The Best Time to Travel to Thailand
Probably the most common question any foreigner living in Thailand will hear from people planning to visit the Kingdom is “When is the best time to come to Thailand”…not an easy question to answer without knowing “why” a person wants to come to Thailand.
There are basically three seasons in Thailand (though of late the cold season seems to have gone missing), the seasons are, The Hot, The Wet and The Cold. Cold being a rather subjective description though, the shots of emergency blankets being handed out in the northern provinces when it drops to a chilly 10 degrees…that’s 10 degrees Celsius. So what does each season offer.
The Hot
March to June : The hottest month is April when even the geckos stay inside and most expats look outside at lunch time and decide to not eat rather than melt on the walk to a food stall. The Hot season is beach season, if that’s your thing then this is the time to come to Thailand, guaranteed sun sun sun all day long day after day. For Trekkers you might find this to be a tad hot to go trudging up hills unless mounted on an elephant, sun stroke and dehydration are high up on the list of things to beware of. Bangkok turns into a molten vat of pollution as the winds die and the smog just hangs around choking up the oxygen. Hotels are at their most expensive during the hot season and weekends will see many of the mid range ones fully booked.
The Wet
July to November : The change over from hot to wet is the worst time to be in Thailand regardless of what you’re into. It’s Hot, it’s wet and the humidity is ruthless. You’ll be desperate to take three showers a day at a minimum…living in a shower for a month might not be a bad plan. If you can imagine living in a sauna for a month then you get the right picture of Thailand at the start of the wet season…unless you’re in Bangkok, then get in a sauna and pipe your car exhaust into the sauna to get the right idea…hmmm yummy. Then thankfully the skies really open up, the wind blows and things freshen up . Rain is pretty much a guaranteed feature on a daily basis and usually kicks off in the afternoon, sometimes lasting all night, Floods are common along with power cuts. So why come to Thailand now…the cost…. hotels are empty, tourists are away, it’s a great time to see Thailand with fewer tourists than usual and get the best prices as even the Thai people stay home at the weekends.
The Cold
December to February : Thailand freezes over, snow falls from the sky and ice-skating is the nations most popular sport…well if you watched the TV or the Thai people running around dressed in winter jackets, boots, gloves and scarves you may start to think it’s true.. in Bangkok it can drop to a bone chilling 15 degrees Celsius at night, and up north it has on occasions dropped down to 2 degrees, the south gets off much lighter and you can escape with a body warmer and a bobble hat. Thailand again is swarming with tourists who have come to take advantage of the cool weather to do see Thailand without burning up. This is the best time of the year to actually “see” Thailand, you’ll enjoy seeing the sights and touring the cities and trekking will be at its best. Again prices will be up and hotels fairly full.
So in a nutshell the best time to come to Thailand is the time that suits what you want to do, Trekkers and Tanners will have different needs, those looking for bargains will have different needs. Just add that there are occasional down pours even in the hottest parts of the year and even the wet season can be dry for a week or more…..but leave your skis at home…there will be no snow…..guaranteed.
Travel Insurance – Is It Necessary?
So you want to leave the homeland for a while, see the sights, take the pictures, or perhaps, do some business. You’ve packed the swimming trunks, the extra layers, the hiking boots, the sun screen, but the question remains: is your medical insurance traveling with you? What happens if you get to Brazil like you always wanted to, and then, in a freak spilled mojito accident, you break your ankle? What if the escargot from that charming Parisian restaurant reacts badly with your American digestive system, and you are suddenly in the throes of the worst food poisoning you’ve experienced in your life? It is no small matter; according to the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention, one half of US travelers heading to another country will experience some sort of health problem while abroad.
Ever since the Michael Moore film, “Sicko,” came out, we all know that many other countries (well, specifically France, Canada, and Cuba) provide affordable, sometimes free, healthcare to their citizens, but how does it work for us, Americans, abroad? Well, the truth is, unless you make special preparations, the outlook is not good. According to World Wide Medical.Com website, “most US insurance companies, HMOs, PPOs or Medicare [plans] do not provide adequate medical insurance.” There may be exceptions, and you should look into the fine print of your plan, but every major US health insurance providers suggests getting some form of traveler’s insurance. Unfortunately, there is no foreign country that provides free health care for travelers.
Travel insurance plans provide three types of coverage: for medical care when abroad, the cost of emergency medical evacuation, and reimbursement for sudden trip cancellations and lost luggage.
Should you require medical attention while abroad, most insurance companies provide support in the form of emergency hotlines. They will advise you on the best hospitals in the area, as well as the ins and outs of the local systems. It is strongly advised that, if possible, you consult your provider before seeking medical attention in a foreign land. Also, insurance providers warn that most third world countries’ hospital systems require payment upfront for services rendered. This fee would be reimbursed by the plan.
The most pressing concern is the case of an emergency medical evacuation from a foreign country back to the US. Evacuations are necessary when a very serious medical condition arises, and the traveler/patient must be transported back to the care of his/her primary care physician or a home-based expert. This can cost upwards of $10,000 as it is a coordinated effort between several hospitals and at least one airline. Most travel insurance plans provide the option for specific coverage for this contingency.
Another aspect to consider when travelling abroad, is the cost of sudden cancellations, or changes in travel plans as a result of medical or other emergencies. In an era when airline companies are logging record numbers of lost luggage, this aspect of travelers insurance provides reimbursement for the purchase of clothes and other necessities. In this sense, you could come out a winner: imagine an ‘emergency’ shopping trip at the fabulous designer stores of Milan.
So, whether you are planning a road trip to Canada, or a fourteen day hike in Machu Pichu, pack some warm socks, swim trunks, and your new friend, Mr. Traveler’s Insurance.
Looking Forward the Intelligence Car in the Future
Last week we represented our team attended a model car racing game. On the simulation of the urban road, the unmanned intelligent cars could climb, turn and change the lane when there are obstacles in the way or stop with the red light on with fantastic flexibility. To attend this game is not only to prove the design of our cars are successful but also have a model for the car manufactures to promote the production. Most devices on the car are miniatures of the real car like shock absorber, car adapter, fender-guard, etc. We hope next time we would get a better design and win in more games.
The game scene is about 70 square meters with simulation roads, a one-way street, a two-way street, straight, corner, viaduct, crossroads, traffic lights, obstacles and so on. All of the situations are familiar with the real in all kinds of traffic. When players get ready for their respective intelligence cars on the road the motor roaring immediately shake the air and start the miniature car driving. Suddenly with a red light ahead at the intersection, the intelligent cars immediately stop and wait a green light up. When there appeared obstacles they are quickly get out of the way and pass by on another lane. It is wonderful if a car could avoid the obstacles by it and hope someday the real car could do this with intelligent car adapters. Then the car accidents could be decreased to the minimum and save the lives.
Intelligent vehicles are called wheeled mobile robots and by using a computer, sensors, information fusion, communication, artificial intelligence and automatic control technology. According to the host introduces, the concept of intelligent vehicle is very strange to people but in the movie Transformers you are surely familiar with the high technology. Although these smart cars won’t metamorphoses but they can help people to be helpful to automatic or auxiliary drive. Although now many technical projects have been developed into intelligence cars, the real city road environment is more complex and there are more challenges. With the development of the new technologies, more and more intelligent devices would be installed to the car by car adapters and it definitely brings convenience to our daily life.
For the conduct of intelligent car competition it would promote the intelligent driving technology combination with vehicle manufacturers. The communication and cooperation in the contest also promote the science and technology achievements. We are very glad to take part into the competition and hope we could make our contribution to the development of the intelligence car industry. The intelligent driving technology will relay on the development of the car industry and give people more convenience in the future