Bangkok is hot all year round even in the winter months, where the lows were about 70 degrees for two days. In the summer it stays around 90 all the time with lots of humidity. All of that heat and humidity makes it hard to spend time outside, makes my hair grow 3x bigger than normal, and makes everyone very sweaty. I would leave my apartment in the morning and my hair automatically grows and I almost instantly start sweating even if there is a breeze. I have learned ways to manage the heat in Bangkok and here are some ways you can deal if you are unused to the heat (trust me it is worse than Florida in July).
1. Drink lots of water!
I drink lots of water a day, 95% of the time the other part of the time I end up drinking more coffee than water which never ends well. Whenever you feel angry, hot, tired, sweaty it is usually because you did not drink lots of water and with a little more water you feel better. Remember drink more water than coffee; this isn’t the US-if you have more coffee you will feel terrible! Trust me, I did it once and it did not end well.
2. Cut off your hair if it is super long and thick.
My hair is gorgeous, long, and thick or it was until 24 hours ago when I chopped off 12+ inches so that it is off the base of my neck. Today was an amazing day because it felt so much lighter, freer, and the base of my neck was not covered in sweat today. I do not regret the shortness of my hair as I am fully in love with it.
3. Stay in the Shade.
Sometimes walking around Bangkok it is hard to find the shade and hard to find a cool place while walking around. I have crossed the streets before to just be on the side of the road with the shade and I felt kind of better. Walking around in the shade instead of the sun is better: trust me. It might be all in my head but I do feel better.
4. Go out at night or in the morning.
I have walked around Bangkok in the morning, at lunchtime, and in the evening. Walking around in the morning and the evening are 100% cooler than walking around in the mid-day sun. The mid-day is great time to take a rest, have more coffee, get a nap, or even go swimming if you are here visiting.
5. Find Air Conditioned Buildings.
You will find that a lot of the restaurants and coffee shops might be outside and just have fans blowing around to cool you off. When you are already sweating and hot sometimes you want to eat somewhere that is nice and cold. Finding some of these air conditioned buildings can be a bit tricky but so lovely once you stumble upon them.
6. Be prepared to sweat all day anyway.
No matter what do to help with the heat you will sweat anyway and feel sticky and gross. It is one reason why Thai’s take at least 2 showers a day because there are always sweaty and dusty. A cold shower at the end of the day makes it all worth it.
7. Drink lots of water.
This is no joke! Remember to drink lots of water all day long!
