Oops! did I just say “Winter”?!?

Well I’m sorry if what I‘ve just said upset you guys, because whenever I say this to my farang friends they will always stand up and say (a bit louder) to me that “No way, there’s no Winter in Thailand!”. Haha and they would ask me “Do you have any idea what a real Winter is like?”, to which I would reply “Err… around 20c?”. It’s going to be a big shock for my boyfriend when he arrives in Thailand this time. It’s around 3c in the UK right now, but in a few weeks he will have to cope with 47c here in Thailand, and also the HOT Thai girlfriend doesn’t help.

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I woke up today and I couldn’t believe that the weather was so much cooler compared to yesterday, Last week for the whole week the temperature was around 37c, but today it is different, windy and pleasant.

At the moment as I write, the temperature is around 24c (the average temperature for the hot season is 36-42c.). OMG 24c! I’m sorry, here we think it’s cool, but I bet for Europeans it is considered as warm. Haha so yes, the weather here is very crazy; suddenly hot, suddenly cold, or rainy. I am suffering with my allergies now because of this… sigh.

Summer is considered the high season in Thailand. If you plan to visit Thailand this summer (between March-April), then I’d like to give you guys some suggestions on how you should prepare for the trip.

Bacteria in food/drinks

You guys have to be careful about this, especially in the summertime as it can be quite easy to pick up food poisoning from food in Thailand. If you do fancy having some Thai food, then please avoid the dishes that use coconut milk as an ingredient (those Thai curries). If the taste is sour then beware, and you should stop eating immediately. I don’t think its good idea to drink juices/smoothies either, particularly if it’s served on/with ice, as you cant be sure how clean it is. With that in mind I suggest…

Choosing drinking water instead

Drinking water in some restaurants, or on food stalls beside the street usually serve you drinking water from the jars they have. I’d suggest that you guys stick to ordering/buying drinking water from bottles only. You can get them from most superstores and it usually only costs around 10 baht, also, always make sure the bottle has a plastic sealed top before buying! My foreigner friends do the same thing as they don’t want to take a risk getting ill as the cost for treatment in hospital here for foreigners here is… shrug!

When it gets too hot, do not shower! Yes I mean it, and I told my boyfriend the same thing when we arrived in our hotel room. You need to take a while for the body to get used to the temperature in the room, and then you can go shower, otherwise you risk catching a fever. I often get a fever when the weather gets too hot, although I am fine in the cold or rainy seasons… it’s hard to cope with the summer really! Of course, to help with the room temperature acclimatisation you could always…

Get naked! – Ermm… actually I’m not sure if it’s that’s a good idea for anyone but me, and only when I am alone at home. Lol no, don’t try to google where my home is because the only naked thing you will be able to see is my dog…

“Lotte”… 60kg, dark, tall, handsome and wild as well!  

Try not to wear black when you go outside in the hot weather. Haha, it’s funny though, I cant help it myself sometimes as most of my clothes are black, but I think its safe for me anyway as I’d rather wear black than yellow or red…for security reasons! Black attracts the heat as it absorbs more radiation than other colours, but my boyfriend disagrees, as he keeps saying to me “Darling, you look HOT in red!”. It’s a good thing he bought me some red nightwear then, we will see if it turns out like his theory! I might show the photos to you guys for you to judge in the next story “Coming Soon”.

Try going out in the early morning or later in the evening when the sun is not so powerful. The city can be very enjoyable to wander around at these times, especially in the evening, when temperatures are not so hot, and it can be quite breezy. We were lucky that the night market that we liked to go to for meals had installed many fans with a water spray built into them.

Thai fruits are the most delicious fruit on earth. They are incredibly sweet and juicy, and give you energy when the heat wears you out or when you feel exhausted. I know sometimes the cost of fruit when abroad can be painful, but for someone who fancies some Thai fruit, please don’t pass up the chance to try some! Here in Thailand Mangosteen is only 30 baht a kilo, how nice!

Mangosteen  is the queen of tropical fruits. Mangosteen is “cold” in nature and will help to cool down your body. I fed my boyfriend some when he was here during the summer last year and he liked the taste, he said it tastes like English pears. (in the video)

Lychee (Lin-chee)  Small and round, with a hard seed inside, they are easily peeled by hand and are really juicy. (in the video)

Rose Apple (Chom-poo)  Shaped like a small, red or green bell and crunchy, this is one fruit you don’t have to peel, so its easy for me to eat as I’m too lazy to peel most of the time (most Thai fruit we have to peel) (in the video)

Watermelon (Theng-moh)  if you find Thai food is too hot for you, and is making your tongue burn, I suggest you try to eat watermelon. Just sprinkle a little of salt on it as this enhances the flavour. There are 2 kinds of watermelon; a red one and yellow one called honey watermelon. The honey ones are slightly more expensive than the red ones and the taste of course is sweet like honey. This is one fruit you definitely have to peel, but you can buy peeled ones. My boyfriend is lucky though, my melons don’t need peeling. (in the video)

Put ripened mango into the refrigerator to enhance the flavour, this is often eaten with sweet sticky rice and coconut milk as topping.

Here are a few useful phrases you might find handy in helping to cope with the hot Thailand weather

Ron mak mak = very hot

Chan kra hai nam = I am thirsty

Chan tong karn nam duam = I want drinking water

Chan tong karn nam khaeng = I want some ice

Chan tong karn ai tim = I want icecream

Perd pat lom dai mai? = Can you turn the fan on?

Perd air dai mai? = can you turn the aircon on?

Hong mee air mai? = Is there aircon in the room?

Hong mee pat lom mai = Is there an electric fan in the room?

Tee nee mee kang keng kha sun mai? = do you sell shorts here?

Kraruna sra pom hai duay = please wash my hair for me.

Tao rai = how much?

Khun hot mak mak = you look so hot!

“I’m not crazy, I’m just a little unwell I know, right now you can’t tell but stay awhile and maybe then you’ll see a different side of me. I’m not crazy, I’m just a little impaired, I know, right now you don’t care, but soon enough you’re gonna think of me and how I used to be” – Matchbox Twenty – Unwell

It’s a funny coincidence that I am listening to this tune right now while am writing this blog. It reminds me of all the fans who have commented on my blog about how much they loved it. They’ve told me they loved my style, how I write, and find my blog unique and interesting. Well, I am glad to hear that and really do appreciate all the comments from you guys. I just try to be myself, confident with a good sense of humour, and try not to be too formal because I think it’d be pretty boring to read (I’ve read other people’s blogs and almost fell asleep on the keyboard). The stories that I have written have been from my experience; things that have happened to me or to people I know or used to know. LOL I decided to grab this opportunity to share this with you guys as my blog is getting quite popular now (I check the ratings and daily feedback is very good). I hope you guys will find this latest entry useful and I hope you enjoy any trips you are planning to make to Thailand this summer time.

Have fun!

Kit

So, I got up today February 24th 2011 at 7am, which was kind of late for me because nowadays I usually got up around 6am. You guys may wonder why I get up this early? Well, the main reason is to chat with my sweetheart before he goes to bed (here in Thailand we are seven hours ahead of the UK at this time of the year), and as usual the first thing I usually do after I get up is turn the computer on to chat to him on messenger. I spent around two hours talking to him, and then, after he had gone to bed I checked the news from a local Thai site… OMG! News about an earthquake of magnitude 4.7 in Laos on Wednesday, February 23, 2011 at 10:53:17 PM, The epicentre was in Saiyaburi province, about 55km from Nan’s Mae Rim district in Thailand, but could be felt in Phrae, Nong Khai, Nong Bua Lamphu and also here in Udon Thani.

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