Phuket Weather

Sun, Sea and SAD

Just this afternoon, about 5pm we actually had some rain for about 15 minutes. I don't think there was any rain this week until this brief burst. Saves me watering the garden. Things start to look a bit less green at this time of year. The trees start to look thirsty with a slightly yellow sickly look. The contrast if you come in the low season is obvious. Although we get plenty of good weather in the low season, there is certainly more rain than now, and so the months from June - October get the nickname "Green Season".

Read more here : Low Season Weather in Phuket

The week has been sunny, not as cool as the previous week, less wind too - all dive trips reached their intended destinations such as the isolated pinnacles of Hin Daeng and Richelieu Rock. A very good week to be on the water one way or the other - enough wind for sailing, not enough to make the sea too rough. Once again, it's just about perfect :)

Maybe the famous "Thai Smile" is due to the sun. Yes, the smile does actually exist, you see it all over. Cynics might say it was TAT marketing, but if you step away from the tourist areas, where hotel employees HAVE to smile, you see that smile on every corner, every restaurant, you catch it out of the corner of your eye as you drive along the street. Smiles are great.

Meanwhile, back in England, weather can be very grey. In the winter it gets dark early. Not enough sun. I recall working a day shift in the winter. Go to work in the dark, go home in the dark. No sun. This can lead to SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) also known as the Winter Blues. My mum feels a bit SAD sometimes. She's going to try "light therapy" - you can buy special lamps that "replicate sunlight".

Well, no need for that here in Phuket! I sent my mum a photo of yesterdays sky...

Blue Sky, Phuket, 23rd January 2009

Blue Sky and Temple Roof, Phuket, 23rd January 2009


Today - more of the same except I had a day off to enjoy the sun. We took lunch at Rimtang restaurant in Phuket Town - recommended by my wife's sister who works at a bank in town and knows all the best lunch spots! Rimtang will be revisited soon, as I want to try some of the local specialties...

Rimtang restaurant in Phuket Town

Rimtang restaurant in Phuket Town

Then we headed further north.. around the Cherngtalay area of Phuket, near the Laguna resorts is a locally run pool with waterslides. It is not very well advertised, there are no signs, you just have to know it's there! It was all but deserted when we arrived, though maybe 20 kids and their parents arrived during the afternoon. I asked some kids where they went to school, all were from the local area.

Fun on the waterslide, 24th January

Forecast: more of the same. Why are you not here? :)

I am looking forward to a visit to Phuket 91.5 FM Radio tomorrow morning. I am meeting one of the owners for a look around the studio and will be writing something on Jamie's Phuket about the radio station - for now, you can listen online anytime at their website : Phuket 91.5FM Radio.


Sun, Sea and SAD  |  The Phuket Weather Blog

Please Buy Me a Coffee