Bangkok is typically incredibly hot (usually in the 90's Fahrenheit)
and is accompanied by humidity that is often in the upper 90's. Either humidity or heat by itself can be somewhat
bearable but when you combine both together it becomes stifling, steamy and sweaty. It should be noted the following are places
are where you can escape this heat and humidity, inside most of the taxis, the major shopping
centers, the sky train, the ice arena in the Central World Center, inside some museums, restaurants (not all), hotels (not all) and inside the "godsend" that is available on almost every block called 7-Eleven. (well not quite on every block - but almost every one!)
Sometimes you can find a breeze coming off of the Chao Phraya river, but
usually it is not a cooling one.
You do want to avoid becoming chilled - this isn't a big problem but some locations in Bangkok have quite powerful air conditioning units and you might get cold after coming in out of the hot humid weather.
Sometimes during December, January or
February, you may
catch a few weeks where the nights can actually cool down into the 60's
or even on occasion the mid to high 50's. This doesn't happen every year,
but we have been in Bangkok during these times when its actually "downright pleasant" during
the day and even a bit chilly at night.
Many Thai men wear long pants. This is customary but can be
quite warm and irritating for those not used to this weather. However,
many of the tourists wear shorts and its perfectly acceptable in the big cities
and tourist areas like the Golden Triangle and beaches if you are a foreigner. (Note
that the Royal temples require
individuals to wear long pants before entering). We recommend light weight
cotton type pants with several pockets including at least one pocket that
can be closed by a zipper.
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