Beat the Heat
Any Thai person will tell you Thailand has two seasons, hot and wet. Wet still means hot, with the added daily deluge of rain. Hot means hot and wet, the humidity is shocking. Here’s how best to manage and be prepared for the heat.
Stay hydrated!
This means more than water. Coconut water is readily available and cold fruit smoothies beckon from many restaurants. Treat yourself, once or twice or more daily. You can also easily pick up hydration packs. You need electrolytes: sugar, salt, potassium. Bananas are another great source of potassium. Water is easy to find. To save on plastic, bring your own refillable water and buy the two liter bottles of water or a gallon to keep in your room. Those large bottles are a pain to carry around but you will and should drink that much water every day. There are water stations around, not usually around the populated hotel areas but they do exist on side streets. For 5 baht, you get one liter. Super cheap, plastic free, and totally safe. Even tiny Thai restaurants will give you water but not in the quantity Americans are used to – think juice glass versus pint glass. Ask before filling up your water bottle at a restaurant. 7 Elevens have a ton of drink options to keep your hydrated. The one thing they don’t have, that blows my mind, is a Slurpee machine!! My favorite refreshing drink is the Ioten En Green Tea (middle top shelf green bottle below) which is a sugar free green tea.
Protect yourself from the sun.
Sunscreen, everyday, multiple times a day! Sunscreen takes 30 minutes to start working so don’t wait until you’re on the beach to apply. Leave your room with a layer on and reapply after swimming or sweating, which you will always be doing. Hats are great just make sure they are breathable. Don’t forget sunscreen on the tops of your ears and base of your neck. I also like the tinted UV moisturizers and powders. Pond’s Magic Powder is tinted and has UV protection. It’s easy to reapply on your face throughout the day, and takes the shine off for those selfies! The best sun solution is really an umbrella. There’s a reason all the natives carry them around! The shade from your umbrella will drop the temp under it a good 10 degrees (F). You may feel silly at first opening one on a sunny day but you’ll be pleasantly surprised at the effectiveness. A light over layer, like a chambray button up or open knit sweater, is also a great idea. It may seem silly to wear more clothes in the heat, but a protective layer helps keep the sun off your skin. The other cool thing you can find at 7 Eleven are UV sleeves. Not fashion forward, but very comfortable in the staying cool department.
Cool off.
I also recommend carrying around a little fan. When we sweat, that moisture on our skin helps cool us off. Adding a little air flow goes a long way! You can find cheap fans at any of the markets. Or, get all 2019 and find a fan that plugs into your phone’s charging port. High tech! It will affect your battery life, heads up! If and when you find yourself over-heating: Get out of the sun! Drink cool liquids to help bring your body temperature down. Mega pro tip: put something cold on your pulse points and near your heart. It helps cool your body down faster. You can wrap your wrists around a glass of ice cold water and hold them there until you’ve cooled off. I have been known to carry frozen things in my bra. What? Maybe not the classiest move, but it truly helps you cool down quickly.
Bugs.
The other thing that comes with hot and wet is bugs. You’re in the jungle now, baby, and they are hard to avoid! You can find the local deet bug spray in pink or orange bottles, or bring a small bottle from home. I don’t ever put deet on my skin, I save it for your outer layers of clothes, including hat. There are a ton of non-toxic options out there for your skin. I prefer, and swear by, my homemade version. Bring one diluted 3oz spray bottle and one bottle full strength for refills. Spray yourself head to toe before getting dressed. Spray it on your hands to apply to your face. And remember, sunscreen before bug spray. The bug spray needs to sit on top of sunscreen to be effective. Your pretty, sweaty face and neck are the most attractive to buggies so don’t forget that! If the bugs do get ya, it’s easy to find myriad bug bite cures. Thais use menthol for everything (stomach ache, nauseas) and you’ll find delightful menthol concoctions work wonders on bites, with the added refresh of cooling menthol. My favorites are the classic white Tiger Balm ointment and the Siang Pure Oil, which smells like cinnamon and cloves. On that note of scent, leave your flowery perfumes at home, it just attracts more bugs! Go natural with your scents like lavender oil.
Pro tip: it’s hot everywhere but some restaurants will have the air con pumping full blast. While it feels great at first, don’t stay too long. Seriously! It will make going back out into the heat way harder. Same thing in your room, don’t keep it an icy 25C (that’s right, it will be in celsius not farenheit). Sleep with your air con set to 28-30C if you can. If it’s not cool, you’ll notice a hot wet feeling, take it down 1 degree. Turn off the air con 10-15 minutes before you leave your room to start the adjustment process.
Location tip: Also note that you probably won’t be able to run the air con while you’re out of your room. Most places have a key operated system where your key has to be in a slot to turn on the power – all the power! Your stuff won’t dry in the room and you can’t charge electronics while you’re gone. Bikinis are for balconies and pack a second or third. A extra power bank for your phone and an extra camera battery are a good idea.
Special thanks to Neal Colvard for updated Thai 7 Eleven pics and Grace Yuskat for beauty product pics she sent to me when I was new in town!
