Phuket Weather

The Phuket Weather Blog

Sun and Thunder

The warm weather continues in Phuket, which in the high season is not a great surprise! The air this morning was cool (relatively speaking) and fresh, the day was hot and there was a nice shower and thunder strom in the late afternoon.

I am busy at work, but sometimes feel like the old sailor...where to begin?

The Old Sailor
(A.A. Milne)

There was once an old sailor my grandfather knew
Who had so many things which he wanted to do
That, whenever he thought it was time to begin,
He couldn't because of the state he was in.

He was shipwrecked, and lived on a island for weeks,
And he wanted a hat, and he wanted some breeks;
And he wanted some nets, or a line and some hooks
For the turtles and things which you read of in books.

And, thinking of this, he remembered a thing
Which he wanted (for water) and that was a spring;
And he thought that to talk to he'd look for, and keep
(If he found it) a goat, or some chickens and sheep.

Then, because of the weather, he wanted a hut
With a door (to come in by) which opened and shut
(With a jerk, which was useful if snakes were about),
And a very strong lock to keep savages out.

He began on the fish-hooks, and when he'd begun
He decided he couldn't because of the sun.
So he knew what he ought to begin with, and that
Was to find, or to make, a large sun-stopping hat.

He was making the hat with some leaves from a tree,
When he thought, "I'm as hot as a body can be,
And I've nothing to take for my terrible thirst;
So I'll look for a spring, and I'll look for it first."
Then he thought as he started, "Oh, dear and oh, dear!
I'll be lonely tomorrow with nobody here!"
So he made in his note-book a couple of notes:
"I must first find some chickens" and "No, I mean goats."

He had just seen a goat (which he knew by the shape)
When he thought, "But I must have boat for escape.
But a boat means a sail, which means needles and thread;
So I'd better sit down and make needles instead."

He began on a needle, but thought as he worked,
That, if this was an island where savages lurked,
Sitting safe in his hut he'd have nothing to fear,
Whereas now they might suddenly breathe in his ear!

So he thought of his hut ... and he thought of his boat,
And his hat and his breeks, and his chickens and goat,
And the hooks (for his food) and the spring (for his thirst) ...
But he never could think which he ought to do first.

And so in the end he did nothing at all,
But basked on the shingle wrapped up in a shawl.
And I think it was dreadful the way he behaved -
He did nothing but bask until he was saved!

Hope you're enjoying the weather where you are!


Phuket Weather

Sun and Thunder


A bit of sunburn

It's darn hot, real hot! Well, at least if you go out in the middle of the day it's hot. I was riding the bike around yeasterday to Phuket town and got a bit of colour on my arms. Got my tickets for next weeks trip to Sipadan (Phuket - KL - Kota Kinabalu - Tawau return) from the Malaysia Airlines office in town, very nice staff, very easy to deal with.

Today is darn hot too!

That's the weather. Now for a funny video - a TV commercial for the Krung Thai Bank:


Phuket Weather

A bit of sunburn


Sunshine on my shoulders

Sunday has been a gorgeous day. Absolutely gorgeous, no two ways about it.

To quote the late, great John Denver:

Sunshine on the water looks so lovely
Sunshine almost always makes me high

If I had a day that I could give you
I'd give to you a day just like today

We went to Laem Ka Beach near Rawai. See photo below taken from the beach. More photos are on Jamie's Phuket.

View from Laem Ka beach

Around dusk we took a walk on Bang Wad Dam, as we often do. The sky was clear, the moon was high, the air was fresh yet warm.

It's the kind of day you wish you could control with a "Back" button on the browser of life. Some days you're always happy to have again.


Phuket Weather

Sunshine on my shoulders


Postcard from Phuket

Postmark 24th November

Hi (insert name of friend or relative)!

I tell you what, it's warm here in Phuket. The beach is lovely, the sun shines all day, the food's great. I wish I could stay forever...

AAARGH! (wakes from bad dream)....It's OK, I DO live here. For a moment I had the sickening feeling I'd be back under grey skies soon. Fortunately not.

Blue skies - today close to my house

View over the hills near my house (darn the electric pylon)


Phuket Weather

Postcard from Phuket


November sunshine in Phuket

As high season really kicks in there is less variety to the weather, and thus less to say in a Blog! The days merge together. I have been a bit "under the weather" this week with a cold in the head. The word "cold" when applied to a blocked nose and cough seems fine when it's winter in England...but how can you have a "cold" when it's 30 degrees every day and the sun shines bright?

I think I'll just pop down to 7-11 for an orange juice....

That's better. A good dose of Vitamin C.

Meanwhile, the sun is shining, the sea is calm, it's picture perfect weather. A few clouds just to ensure things don't get scorchingly hot. If you are here now, I have to say "I wish I was on holiday too"!

And The Ashes have begun! A funny old game is cricket. It totally baffles anyone from a country where it's not played, like the US of A, but I tell y'all it's way better than Baseball, and while we're on the subject, Rugby beats "American" football hands down.

All the latest Ashes news and scores here:

• BBC Online Cricket Coverage


Phuket Weather

November sunshine in Phuket


Hot for November

Last November everyone was moaning that it was "wet for November". This year it's totally different. There has been the odd bit of rain, mostly at night. Nothing you wouldn't expect in a hot tropical environment. We did have lots of rain towards the end of the summer "green" season. The reservoir at Bang Wad was super full when we went there for Loy Krathong a couple of weeks ago. Last year it was much drier and the government was trying cloud seeding to make the rain fall! No need this year, but the change has been pretty sudden from wet to hot.

The last few days have been very warm. Yesterday I was knackered by the evening as we moved our work office. Despite enlisting some help, there was a lot to carry up the stairs in the heat and I think I got a bit too dehydrated. A common problem here, but I am normally pretty well accustomed to the heat - just not accustomed to hard work! Too much computer time with only fingers whizzing over the keyboard!

The heat was interrupted by a brief thunderstorm this afternoon. Our new workspace looks out over Patong from on high. We even have a seaview! Would be a great spot for a weather web cam.

Have a good weekend y'all.


Phuket Weather

Hot for November


The east wind doth blow...

Phuket weather has continued warm and sunny, but yesterday we felt a distinct strong breeze from the east. The NE winds can be quite strong and lead to choppy seas even if it's a lovely sunny day. I was out on a dinghy yesterday afternoon on Patong Bay, going to look at a new liveaboard dive boat. 10 minutes in the sun was enough to get a tan! And the water was bouncy enough to get wet shorts. This November is totally different to last year, which was unseasonably wet. Now we have great weather.

Sunday was sunny until mid afternon, when we had a thunderstorm. Nevertheless we took a drive down to Chalong for a walk on Chalong Jetty. Skies were clear in one direction and cloudy in the other.

Chalong Bay 12th November 2006

Tonight, the night is warm and windless...

Press close, bare-bosomed Night! Press close, magnetic nourishing Night! (Walt Whitman)


Phuket Weather

The east wind doth blow...


Sunshine wins. The haze is gone.

Over the last few days the haziness has decreased. Today was a totally sunny day, hot, but not too hot (a bit of a breeze). The seas are calm and now that we are into the high season for diving, it's a-getting busy. Had reports over the last couple of days of Manta rays at Hin Daeng. Oh yes, its time to strap a tank on and dive in! For diving in Phuket, go and see Sunrise Divers.

We had a "work lunch" today at a restaurant called "The Beach", which is right on Patong beach at the end of Sawatdirak road. I mean right on the beach with some of the tables on the sand. Considering this, it's not expensive at all. I had a steak sandwich with a pile of chips for 70 Baht. It's recommended if you're in Patong.

Even better news, we got a new computer at home. I was glad to find that Skype works on dial up. So here I am blogging while listening to Pink Floyd on the headphones while my wife convinces the kids that 10pm is too late to be awake.

Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day
You fritter and waste the hours in an off hand way
Kicking around on a piece of ground in your home town
Waiting for someone or something to show you the way

Tired of lying in the sunshine staying home to watch the rain
You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today
And then one day you find ten years have got behind you
No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun

And you run and you run to catch up with the sun, but its sinking
And racing around to come up behind you again
The sun is the same in the relative way, but you're older
Shorter of breath and one day closer to death

Every year is getting shorter, never seem to find the time
Plans that either come to naught or half a page of scribbled lines
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the english way
The time is gone, the song is over, thought I'd something more to say

(from "Time" by Pink Floyd)


Phuket Weather

Sunshine wins. The haze is gone.


Loy Kratong and a Hazy Monday

Yesterday was Loy Kratong, one of Thailand's best known festivals. It's not so big here in Phuket (huge in Chiang Mai, Sukhothai, Ayutthaya), but there are events going on wherever you find water. It was a warm day, and I knew there would be a good chance of evening thunder, so we went just before dark up to Bang Wad Reservoir (Phuket's largest) in Kathu where there is always a bit of an event with live music, food stalls etc..along with half the residents of Kathu launching their Kratongs on the water.

More about Loy Kratong on Jamie's Phuket

Anyway, I was right, as we had rain and thunder after we got home.

Today has started hazy again, though by mid morning the sun is doing its best to burn through the haze. This is the view over Kathu this morning:

Hazy sunrise over Kathu, 6th November 2006


Phuket Weather

Loy Kratong and a Hazy Monday


Hazy shade of winter

Look around, trees are green, but the sky is hazy... Nothing to do with them fires in Indonesia, though we did have that problem last year in August. Just some strange meteorological phenomenon keeping the sky hazy.

Been like this the last 3 days with some rain at night. Yesterday afternoon got pretty bright, but today is hazy again.


Phuket Weather

Hazy shade of winter


A bit of rain again

Maybe associated with typhoon "Cimaron" which is currently past the Philippines and heading for Hong Kong - a long way off, but these things have very long arms and affect weather for great distances. It was lovely and sunny yesterday morning, but rained most of the afternoon and night. This morning was very hazy and rain has come again early afternoon. We can expect a little rain at this time of year, but more sunshine than wet weather. There is hardly any wind right now, making for calm seas - nice for scuba diving in Phuket!

Here's a good web site for watching tropical storms/typhoons/hurricanes:

• www.tropicalstormrisk.com


Phuket Weather

A bit of rain again