I see the news reports about a bout a lot of rain and flooding in Bangkok however since I`m only a tourist and don`t normally spend a lot of time in Bangkok all the different places mentioned still leave me a little lost.

Apart from an umbrella and perhaps some waterproof shoes is there really that much rain to worry about? I`ve got a friend coming next week and will be staying close to where MBK is...

Waterproof shoes will do no good. In many places you will need hip boots. I was once in a taxi on Sukhumvit when a bus passed us. The wake from the bus pushed the taxi over the curb and flooded it out. I felt sorry for the taxi driver and paid the fare along with a healthy tip. And yes, I walked about 600 meters in the water.

You'll waddle through knee deep murky water in some places worse case scenario. No boot is going to save you. I generally try to avoid traveling if it's raining because the streets flood so easily and traffic is a nightmare. Best advice I can give you is if you are going to be traveling with your friend, wear shorts with water proof socks + cheap pair of sneakers or those closed toe sandals with the holes in them. You could wear regular flip flops but the water is usually so murky that you can't see what's really ahead and may run the risk of cutting your foot on something.

Best of luck.

September and October are the time for the yearly rains in Bangkok.

When there are thunderstorms with very heavy rain for an hour or so it is not unusual for there to be so much water falling in a short period from those storms that tthere  is  often sevral inhes of water accumalated in the streets in in low lieing areas.

Waterin the streets  higher than your ankles durring such storms is not unusual.

With such heavy rain the drainage system is simply overwhelmed for at least a half hour or maybe an hour.

Evverybody who lives here for some time has seen this at least once.

But[ in my prevous posts, that was my joke.....that we never tell the tourists that during the rainy season there may be flash floods in "sunny Bangkok"

 

It's only a matter of a few years before half of Bangkok will be underwater for months at a time. They're going to have to move the seat of government elsewhere. Bangkok is rapidly sinking underwater. You'd be foolish to buy any property in the city. Scientists estimate that within 30 years, Bangkok will be largely uninhabitable.

'Rain' was the title of a hugely popular thread on TVF many years ago...

 

maybe some of the local dinosaurs will remember...

On 10/9/2016 at 5:13 PM, Thainess said:

It's only a matter of a few years before half of Bangkok will be underwater for months at a time. They're going to have to move the seat of government elsewhere. Bangkok is rapidly sinking underwater. You'd be foolish to buy any property in the city. Scientists estimate that within 30 years, Bangkok will be largely uninhabitable.

Are you basing that on the National Reform Council report? Bangkok is certainly sinking, however the same report suggests construction of a seawall to protect greater Bangkok from rising sea levels. They put the cost at US$15 billion, far cheaper than moving the capital. About a quarter of the Netherlands is below sea level. This really puts the rice scheme losses into perspective. The money lost on that could have been used towards the construction of a seawall. 

Last time I heard it was Nakhon Nowhere that was under water and not Bangkok. The floods in central Bangkok are a minor inconvenience. If it rains that bad when you are in central Bangkok, find a bar that serves food, get a beer and enjoy the chaos. If you have never seen it before it can be entertaining. Thais look like they will melt upon contact with water. 

 

As others have said it drains in a matter of hours. An umbrella is useful sure it really only rains here at around 5 in the evening lately. 

Haven't seen it very deep yet (arrived during rainy season this year), but give it time, and I'm sure I'll be grateful for my knee-high rubber boots and possibly cursing the "office pair" I ordered online that claimed to be knee-high and turned out only to be mid-calf.  A Bangkok resident I know back in the U.S. assured me that "in the area where you will live, it is not so bad.  The floods only get about this deep: *holds hands 12-15 inches apart*"