog. The Base Surgeon apparently went ballistic as he'd given direct instructions that there was to be no outdoor physical activity if the temperature was below -25 !!! We laughed of course. We're Canadian soldiers ! The war doesn't stop just because it gets a little cold outside ! (We did get a break for about 5 days until the temperatures crept up to -20 for a few days - a winter "warm spell". We started jogging again and when the temperatures dropped down past -35 we just pretended our thermometers were broken.)

Right now it's (supposedly) (+)30 in the house and 27-29 outside and it feels great ! The light rain we just had helps of course. The temperatures should drop over the next few months and just when you start to feel "comfortable" will be about the same time as many of the locals (and acclimatized expats) start wearing long-sleeved shirts, windbreakers and sweaters !

Edited September 22, 2015 by Kerryd

[devaxprem]

10 years in Thaïland I get hot at 36 degres celsuis and cold at 32.

I cannot live without AC in Asia ,

2 months before I changed my old AC that blow and make noise like Jumbo Jet and changed it by the last DAIKIN inverter a pure deligth

Expensive at instalation but I devided by 2 the electric bill.

Edited September 23, 2015 by devaxprem

[Farang99]

I doubt it.

I'm from Florida so Thailand is a lot like home to me = I like the weather.

I worked up near Chicago for 10 years and NEVER got used to the cold.

Anything less than 78F & my teeth start chattering.

Me too. I lived in Edinburgh, Scotland for 30 years and when I retired I promised myself I would never be cold again. So here I am after 18 years, and still contented. We grumble a bit whenit has not rained for a few days and it gets very hot - and then we grumble when it rains continuously. It is human to complain about the weather whatever it does. But remember Louis MacNeice in Bagpipe Music:

The glass is falling hour by hour

The glass will fall forever

But if you break the bloody glass

It wont hold up the weather

Edited September 23, 2015 by Farang99

[williet98248]

Twelve years and I still suffer through this time of year. Age 73. I exercise early in the morning, eat properly (whatever that means). Sweat all day. I live for the rain as it cools things down. But on a hot humid day I retire to the couch with a book and the AC on to knock down the humidity. At night the AC is to reduce the temp to 26, knock down the humidity and I take a melatonin tablet to facilitate sleep. A three shower day is normal. But I am used to it. (smile)

[tailspin]

You sound like a whiner as well.....

Hard to believe that someone would move/retire to another country and then constantly whine about the weather....moaning seems to be hard-wired into some people! Thai weather is absolutely perfect and a blessing! Combo of northeast-southwest monsoons is a dream, as is the occasional tropical squall.

Anyhow, best way to adapt for a newbe is to do exercise (if able) in a non-aircon environment during the day, use a ceiling fan when at home, and aircon only for sleeping at night....of course if you cannot exercise for medical reasons, consult a doctor first...

The Original Poster (the guy that started this topic) never whined at all.

He asked a simple question....Will he ever get used to it?

Not sure which part of that you missed.

How you can connect that with "move/retire to another country and then constantly whine about the weather....moaning seems to be hard-wired into some people!" is beyond me.

Edited September 23, 2015 by tailspin

[tailspin]

No such thing as "damp" cold.....what you are talking about is humidity....

The humidity and cold combo on NE seaboard of North America is way colder than anything in UK.....

Also the wind chill factor is another measure of the cold.....

I doubt that there is much freezing with British cold, other than at the top of Ben Nevis....

Too funny to read the Brits posting about how "cold" England is.

Spend a winter in Winnipeg or Moose Jaw, then talk about cold.

The British cold is different.In a dry cold like in Winnipeg you just need to put on a few layers of clothes to stay warm

The British cold is a damp cold and putting on extra layers doesnt help. You still freeze.

[peterb17]

I don't think I will ever get used to the humidity, but you adapt. My biggest problem is trying to avoid sunburn/skin ageing when I'm outside. I do a bit of cycling for exercise and have a bit of land to work on. This means I might be outside for 4 - 6 hours on any one day.

Of course, I try to plan to do everything outside early in the morning or in the evening. I wear long sleeved cotton and a wide-brimmed hat. I wear gloves to protect the back of my hands. I've normally soaked through my clothes within half an hour, and rest every hour. I go through 3 or 4 shirts a day. I use a lot of sun cream for protected skin.

I use a fan in the house if I'm reading or working on the computer. We have western style bathrooms with extraction fans and a wall mounted fan directed at the toilet. I hate the typical Thai set-up where the bathroom floor is always wet and going to the toilet is a sweaty ordeal. This way the floor is always dry, the humidity is kept down and there's a refreshing breeze when you're on the toilet or get out of the shower.

I can sleep OK, with the ceiling fan on, if the temperature is below 31 degrees. If it is above, I turn on the AC. My Thai wife is able to tolerate the heat/humidity better, but likes her comforts. She'll often want the AC on when I think it not necessary.

You are an exception- I have posted a load of times on the dangers of the sun- today saw about ten guys - on motorbikes- no shirts ( do live in Chav city)

Skin cancers kill thousands - so brilliant you make an effort . A wonderful tan is not worth it - much better to be pale and interesting.

My Thai friends who come to stay will sometimes rack down the air con- their bedroom was on 18C - was freezing .

I totally agree that the sun is very bad for you! BUT being " pale and interesting " is not interesting at all in fact i think it looks absolutely hideous.Some of these pale farang that you see who spend all day indoors look like something from the movie " Day Of The Dead " ( quite scary... ) and also even these Thai ladies look better with a tan!

Farang Jaidee ( with a Billy Ocean Suntan...... ) x

No I don't mean Zombie pale and interesting- looks like you are about to be put in your casket.

Just walking or swimming you are going to get a tan.

I refer to the expats who sunbath every day ( a German family went in the sun for 3 months by the pool at my condo- ) their colour was just bizarre. I hate to think of the skin damage.

[The Deerhunter]

I haven't adjusted to the heat after living here for a few years. Despite dropping a significant amount of weight and been considerably fitter I am still as sweaty as ever.

Ditto Orac's comment for me too. What is your problem with Aircon, anyway, Hal65? Saving the planet at your own life expence? One room at a time during the hot part of the day if you are home is not too bad and at night we if we wake up hot we turn it on for 10-15 minutes then off again but have one ceiling fan & one pedestal fan on blowing air across us in bed. We have a big house, one two story with 2 AC's upstairs and one single story kitchen dining area with AC. We turn AC on as needed, never all day & almost never have two on together. Our power bill is around 2,800, 3,200, which is not too bad and we are comfortable.

Edited September 23, 2015 by The Deerhunter

[vogie]

Too funny to read the Brits posting about how "cold" England is.

Spend a winter in Winnipeg or Moose Jaw, then talk about cold.

Luxury, I used to live in the North Pole, we had snow for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We had to sit next to dad while he sucked a polo mint to keep warm.

[duanebigsby]

No such thing as "damp" cold.....what you are talking about is humidity....

The humidity and cold combo on NE seaboard of North America is way colder than anything in UK.....

Also the wind chill factor is another measure of the cold.....

I doubt that there is much freezing with British cold, other than at the top of Ben Nevis....

Too funny to read the Brits posting about how "cold" England is.

Spend a winter in Winnipeg or Moose Jaw, then talk about cold.

The British cold is different.In a dry cold like in Winnipeg you just need to put on a few layers of clothes to stay warm

The British cold is a damp cold and putting on extra layers doesnt help. You still freeze.

I understood "damp" cold perfectly well as being a reference to humidity.

I agree that humid cold chills you to the bone whereas a dry cold chills your skin, but -45 degrees with a wind chill to -55 degrees and the radio advising you to stay indoors as exposed skin will freeze in 30 seconds, those extra layers are not keeping you warm. They're just keeping you a little bit less miserable. Egypt's dry heat is more bearable than Thailand's humid heat by far.

[balo]

You will never get used to the humidity, just accept it and maybe lose a few pounds. If you have a slim body like most Thais, the heat is not much of a problem.

[tailspin]

Simply not true....heat with high humidity will cause more sweating and leave a layer of moisture on your skin which will help cool you down.....excessive dry heat will cause the sweat to dry immediately and your body will overheat faster....try running 10km in low humidity/high humidity and see the difference.

No such thing as "damp" cold.....what you are talking about is humidity....

The humidity and cold combo on NE seaboard of North America is way colder than anything in UK.....

Also the wind chill factor is another measure of the cold.....

I doubt that there is much freezing with British cold, other than at the top of Ben Nevis....

Too funny to read the Brits posting about how "cold" England is.

Spend a winter in Winnipeg or Moose Jaw, then talk about cold.

The British cold is different.In a dry cold like in Winnipeg you just need to put on a few layers of clothes to stay warm

The British cold is a damp cold and putting on extra layers doesnt help. You still freeze.

I understood "damp" cold perfectly well as being a reference to humidity.

I agree that humid cold chills you to the bone whereas a dry cold chills your skin, but -45 degrees with a wind chill to -55 degrees and the radio advising you to stay indoors as exposed skin will freeze in 30 seconds, those extra layers are not keeping you warm. They're just keeping you a little bit less miserable. Egypt's dry heat is more bearable than Thailand's humid heat by far.

Edited September 23, 2015 by tailspin

[ignis]

It doesn't have to be one or the other. You can live a comfortable and healthy life by getting a bit more clever about your diet and exercise plan.

Quite possibly true, but even if I ate better and exercised more and weighed less I would still have the aircon on at home as I simply dont like the humidity here. Only a few weeks around Dec/Jan/Feb time are acceptable without aircon.

Another one here that never uses air con, + in almost 12 years have never found it too hot here.

Dec/Jan/Feb times I just wish I had an electric blanket

[MyFriend You]

I lived in Bangkok for about 2 1/2 years, those were my non-heavy drinking days, that and a mixture of good Thai food, I got to the point I could walk around the city and not sweat very much at all - eliminate all salt - use Nam Pla sparingly, quit drinking a lot of beer and eventually you will get used to it - I don't listen to all the "Air Con is Bad for you" My apartment was centrally airconned, I kept it around 27/28 - good enough to remove the humidity, but not cold enough to make your windows & doors sweat...........Get outside - a lot - drink a ot of water - eliminate sugarry drinks all together - tey do n othing to quench youe thirst - I use good old fashioned Water.

[edd]

praise yourself lucky that you don't have a wife, that sets ac at 22 °C and then ... COVERS up the whole body with a european style WINTER BLANKET and leave it on, all night

you should see our elec bill, costing more than our part time maid

er

My wife (Thai) married 27 years, sets the aircon to 23 C.

I (a Brit) like it set to 28 C

Aircon runs 24 7.

Last month our bill was 6500 B

But we have a pool pump running 12 hours a day.

We have been here full time for 6 year's

Aircon is wonderful

[BryanPaulHarris]

Also 1.5 years here, no return back home. I have no problem with the heat but the humidity is another thing. Any kind of physical exertion (and i'm talking about simple things like hanging out the washing) will cause me to drip with sweat within a few minutes (as if I have been doused with a hose) Unless i'm in front of a fan or in an airconditiond environment I will sweat all day.

I am 56 quite fit have been a physical training instructor all my life ( train 1,5 hrs every other day ) and not over weight. I recently nearly died whilst training because I lost so much sweat that I went into shock luckily my son was here on holliday training with me and recognised the symptoms and got me to hospital quite quick. They said that if I had not gone to hospital I would have died from cardiac arrest because my body had lost most of its potassium from sweating (and vomiting). Stayd there one day on a potassium enriched drip and had to drink a sickly electrolite drink every hour and was fine again the next day.

Did some research on the internet,

Some people have more sweat glands than others,

Fit people sweat more than unfit people,

Men sweat more than women.

I fall into all three catogories unfortunately, but now I eat as many foods containing potassium as I can find and drink an electrolite solution whilst training.

My body will never adjust to this climate, i'm thinking about spending the Thai summer months back home and the winters here.