This really is Thailand’s best kept secret. Living in Thailand for several years now it has really just dawned on me what the “rainy season” is really about; to keep tourists out during the best months of the year.
Way back when I was a young man at university, (seems like yesterday…as long as yesterday was quite hazy and consisted of a roller coaster wreck of bad exam results, broken hearts, uncontrollable giggling, crazy optimistic plans and pot noodles) I had a very posh friend, who, on hearing I was planning to back pack around Thailand in the summer scoffed uncontrollably and said, “old chap…that’s the bloody hurricane season, you idiot…monsoons and all that.” I stomped off down to the travel agent (yes, before internet), quizzed the nice lady behind the desk and ascertained that it was indeed the “rainy season.” But, how rainy was it?
Just the idea of a “rainy season” kept me away, (I went to Greece instead) and so it remained, fixed in my mind ever since; don’t go to Thailand in the summer… the “rainy season.”
During my first year living in the north of Thailand I waited pensively for the oncoming and dreaded “rainy season”, which kind of never arrived. I remember asking my Thai friend if we had started the rainy season. He looked at me as though I was mad. It must have been a bit like a man standing in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean asking if the sea was nearby.
The rainy season was, and is, great, and remains my best time of year in Thailand, and incredibly is the cheapest time to come here. It must be the sole remaining true bargain left in the travel industry.
The myth is that the best time to come to Thailand is between November and April, which is somewhat misleadingly known as the “Dry Season.” Actually, it rains quite a bit during this time, locally known rather poetically as “Mango Rains.” It is also the coolest months of the year, with night time temperatures dropping to about 12 degrees in northern Thailand, and even colder up in those there mountains. The problem with this is that hotel swimming pools get colder…which if you’re here on holiday is quite a big deal…they don’t mention that in the guidebooks. It’s also twice as expensive.
The official “Rainy Season” starts in April and ends in November. It’s more accurately, locally called the “Green Season”. It does rain, but usually in short, rather dramatic bursts, at the end of the day, lasting about 15 minutes before the sun comes out again. It often doesn’t rain for days on end. I’ve just had to go and water the garden. And, of course it’s wonderfully hot, with swimming pools wonderfully warm.
With the arrival of some rain all of Thailand is covered with flowers and greenery. Orchids bloom their hearts out. My little collection outside haven’t stopped all summer. As everything gets greener, it feels that people get more relaxed and the whole country sighs relief. The hoards of tourists have gone home. The sun is shining, relieved every so often by warm rains. Huge butterflies sail past and tiny iridescent hummingbirds flit through the trees. This really is Thailand best kept secret.
