Thailand

[whitehead]

We actually put together a website page with wunderground appelets for our members to quickly look up the weather in Thai diving areas at:

http://www.damnam.org/weather.htm

only problem is they seem to put up the same weather forcast for everyday for 3 months without any real concern what the weather may actually be doing on a given day. Ah well I cannot complain really a few days ago I could not get out the office due to a humongous rain storm but at my home a few clicks away not a drop fell.

www.damnam.org/forums

 

[Batfish]

Yeh, I'm not really impressed with that Weather Underground site. The Phuket forecast is always "partly cloudy" or "chance of a thunderstorm". I think better to try the BBC or CNN weather sites :

CNN Weather - 5 day forecast for Phuket

BBC Weather - 5 day forecast for Phuket

or just call an unbiased local dive shop. Hey! The weather is always sunny! I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

 

[whitehead]

I am having a right of old laugh to myself at the moment at how right you are - maybe we should have a little test - this the 5 days forcast

for Phuket from em all....

Wunderground - all days there is a chance of a thunderstorm
CNN - all days thunderstorm
BBC - fours days thunderstorm, 1 day rain

and for Bangkok

Wunderground - three days storms, 2 days chance of a thunderstorm
CNN - all days thunderstorm
BBC - fours days sunshine, 1 day rain

at least they are all agreed on what your week will be like - pity us poor folk in Bangkok, do I need suncream or a boat? (PS its beautiful blue skys right now)

 

[Batfish]

I am having a right of old laugh to myself at the moment at how right you are - maybe we should have a little test - this the 5 days forcast

for Phuket from em all....

Wunderground - all days there is a chance of a thunderstorm
CNN - all days thunderstorm
BBC - fours days thunderstorm, 1 day rain

and for Bangkok

Wunderground - three days storms, 2 days chance of a thunderstorm
CNN - all days thunderstorm
BBC - fours days sunshine, 1 day rain

at least they are all agreed on what your week will be like - pity us poor folk in Bangkok, do I need suncream or a boat? (PS its beautiful blue skys right now)

And the real weather? Well, outside is sunny right now. There was about 5 minutes rain on our house this morning. Yesterday was sunny. Of course at this time of year, they are right..there is always the chance of a thunderstorm. Doesn't mean there will be one. What actually happens is you get about 7 hours sun and then a thunderstorm. Phuket is a big island, so it may rain in Chalong but not in Patong...

 

[ssra30]

Well, I supposed at this time of the year, it is always safe to say that there is a chance of thunderstorm somewhere. You just happen to be in the wrong place for the forecast to be accurate

 

[DORSETBOY]

Am I right in saying that Jan should be good weather in Phuket? Im hoping to get the best of both worlds and not have bad weather when Im on Koh Tao for a few days before going across to Phuket.

 

[Batfish]

Am I right in saying that Jan should be good weather in Phuket? Im hoping to get the best of both worlds and not have bad weather when Im on Koh Tao for a few days before going across to Phuket.

Yes, January should be good. Sunny and not too hot. And busy - If you are coming to Phuket around New Year, be sure to book everything in advance. Even day trips for diving are booked several days or more ahead at that time. And hotels - you must book as early as possible.

 

[ssra30]

In January, weather on Koh Tao should be ok although visibility is not at its best that time of the year. Last year, viz was about 10-15m at best in January around Koh Tao, where as it could get as good as 20-30m around April. Koh Tao in January however is nice and quiet and not so busy like its peak season.

 

[Tommer]

For those of you that stayed and live in Koh Tao recently, are there much activities to do now at night? Last time I stayed there was 3 years ago and there was not much activities at night, wonder if anything changed since?

Tommer

 

[DORSETBOY]

For those of you that stayed and live in Koh Tao recently, are there much activities to do now at night? Last time I stayed there was 3 years ago and there was not much activities at night, wonder if anything changed since?

Tommer

too right! last year the clubbing on the island and the bars were fantastic, and still cheap! dragon bar in mae hadd is good, 'ku de ta' which is in chalok bann koh was great and you could even run a bar tab there if you were sticking around, my fav clubs when I was there were 'In touch' and 'Whitening' although there is a big party once a month up in the hills which shouldnt be missed as it's completely open air and the surroundings are superb. Other than that you can always watch the dvds in the bars down by the beach either at chalok ban koh or down at sairee beach.

If you're going out for a meal there are also now a huge variety of restaurants with different types of food from thai to italian.