Phuket Weather

Clean beaches and sun in Phuket

jjjjmonk@yahoo.co.uk (Jamie Monk in Phuket) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:54:00 +0000

Where is the rain? Where? This is the kind of weather that you expect in high season. The winds have died down this week, small waves now at the beaches, I don't seem to remember any rain. We're into July now. Will it be as rain-free as June? Yeh, we had a few wet days in the middle, a few quick evening downpours, but June is meant to be one of the wetter months in Phuket.

Average Rainfall in Phuket (mm per month):

Jan: 38    Feb: 24
Mar: 55    Apr: 133
May: 324 Jun: 289
Jul: 295   Aug: 272
Sep: 379 Oct: 340
Nov: 181 Dec: 59

I have just been in touch with a guy who has been recording rainfall at his house in Patong since 1998. He sent the data from this year. June had just 50mm of rain in 2009, most of which fell on one day! Also clear that March 2009 (184mm) was quite a bit wetter than normal. Hopefully he'll send 11 years worth of Phuket rainfall data soon.

This morning I headed to Karon Beach, outside the Hilton, at 10am. I had been advised a beach clean up was happenning, and was keen to help. Did not see any beach clean up but the beach looked clean anyway. I drove further along the beach to the Moevenpick hotel. I had been told something would be going on there too. Sure enough some hotel staff were carrying some rubbish off the beach, but were all finished at 10:30am. So I just took a few pictures of local guys doing some fishing.

Drought in Phuket!

jjjjmonk@yahoo.co.uk (Jamie Monk in Phuket) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 13:02:00 +0000

The "mostly sunny" weather continues. Today has been sunny and warm, light winds, perfect weather for diving, exploring Phuket, or visiting US Navy ships! My 4 year old son had a school field trip today to see the USS New Orleans, one of 5 navy ships that stopped at Phuket this weekend bringing a boost to tourism for sure.. some kinds of tourism more than others. If you own a bar and did not make a profit this weekend, time to find a new job!

Phuket Gazette : Story about US Seamen in Phuket (yeh, ha ha, we all laughed)

Now, there has been some cloud and light rain in the last 2 days, but I mean, the rain was very light and lasted a few minutes. Mostly very sunny, which is not quite the norm at this time of year. You would expect a bit more rain in Phuket. I was at the Bang Wad reservoir yesterday evening and it is starting to look a bit low. In fact, I discovered today a website that I had not seen before, a Global Drought Monitor which is part of the University College London climate extremes site that also does the excellent Tropical Storm Risk website which I link to on the left side of this blog.

Drought in Phuket? Are you having a laugh? Well, sure we are not in a desert, I can turn on the tap and get water for my shower, BUT I found it very interesting to find from the Global Drought Monitor by zooming in to Thailand on the map.. Phuket is having a "Minor Drought". Sure, we locals could have told you that, but nice to be backed up by climatologists! Zooming in further... looks like my wife's family home (Chumphon, on the east coast) is having a "Severe Drought"! Well, for sure the family says it's hot, not much rain.

Forecast? Well, the one I trust most is Wind Guru. Maybe not perfect on rainfall and temperature, but great for wind and waves.. and at this time of year strong winds means rain and storms... so that means the next week in Phuket looks pretty nice.

OH! There is meant to be a beach clean up on July 2nd (Thursday), all beaches, everyone welcome. I will be at Karon Beach, the clean up starts outside the Hilton 10am. Or at any beach. Look for people with bin bags!

More Sunny Weather in Phuket

jjjjmonk@yahoo.co.uk (Jamie Monk in Phuket) — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 01:01:00 +0000

Well really, this is getting silly. Where's the low season? This week has been almost all sun, hardly any wind. There was a few minutes of light rain on Tuesday afternoon, a quick 15 minute burst of wind and rain on Wednesday morning - I was at home, and the wind suddenly picked up, all the hills were obscured by clouds scudding in from the west... 20 minutes later it was all sunny again. It's hot too. Temperatures in the mid 30's Celcius.

Although June 21st was the longest day, the sunset time actually gets slightly later, and will be around 6:48pm for the next few weeks. The sun rises a bit later, which I notice, since we tend to wake up around 6am. In the summer, we wake up and it's just about light. In the winter, it's still dark (sunrise in January is as late as 6:46am). These long summer evenings are great. Just that extra half hour of sun means I get home from work with the sun still up, have time to relax outside, kick a ball around with the boy, maybe take a walk at the reservoir or go for a swim at the local pool. I like this time of year!

Yesterday afternoon I took a quick walk on Karon Beach. Not many tourists, red flags flying, waves not too big, but not ideal for swimming for sure. I saw one guy ignore the flags, head into the surf with his mask and fins... there were some lifeguards a bit further down the beach and they shouted at him. "Hey, red flags are not some kind of Chinese-Thai beach decoration". I was expecting to see a lot more garbage on the beach, as the waves and westerly winds always deposits flotsam on our beaches during the summer. There was a bit, but there won't be too much to clean up next week. On July 2nd there's a clean up at all Phuket beaches. Everyone welcome!

The beach looks good, sea looks inviting...

Hey, nice flag! Think I'll go for a paddle.

Long Days in Phuket

jjjjmonk@yahoo.co.uk (Jamie Monk in Phuket) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 12:25:00 +0000

Yesterday was the longest day of the year. Yes, they are all 24 hours, but the longest day refers to the day with most sunlight. Yesterday and today too, the official sunrise is 6:10am, sunset is 6:46pm. Total sunlight is officially 12 hours 35 minutes and 23 seconds here in Phuket on the longest day of 2009. There's not a massive change year round. The shortest day is December 21st - we'll get only 11 hours 39 minutes and 37 seconds of sunlight.

More here: Sunrise and Sunset for Phuket

Lots of sunlight year round. Even in this, the fabled "Monsoon" season. Yep, the good weather continues and we made the most of the longest day yesterday. It was hot all weekend. Almost windless on Saturday evening, very warm and humid. Clear skies with bright stars last night.

On Sunday, the longest day, we visited Phuket Aquarium for the nth time. Even after many visits I am not bored, because the kids always love it, always ask questions, always learn something.

From there we at a light lunch at a little roadside restaurant not far from the aquarium, lovely views over Chalong Bay. Along the same road is one of our favourite little restaurants but it closes up for low season.

There was still time for a walk at Bang Wad Reservoir and a swim at a local pool. Ah, these long summer evenings! June is supposed to be, on average, one of the wettest months in Phuket, but this year it's all different. So, either we get a wet July instead, or we have water shortages, or the whole world is just using way too much aircon.

Weather's Lovely - Wish You Were Here

jjjjmonk@yahoo.co.uk (Jamie Monk in Phuket) — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:10:00 +0000

Well, the couple of wet and windy days are forgotten already. We've had great weather in Phuket the last 2 days, sunny and hot, just like it should be in the low season! I mean, come on.. if you have been in Phuket this month, you've had sun, sun, sun, sun, sun, sun, sun, rain, cloud, sun, sun sun. Right? Weather cleared up nicely for some diving over the last couple of days.

This morning I stopped off at Chalong Jetty to say hello to people going out diving and to take a couple of photos. The view below (looking south) has not changed in 10 years except to take the photo I am standing on a modern jetty rather than a rickety wooden one. I have always liked this view. Longtail boats, offshore islands. The island on the horizon (about 20km from Chalong) is Koh Racha Yai, where I must have dived 100 times.

And looking east into the early morning sun... loads of boats. Chalong Bay is a safe anchorage protected from the wind. The bay is full of yachts, speedboats, dive boats, catamarans, fishing boats...

Some weather related Phuket news items...

There will be a beach clean up on July 2nd. If you are in Phuket, join in! This is part of an ongoing effort to clean up the beaches in the summer. The prevailing west winds blow all kinds of flotsam and jetsam onto Phuket's beaches. It can look messy. I plan to be at Karon Beach for the clean up.

More information on Phuket Wan : Beach Cleanup July 2nd

As mentioned last week, the winds in the summer can be strong, can create big waves at the beaches and every year people drown here. See a big wave? Don't swim, please. At least now, finally there seems to be some action. More here:

• Phuket beaches finally get lifeguards

Have a nice weekend!

Blue Skies Red Flags

jjjjmonk@yahoo.co.uk (Jamie Monk in Phuket) — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 09:05:00 +0000

See, just as I said yesterday, today is much nicer, indeed there has been but a sprinkle of drizzle and the afternoon has been largely sunny. A bit of bad weather in the summer is to be expected, but DON'T PANIC - the bad days normally only last 2 - 3 days maximum. This was really the first big band of SW Monsoon rain that we have had, expect more in the coming months!

Still windy. I would not advise swimming off Karon beach right now. Red flags are flying and I saw more flags being put up this morning. Seas were still rough this morning and we had a dive trip cancelled again today just like yesterday. Looks much better for the next few days, winds have died down... but now we have really started the summer / low season I won't stick my neck out too far and actually predict the weather! If you're coming soon, you are likely to get a mixed bag.

A couple of photos from this morning at Karon Beach, Phuket:

Change in the Weather - Get your Umbrella out!

jjjjmonk@yahoo.co.uk (Jamie Monk in Phuket) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 07:48:00 +0000

Wow. A sudden change in the weather here in Phuket. We've not really had any rain for the whole month of June until Sunday night. Saturday was so hot and sunny (see photos posted on June 14th), no sign of any wet weather, then during the evening we got hit by little bands of rain, a few minutes of wind and raindrops bashing on the window, then 20 minutes of calm, then another band. Monday was not too bad, some rain here and there, some wind, a cooler, cloudier day which is sometimes welcome after so much hot weather.

Then came Monday night (last night). Some very heavy rain and strong winds. I checked the wind strength on the internet - there is a live weather station at Nai Yang Beach - when I checked last night, winds were over 20 knots, gusting up to 30 knots, which is "Near Gale Force" on the Beaufort Scale. That did not last long, and it soon died down to a "Strong breeze". Anyway, very windy.

Still windy and wet this morning. We had some diving customers booked, but one trip cancelled which will hopefully run tomorrow instead, forecast looks better on WindGuru. Ha! After all that good weather, all the rain and wind comes in one day! This afternoon is dry, but still cloudy and windy. I did not venture out and take photos, but driving to work this morning at 9am the sky was so dark it was like almost night time! My "best guess" forecast is wind and rain tomorrow (but less than today), then things will all calm down again. The wet 'n' windy spells normally only last 3 days.

Sunshine, Swimming and Hospitals

jjjjmonk@yahoo.co.uk (Jamie Monk in Phuket) — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 10:07:00 +0000

Saturday was not to plan! We were greeted by another beautiful day with blue skies, scattered clouds, no sign of rain. Does anyone believe me yet that the low season is a good time to come to Phuket?!

We decided to take a picnic and were driving off towards Cape Panwa looking forward to great views from the Khao Kad viewpoint. Didn't get there. Stopped at a 7-11 to buy water and my boy managed to fall out of the car and did not get any hands, arms, elbows or anything else in the way of his head. Nasty bash on the head and it was bleeding quite a bit. We were only 5 minutes away from Phuket International Hospital when it happened, which was lucky. Phuket is blessed with very good health services, but make sure you are insured! Poor boy did not enjoy having 4 stitches in his head.

Of course he soon felt better and ate sandwiches and cakes at the hospital before we went home again. Boys do tend to soldier on. Later in the afternoon he managed to get a bleeding lip too when playing rough and tumble with a friend!

Lovely afternoon for a swim, though. My daughter had her first proper swimming lesson. She loves the water.

Today is just as warm and sunny, but the winds are a blowing from the west, so the beaches are a bit rough. But great weather for getting out and exploring Phuket.

A new cloud? (Nothing to do with Phuket, by the way)

jjjjmonk@yahoo.co.uk (Jamie Monk in Phuket) — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 13:35:00 +0000

Well this is a weather blog, so I think a non-Phuket weather story is called for once in a while. I just found this story on Yahoo News...

• A new cloud type?

A photo taken in Des Moines, Iowa in 2006 has sparked a meteorological debate. If you look at the photo below, you'll see something very odd. The photographer said "It looked like Armageddon". I assume she meant the movie.... no wait, I'm thinking of Independence Day.

I agree, looks pretty freaky. But a new cloud type? Well, here's my favourite part of the story. I found out there is such as thing as The Cloud Appreciation Society! Yes, if you love clouds this is the place to be!

I quote : "At The Cloud Appreciation Society we love clouds, we’re not ashamed to say it and we’ve had enough of people moaning about them ... see how we are fighting the banality of blue-sky thinking."

And check out this picture on the Cloud Appreciation Society website. Taken in Scotland - same kind of cloud, but scarier. The Cloud Appreciation Society are pushing for this to be classified as a new type of cloud. Or is it aliens?

Not much in the way of clouds in Phuket today. I guess you might call it "partly cloudy", but it was hot as a squirrels nuts in a frying pan again. I think we are going to crack and install aircon in the living room. And I might just join the Cloud Appreciation Society!

What is the Weather like in Phuket right now?

jjjjmonk@yahoo.co.uk (Jamie Monk in Phuket) — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 08:16:00 +0000

I get asked this question quite a lot via email or Facebook or comments on the blogs - "What is the weather in Phuket like now?"... followed by "We're coming in 2 weeks" or similar. Well, at this exact moment, the weather right now is very hot and very sunny with a bit of a westerly wind, BUT nobody can say what the weather will be like in 2 weeks, or even tomorrow. There are forecasts and best guesses and bones that ache when the rain is coming, but we don't control the weather. Tomorrow the sun will rise, and we will see. Que sera sera.

OK, so it's hot today, hot and sunny.. and has been all week. There was about 2 minutes of rain on Tuesday, and yesterday morning started cloudy, looked like dark clouds were gathering, but the sun won the battle. Much more of this and we'll be talking about empty reservoirs and cloud seeding! Well not yet, but there are sometimes very dry low seasons.

Sea looking much calmer today, winds are lighter than last week. Windy days are great if you are into kitesurfing. There's a kitesurf school at Nai Yang Beach in the north of the island. Thanks to Willy for sending a couple of photos from last week that show the waves (and blue skies!)...

Back to the NOW. There are a few very good places to look if you want to know the current weather in Phuket. Webcams, weather stations, weather radar - check the links below and bookmark this page! There are plenty more weather links on the left side of the page, too.

• Live Webcam at Karon Beach
• Weather station at Nai Yang Beach
• Weather Radar

Hot Summer Days - Beware of the Waves

jjjjmonk@yahoo.co.uk (Jamie Monk in Phuket) — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 06:42:00 +0000

Hot days. No rain. Well, maybe there was some rain in the night one day last week, but otherwise, the sun doth shine. Of course, this is "low" season so there's hardly anyone around to enjoy it.

(above) Nobody at Kata Beach this morning

How many times do I have to say it? The summertime is great in Phuket. Well, most of the time. You DO have a risk of some bad weather, but balance that against the cheaper airfares, hotel deals etc.. and I say GO FOR IT! You'll have the beach all to yourself.

OK, so it's sunny, it's hot, it's perfect weather in Phuket, right? Well, not exactly. Sunny days are great for exploring the island, great for relaxing by the pool, great for a day out in Phang Nga Bay, great for all kinds of activities. BUT, at this time of year, the south west monsoon winds start to blow. The main beaches in Phuket all face west, and so you can get waves that make swimming difficult, even dangerous. Red flags are up, and you MUST pay attention. Otherwise - well, here's 2 stories from the last week...

• June 5th - 2 people drown off Karon Beach

• June 2nd - Aussie family saved off Karon Beach

Karon can be particularly rough, with rip currents common. Kata is not so bad, but this morning the waves were almost all the way up the beach. Not huge waves, but I reckon there would be some rips there too. Please, if you are going swimming, consider the conditions before entering the water. If it looks too rough, use the hotel pool!

Recommended reading : Tips On Not Drowning by Tezza

If this weather can last a couple more days, I am definitely getting out for some diving this week. Huge piles of paperwork almost dealt with, I need to get underwater. Besides, people have seen whalesharks a couple of times last week at the local dive sites. Please stay sunny a few more days!

A bit of wind and a few waves CAN be a very good thing if you are into kitesurfing or surfing. Both are quite popular in Phuket. There's a surf competition coming up at Kalim Bay (just north of Patong) next week:

• Monsoon Riders Surf Contest June 12 - 14

More information on surfing in Phuket : Phuket Boardriders Club

For kitesurfing look here : Kite Surfing in Phuket

Sunburn in the low season?

jjjjmonk@yahoo.co.uk (Jamie Monk in Phuket) — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 12:29:00 +0000

After a sunny Saturday, only spoiled by Chelski winnning the FA Cup (I was rooting for Beer Chang... er, I mean Everton), I had one more day of holiday on Sunday, and it was a hot one. We met some friends at a "secret" swimming pool with attached waterslide located near Bang Tao Beach. A couple of hours in the pool and convincing my 4 year old boy that being scared (racing down a waterslide) can be fun too.. and we all had red faces and I had red shoulders. Oh, that low season weather is terrible!

Come on now, I have been saying it for years, the summer / green / low / "monsoon" season is great! Here's a little article on another blog:

• Low Season Weather in Phuket

All the locals know it, we like the low season, we don't mind some wetter days. We also know that you get good weather most of the time. This blog has been up for 3 years now, so you can check reports and photos by clicking the Archive links on the left of the page and get a good idea of Phuket weather patterns. Yeh, you'll get some rain, but balance that against crazy hotel prices..

• LateStays Phuket Hotels

Do you believe it now, Trinity?

Yesterday had some morning rain, but it can be very isolated and heavy showers may last only a few minutes.... As I was leaving home, my wife called from school saying it was raining heavily there and I should drop our son right by the entrance and she's meet me there. 10 minutes later, son and I arrived at the school. No rain, some blue sky. Rain gone. The rest of the day was warm and sunny aside from an evening downpour around 8pm. Today has been warm all day and it just started pi**ing down now at 7:45pm... and I bet it will not last long, just enough to water the garden and wash the dust off the leaves.

A photo from Sunday - I didn't take my camera to the pool, but James had his camera on a bike ride around Koh Yao Noi - see the Trip Report from the Amazing Bike Tours Blog.

Sunshine after the rain

jjjjmonk@yahoo.co.uk (Jamie Monk in Phuket) — Sat, 30 May 2009 13:32:00 +0000

It's a quiet Saturday evening, hardly a breath of wind outside, it's been a sunny and relaxing day and I am drinking a nice cold Beer Chang. The FA Cup final on Thai TV channel behind me - Everton are sponsored by Chang. Quite how a Thai beer gets to sponsor an English Premier league team I dunno!

Yesterday started wet. On Thursday night there was quite a bit of wind and rain. My wife woke up, I did not. A friend said a tree blew over in his garden. The rain continued into Friday morning. Now, I have to say that as a resident, after some really hot days such as we had last weekend it's very nice to have a couple of grey rainy days, to cool things off. By the 3rd wet day we start wishing for sun again... and lo! The sun did come out on Friday afternoon, a lovely sunny afternoon leading to a hastily arranged BBQ at our house with some friends.

There is something about the summer weather - I like the variety, I like a rainy day to cool off after a hot day, and I like to feel the warmth of the sun again after a couple of rainy days.

Today has been all sunshine. We planned to do as little as possible. Need some rest. I'll be back to work on Monday. We did have lunch at a nearby noodle shop, then drove around town a bit as I needed to buy a pump for the kids bicycle tyres, then we thought - let's go look around Koh Sirey, not been over there for a while. It's a very quiet area. We even found a road that we had not followed before, rolling over a hill in the jungle...

The roads that wind around Sirey Island have some great views. There is some development going on, new houses, but we spotted some land that we would love to buy... if we were rich! The area is pretty but also rather neglected. We stopped at a little beach, but did not stay long. Quite a lot of rubbish. The Phuket Gazette reported just a couple of days ago that 20 million Baht has been earmarked for improvements in that area.

A sample view from our drive...

This time of year is also called the "Green Season". Can't imagine why... Found this plant today while driving around...

Here's hoping for a sunny Sunday too!

Wetter in Phuket

jjjjmonk@yahoo.co.uk (Jamie Monk in Phuket) — Thu, 28 May 2009 13:35:00 +0000

And a big Guten Tag to all German readers who may have found this page... the title uses the word 'Wetter', which is the German word for Weather. Of course in English it means "more wet" or indeed "less dry". A friend of mine did start a German Phuket Wetter blog a couple of years ago, but it did not last. Updating a blog like this every few days needs a bit of application, sometimes I forget, sometimes I have little to say. It would be great to update daily with a "photo of the day", but there's no time - I have a family and a real job to do. Full time Blogger sounds like a good job, but there's not much money in it! If you like this weather blog and find it useful, there is a little Donate button on the left of the page :)

So, anyway.. after the heatwave at the weekend in Phuket, and indeed in Krabi, things were still hot on Monday, but very hazy. I felt probably some rain was due. This is tropical weather - all that heat eventually has to break. So, on Tuesday morning, as we took my parents to Phuket Airport for their return to sunny England, some rain fell. My mother said the sky was crying, so sad for the farewell.

Wednesday was indeed wetter weather. Lots of rain. As a resident in Phuket, a wet day once in a while is actually nice. Much cooler, fresh air, no aircon needed. I'm on holiday this week, kids are at school. My wife and I did dull jobs such as taking the car for a service and paying all the bills.

Today (Thursday) has been a mixed box of chocolate - some rain, some sun, not too hot. We went to Phuket Immigration in the morning to apply for my yearly visa renewal. It's fairly simple so long as you know what paperwork to have. As my wife is Thai and we have kids, I can apply for a 1 year visa and do not have to leave Thailand. We know the immigration officers and the process is quick and easy.

No photos for the last few days. I tend not be out taking photos in the rain! The weather tonight is calm and warmer, might be another sunny day tomorrow. Still very little wind about, so the SW Monsoon winds have still not set in.

If I don't update here for a few days .. check the links on the left side of the page for up to the minute Phuket Weather information - you'll find webcams, weather radar, satellite photos and more. I will also sometimes post mini weather updates on Twitter (see updates on the left of this page also).

I'll try to remember to take a camera tomorrow.. except we are planning to rest and do as little as possible :) Maybe a massage at the Royal Spa.

The heat is on

jjjjmonk@yahoo.co.uk (Jamie Monk in Phuket) — Sun, 24 May 2009 15:07:00 +0000

England, that far away land where I was born, sometimes seems out of reach. But my mother and father have been here in Phuket for the last 2 weeks. Most of the time, the weather has been a bit grey, a mixed bag, some sunshine, some rain. No really bad weather, but no really classic scorching days either. Hey, it's low season. The weather in Phuket is OK. Hope this blog brings that message home.

In England they have been having a lovely sunny Bank Holiday weekend. Not nearly as hot as Phuket. I can say without hesitation that the last 2 days here have earned the well-used headline "Phew! What a Scorcher!" - I am used to the heat. I can tell you it has been very hot. My poor dad, used to England and anything over 20 degrees being a "hot day", has been struggling. Oh, by the way, did I mention it's low season?

So, we left you on the 20th May. We had a very nice evening at Phuket Brewery watching singers and the magic show which amazed my kids. We could hear the rain on the roof as we ate there, but it was dry by the time we headed home.

The 21st was hot and humid, still almost no wind at all. When will the real SW monsoon kick in? After a late night on Wednesday, we had a restful morning. Lunch at the excellent Lakeside restaurant in the north of the island near Bang Pae Waterfall. There was rain in the night again. Who cares?! But there was still rain in the morning on Friday. Quite heavy. Umbrella weather. We took the kids to school and staff were waiting with brollies to shepherd the kids inside as they leaped from the parents cars! An easy rest day, lunch at the excellent Fuji restaurant in the Central Festival mall. Later, although it was a bit muddy underfoot, we went to the OTOP fair at Sapan Hin in Phuket Town.

We'd bought a new table and chairs this week for outside the house and with the change in weather on Friday afternoon, we enjoyed eating dinner outside with a slight breeze blowing. The weather was so different between morning and afternoon. From wet and grey to sunny and blue :)

Saturday 23rd May - HOT. Very. We drove to Krabi in the morning and had planned to stay overnight but had to come back to Phuket. Well now we know that we can do Krabi in a day trip... just about. It's around 2½ hours drive. We did not get too much time to explore. Can I say again? HOT. Almost too hot. I think my dad was getting mild heat exhaustion. A couple of photos...

We drove back to Phuket in the afternoon. A very hot day for all that driving. Here's a view from Sarasin bridge, as you cross into Phuket...

Today has been just as hot as yesterday. Very hot. This summer weather in Phuket can be fantastic... but be sure to drink plenty of water! Today has been such a day. I have got a bit of red skin, everyone is tired, but then again we have kept ourselves busy! In the morning I took mum and dad up to the Big Buddha. I realised I had not blogged the Buddha for a long time and the building has come on a long way. It was already hot by 10am - hazy but sunny. The Buddha is looking very good, but it could still take another year (or 2) to complete the whole project.

And this afternoon we have all been to Paradise Beach. Lots of sun, could have stayed for hours. Oh, I do like having a beach almost to ourselves! Another great "low" season bonus!

This hot weather is tiring! Today shows just how great the weather can be at this time of year. Yes, not all the time, but... don't worry about the weather. Come to Phuket!

Relaxing in Phuket in the low season

jjjjmonk@yahoo.co.uk (Jamie Monk in Phuket) — Wed, 20 May 2009 09:51:00 +0000

Yes, I know, I should not say "low season" anymore! But May is not exactly the summer either... May is normally just about the quietest month for tourism in Phuket, coming after the end of the high season, after Easter and before the European summer holidays. In terms of weather, this is the month of change, but even now on the 20th we have not seen the real southwest winds blowing. Still calm and hot with some heavy showers, very humid. The last few days have seen plenty of sun, mixed with light rain and occasional heavier downpours - yes, not great weather but on the other hand it's not stopped us from doing what we want. You have to be a little flexible and bend with the weather at this time of year.

On Sunday we planned to head to Rawai Beach and hire a longtail for a bit of island hopping - there are a number of small islands within easy reach such as Koh He, Koh Bon and Koh Kaew. The weather was certainly rather grey, looked like rain, but once we reached Rawai we thought "Let's Do It!" - we hired a boat from Mr Chin and I can recommend his service - his mobile is 081 6072427. The price was to be 1300 Baht to go to Koh Kaew and then back via Koh Bon. The trip will be blogged soon on Jamie's Phuket! Weather certainly was grey - a light drizzle fell most of the morning, but the sea was pretty calm and a bit of drizzle did not spoil a nice little trip.

A monk asked for a ride back to Rawai...

A couple of lazy days followed - Monday was a bit rainy - we had some jobs to do around town such as sorting our car insurance and buying some new glasses. We lunched at Kaewjai and shopped at the "Expo" indoor market in Phuket Town - lots of clothes. We drove around Sapan Hin and sat in the car staring at the sea as some heavier rain fell - hey this is like a day at the seaside in England! Tuesday was equally lazy. The morning sun made we want to just sit and relax all day... my adventurous parents headed to Mai Khao Beach right in the north of Phuket. We bummed around at home and bought some new garden furniture.

Today has seen a lot more sunshine. We did a little temple tour - I am a big fan of temples! I took the folks to Wat Sri Sunthon just south of Thalang in the center of Phuket island - there is a huge reclining Buddha there on the roof of one of the temple buildings. Dark skies threatened and it rained a bit as we drove 15 minutes to Wat Phra Tong.

The evening is the same - I can see blue sky and dark clouds from my window right now... we don't care it it rains - we're all heading out to the Phuket Brewery for dinner to celebrate dad's 69th birthday! Happy Birthday!

The usual mixed bag

jjjjmonk@yahoo.co.uk (Jamie Monk in Phuket) — Sun, 17 May 2009 01:12:00 +0000

It's Sunday morning. Today we're hoping the weather will be good enough for a boat ride from Rawai beach to a couple of offshore islands. From the window I can see blue sky, light clouds, dark clouds, grey sky... so the afternoon weather is hard to predict. We will just play it by ear, head down to Rawai and see what mother nature delivers.

The last few days have all been similar here in Phuket. A mixed bag, but with no "bad" weather. No clear blue skies either, but as we enter the summer season, you expect plenty of days like this - not exactly sunny, but certainly with some sunshine, and it's the kind of weather that won't stop you enjoying life. Apologies for a 5 day gap between updates - I was working all last week - the weather blog and Phuket blog are not a full time job!

Thursday and Friday I was in the shop, weather was hot and humid - up to 34 or 35 degrees, hardly any wind - great for diving, as no wind means calm seas... These were not bright sunny days, but aside from a few spots, no rain either. I guess you call the sky "partly sunny".

I have added a new webcam link onto my Phuket Webcam page. For ages, the webcam at Marina resort, Karon Beach was the only good one - now there's one at Twin Palms (Surin Beach) which looks out at the sea, so shows the weather very clearly. Webcams are the best way to answer the question "What's the weather like in Phuket?"

• Twin Palms Surin Beach Webcam

Saturday - I am on holiday! Will be having a break from now until about the 28th May. It was a lazy day yesterday, a break much needed by all - kids went back to school last week after 2 months off - all those early morning wake ups were a shock to the system! So yesterday was a true rest day. We headed out for lunch but found that our favourite little restaurant has now closed up for the low season - it's in a very quiet part of the island, so they just don't get enough business year round. Weather yesterday was more of the same - some dark clouds threatened but the sun broke out here and there, and it was very hot again - a bit of cooling westerly breeze would be very welcome!

(above) Home, 16th May - plenty of blue sky!

After lunch at an alternate restaurant, the big job for the afternoon was a haircut. I took my dad to our local barber as he wanted a trim too. Price is 80 Baht for a cut. Dad normally pays around 8 pounds (400 Baht) back home and he did remark that our local barber in Kathu is prettier than his local hairdresser - no offence Tony!

Sun is shining now, but I can still see some grey sky.. Hopefully the sun will win the battle and burn off the clouds.

Sunny May in Phuket

jjjjmonk@yahoo.co.uk (Jamie Monk in Phuket) — Tue, 12 May 2009 07:15:00 +0000

The weather has been so good the last few days, and yet there's hardly anyone here to enjoy it. Listen up, listen well. This is The Phuket Weather Blog. The truth lies within. Listen not to doomsayers, Phuket is great any time of year! Yes, so we might get some rain in May, we have had some rain, but so we did in March, and so we did in December. The summer approaches and believe me, the weather is often like today - hot, sunny, calm seas.. and with the bonus of cheap off season hotel prices!

I feel poetic, but will let a better (albeit long dead) man speak:

Now the bright morning-star, Day’s harbinger,
Comes dancing from the East, and leads with her
The flowery May, who from her green lap throws
The yellow cowslip and the pale primrose.
Hail, bounteous May, that dost inspire
Mirth, and youth, and warm desire!
Woods and groves are of thy dressing;
Hill and dale doth boast thy blessing.
Thus we salute thee with our early song,
And welcome thee, and wish thee long.

(John Milton, Song on a May morning)

On Sunday, a beautiful day, and a day off. Three generations of the Monk family went out for the day, finding lunch at Nai Yang Beach at a little restaurant called Batik Seafood, right on the beach. Very very relaxing, tasty food and fun in the sea for the kids!

I've been working the last 2 days, but will have a holiday starting Saturday. Hope the current weather holds. The office is a prison on a sunny day! The forecasts have it all wrong again. Right now: sunny and hot. The BBC forecast says "Tuesday: heavy rain shower". Incorrect. The Phuket Weather Blog says "SUNNY".

Sun, Thunder, Number 8 and the family

jjjjmonk@yahoo.co.uk (Jamie Monk in Phuket) — Sun, 10 May 2009 00:02:00 +0000

It's family time here in the Monk household. On Friday, my dear parents arrived from the UK. Friday had been a dry day in Phuket with some sunshine, but as evening approached dark clouds gathered and as we drove to the airport at about 6pm, there was suddenly heavy rain, black clouds almost touching the ground and I was worried their flight would be delayed or worse (remember what happened on 16th September 2007). But as we approached the airport I could see brighter skies to the west and the rain had stopped by the time they landed.

Phuket gave my folks a big welcome with a big ol' thunderstorm on Friday night over our house, but Saturday was a sunny day. I was busy at work ferrying students back and forth to the training pool. We had Rescue Diver and Open Water Diver courses going on. They will all be diving at Racha Yai island today, lucky people.

After work yesterday I drove up Buddha Mountain to meet the family for a sunset dinner at the little Nakkerd Seaview restaurant. No fancy food here... just simple tasty Thai dishes - we've been here a lot, but their prices are creeping up now as more tourists are visiting the Buddha.

Number 8

The number 8 is considered the luckiest of numbers in Chinese astrology - the Beijing Olympics started at 8pm on the 8th day of the 8th month in 2008. So is there some luck coming my way? I drove right up to the Buddha statue yesterday evening before meeting everyone at the restaurant which is half a km down the hill. At the top of the hill, as I parked the car, the odometer hit exactly 8000km.

Some views at the Big Buddha - views from here are great. The 45m high Buddha statue itself is almost ready, but the base and surrounding area are not complete, lots of work to do. We have been coming up this hill for years. First time we came up here work had not even started, must have been about 7 years ago. It could easily take another couple of years to 100% finish the project.

(above) The Big Buddha statue - the statue faces east - if you want a nice photo with the sun in the Buddha's face, you need to be there in the morning. I have blogged the building of the Buddha several times, but it's come a long way in the lst year, so needs blogging again :)

Changing Seasons in Phuket

jjjjmonk@yahoo.co.uk (Jamie Monk in Phuket) — Fri, 08 May 2009 06:58:00 +0000

Yes, the seasons are certainly changing... I seem to have been saying that for weeks. There is always a long period of changeable weather just when the southwest monsoon winds start to blow. We had some wet and windy weather around 20th - 23rd April, rough seas, big waves at the beaches... and then it all calmed down again. The last 2 weeks of our main dive season have been great - seas are calm, a little rain here and there and I have heard from customers sightings of Whalesharks, Manta Rays and even the rare Shovelnose Ray. The dive businesses do not close for the summer, but there are no liveaboards and no trips to the Similan islands. We do have lots of local trips - more info here: Summer Season Diving in Phuket.

A quick potted history of the weather this week - mostly sunny, some rain, hardly any wind. Today (Friday) is typical - a wet start to the day, but dry by 10am and sunny in the afternoon. Yesterday was hot all day, some light rain but I can assure you it was hot.. I spent nearly 4 hours at the Phuket Provincial Transportation Office renewing my car and motorbike licences. A lot of waiting around in hot rooms. Thankfully I don't have to renew again until 2015!

The rain does worry people. Morning rain fell on Monday, a customer left a message on my mobile (sorry I did not hear it ring at 6:15am), worried that the rain would lead to cancellation. But of course the rain did not last and I do believe everyone had a good dive trip.

I've not been out and about with camera this week. Will be holidaying again from May 15th - 28th. Mum and dad arrive from England today. And will no doubt be out taking lots of pictures (they will too!).. In lieu of my own photos I have done a Google Blog Search for "Phuket" trying to find pictures from this week..

Big Buddha - from this blog. Blog is in Japanese, has a lot of Thailand pictures especially temples.

And this picture sums it up - Kata in the summer season - a bit of sun, rainclouds in the distance, hardly anyone about. Great. From this blog.

And some rainy pictures here. Not sure from what exact date any of the photos are, but all these blogs were updated in the last 2 days, so I will assume photos from this week.

Absolute latest weather is best seen here: Karon Beach Phuket Webcam. I am waiting on a load more webcams to come online - Nick Anthony, one of the leaders of the Summer in Phuket campaign has told me "webcams will go up on mai Khao, Chedi, (maybe Trisara), Patong, Kata, Chalong (up already), Panwa and at either Yamu or Ao Po" = a webcam festival! Webcams don't lie - you can see exactly what the weather is doing. Hope to see these online soon!

Nearly Summertime in Phuket

jjjjmonk@yahoo.co.uk (Jamie Monk in Phuket) — Sun, 03 May 2009 07:04:00 +0000

This year there is a concerted effort to ban the use of the words "low season" in Phuket. I wish I could have attended the meeting on Thursday, but was out of Phuket for a few days. Business leaders got together to throw ideas around, the main one being that "low season" is a BAD name for the period from now until October. Better to use "summer season" or "green season". The weather is not perfect, but after nearly 10 years living here, I assure you that Phuket is well worth a visit during the summer months. I wrote a little blog piece about it 2 years ago - Phuket in the "wet" season - Great time to visit.

So, since the last update on 27th April, weather has continued hot and sunny here in Phuket. I can tell you it was even hotter over on the other side - I drove to Chumphon on Tuesday morning, about 400km north, about half way to Bangkok. This is my wife's home town and we had a few relaxing days at the beach and exploring a little around the local area. Thung Wua Laen beach about 10km out of town is very nice, with small beachside restaurants, some guesthouses, so far not very developed, though it has certainly become busier since we first went here 9 years ago.

Photos below at the beach, 28th April:

Not as big as the Big Buddha in Phuket, but there's one just south of Chumphon too... we went on the 29th.

I'll probably blog a bit more about Chumphon sometime.. yeh, it's not Phuket, but Chumphon is a nice little place!

We drove back to Phuket on Friday (1st May) - had a few clouds and spots of rain around Phang Nga, but it was a hot afternoon in Phuket when we got home. Just over the bridge, almost home, we stopped at the Phuket Gateway, a monument to Phuket, full of interesting historical facts, sculptures and gardens... and devoid of visitors except us. My daughter has been on a school field trip before, but it seems not many tourists stop here.

Yesterday (Saturday) - a little rain here and there, some dark clouds threatened in the afternoon, but weather stayed decent. We visited the Halal Expo at Sapan Hin, a large park and recreation area in the south of Phuket Town. Lots of food, things for sale, all promoting a Halal lifestyle and a great advert for Phuket's large Muslim community. More Here: Phuket Halal Expo.

Officially it's now ~~low season~~.. I mean Summer Season, the month of May has begun, the weather is certainly on the change - we've had a rainy morning today, with a brighter afternoon, and we have the last few trips to the Similan Islands for diving in the next few days - these trips start up again in October. The summer IS a great time to come - less crowds, lots of good weather and of course Phuket hotel prices go way down. See you here soon!

High Season Weather is Back!

jjjjmonk@yahoo.co.uk (Jamie Monk in Phuket) — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 13:26:00 +0000

Looks like we had a false start to the low season. I think this happens every year. Around 5 days of wind and rain, then it all calms down again. The real low season will be here soon enough, but for now it's hot sunny weather in Phuket again.

Friday (24th) we did have some rain. I ventured out early to take photos of the Shrine of the Serene Light in Phuket old town.. but the serene light was missing, replaced by light rain. It only rained for half an hour, the rest of Friday was dry. The weekend was also warm and sunny, great weather for being here, I can't say it often enough - it's ALWAYS a good time to be here! But... as for tourist numbers, the high season is over. Very quiet in Karon Beach, and last weeks rainy weather may well have put off some last minute holidays. Well come now, it's sunny!

Today I should have driven up to Chumphon, but needed a day of rest. Hope my wife understands! I'll be driving up tomorrow for a few days on the east coast of Thailand. My wife says the last week has been great weather there. From home, I checked the webcam at Karon Beach - sea looked calm today and it has been a hot day, a scorcher indeed.

Next report from Chumphon! In the meantime, a couple of photos taken at home today...

Windy but Hot and Sunny

jjjjmonk@yahoo.co.uk (Jamie Monk in Phuket) — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 08:47:00 +0000

Well, looks like the SouthWest Monsoon is kicking in a week or two early this year. Over the last few days we have had some quite strong westerly breezes, enough to stop speedboats heading out to the Similan Islands from Khao Lak, enough yesterday even to stop a few bigger liveaboard dive boats. I am checking the wind forecasts on Windguru several times per day. At the moment looks like winds and waves will decrease into next week. The BuoyWeather forecast agrees. So hopefully all the dive trips will run as normal after today. But for sure, the winds have well and truly changed.

No rain? Well, yesterday had some dark skies and patchy showers. Today has been very hot and sunny, but cooled by the sea breeze. One has to remember than the word "Monsoon" refers more to wind than rain. Here in Phuket we have 2 monsoons - the Southwest from May - October and the Northeast from November - April (approximately) - more details here: Phuket Weather Overview.

I took a walk on Karon Beach before lunch today. Hot weather, mostly blue skies, but big waves. The people in the photo below are not being too sensible. There can be rip currents on Karon Beach when you have waves like this. Every year there are a few tourists who drown around Phuket's beaches in the low season - splashing around in the waves can be fun, but take care.. or stick to the hotel pool!

End of the High Season?

jjjjmonk@yahoo.co.uk (Jamie Monk in Phuket) — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 09:25:00 +0000

This week has been a Songkran hangover. After a fun day on Monday, everyone faces up to a few realities. With Songkran and Easter both done and dusted (Easter Monday was the same day as Songkran), the tourist high season is just about over. The restaurant next to our dive shop packed everything up today. Most package tours stop on about April 15th, and we've only a few more weeks of the main dive season left. We do open year round, but the Similan Islands are more or less off limits from mid May until mid October.

Yep, Songkran was great - my photos of Monday's Water festival are here: Songkran in Patong April 13th 2009. It was a hot, hot day, although in the morning we thought it might be a wet Songkran.. well it was, but .. you know what I mean. My son dashed out to retrieve a toy from the garden...

Day after Songkran... kids tired out from all the fun... another HOT day.. I went to work, my wife reported that little boy woke up at midday! Oh to be 4 again!

Wednesday - a nice wet morning followed by "the heat". I drove to work in the rain...

And arrived in the rain. Scuba Diving? Damn, I needed dive gear to cross the road that morning! Of course, it was all sunny later on.

The last 2 days have been very hot. I should buy a thermometer for the garden so I can tell you how hot. Anyway, really hot. Yesterday was a sweaty day, starting with my morning run and ending with a nice little BBQ for my wifes birthday. A cold beer goes down very well after a hot day in Phuket.

And must take a nice sunny photo tomorrow! Weather is pretty darn good here right now, just those brief rains in the heat of the day. BUT... is the season changing? Windguru seems to be predicting quite strong west winds next week, which is a sure sign of change... Stay tuned.

And now, as it's April and a little rain is falling... I thought of a suitable song:

Songkran Weather in Phuket

jjjjmonk@yahoo.co.uk (Jamie Monk in Phuket) — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 14:31:00 +0000

It's been a fun weekend in Phuket, with the Phuket Bike Week taking place from 10th - 12th April (see more here: Phuket Bike Week) and of course it's Songkran - the traditional Thai New Year. The official holiday dates are 12th - 15th April. The 13th (Monday) is the big day in Phuket, the day for fun and water throwing, a party on every street. The weather has almost behaved. Rain in the night on the 10th.. I reckon more than a few people got very wet at the free Carabao concert in Patong beach that night.

On Saturday I went down to Patong beach with my daughter to see what was going on for Bike Week. It was a hot sunny afternoon, very hot toasty weather.

The last couple of days have also been hot. For a while it looked to me like Songkran on 13th April might be a wash out - heavy rain for about 20 minutes in the morning.. but the sun broke through, the rain went away and we drove over to Patong beach in our pick up truck for a couple of fun hours throwing water - lots of photos on Jamie's Phuket - Songkran 2009 - Patong Beach Phuket.

You'll notice no mention of what has been going on in Bangkok - if you want to know a LOT more about it - click on Bangkok Pundit - anyway, seems to be all over now. My view in a few words - give Abhisit a chance. There will be an election soon enough. But this time, everyone has to accept the result.