We have booked 4 nights at the Marriott Spa Resort on the river after reading many good recommendations for the hotel. Ive also read that this is still rainy season. Could someone please explain this more to me please in relation to Bangkok.... Does it tend to rain on and off all day or does it have afternoon downpours or ????? - If there is a pattern to the weather at this time of year it would help us plan our IT prior to arriving. Also, is it sunny at all at this time of year or overcast....(wondering if we will be able to avail ourselves of the wonderful pool that I have heard about - with sunshine thrown in)
thanks again

i have not been to bkk in sept...others will answer that for you...i have been in mid october however...we saw eidence of flodding around bkk...there were still sand bags at many of the river boat stops and wooden palets which allowed you to get over puddles...

i believe at times there is a flooding problem...

hopefully jamesA will chime in here for you with his on site experiences...the pool at the marriott is elevated quite a bit so that should not be a problem with flooding...

they do a first class job and i am sure that you will be ok...a little or a lot of rain is able to be dealt with...

I too held off our trip to Thailand till mid-October because of the rains. And even with that we did have one afternoon with strong thunderstorms coming down in sheets of water. That said, it only lasted about 45-minutes; another day there was only a brief sprinkle.

We had planned time in BKK, Chiang Mai, Chiang Saen and Phuket and didn't want to have to deal with too much wet. Thankfully, by waiting we avoided strong thunderstorms other than that one time in BKK. Flying into Phuket, there had been light rain right before arriving, but sunshine thereafter.

JamesA can give you more definitive information, and often recommends actually waiting till November. So wait to see what he replies, which I'm sure he will.

almost daily quick downpours at about 6AM or 5-7 PM. but of couse this may not be the case when you come since weather changes and I'm not JamesA

Hi Cosmo! I've been to Bangkok in Sept and yes it is still the rainy season. The rain tends to come in on and off showers and it is still warm enough to swim and there will be sunshine ( it is never not warm enough in Bangkok!). However there can be evidence of built up water which can be a difficulty with walking some times. That said you should enjoy yourself in Sept but if you don't particularly need to go then, the best months to visit are from Nov to Feb (both months included).Enjoy!

Thanks everyone, we're actually stopping there on our way to India and Nepal and so have a 2 day stop in Bangkok again in the middle of November just for shopping.
So September stop is to see the sight as we didnt feel that we'd want to go into tourist mode on the way home after Nepal.
We actually have 5 nights in mid september but were thinking of going to Kanachari (sorry spelling) on the last night and drive up to Hell fire pass before leaving. So! - 5 days for the sights of Bangkok - Rain or no rain (I guess that means rain ha) -any tips would be welcome
thanks

you will have plenty of time in 5 nites to see quite a lot....my favorite list follows:

shopping of course

grand palace
wat arun
royal barges
several of the major wats
V palace--the largest teak palace in the world
suan packard palace..small and quick to visit
jim thompson house--a must

restaurants galore

the small thai family restaurant in the mall behind the marriott is great...cheap and very good food...it is on the ground level to the left as you come from the hotel, overlooking the parking lot...has green awnings....$12-15 for two with beer...delicious food...full of thai people...

I agree with all those suggestions for things to see. Suggest when you go to Grand Palace ( and you must!)you do it on your own rather than tour group and while you are there go to Wat Po which is in the complex somewhere to have a genuine Thai massage. You can pay for half an hour or an hour . I did the former as I was unsure but wish I had had the full hour...it was great.Another more upmarket suggestion is to have the evening buffet outside on the terrace of the Oriental Hotel at night right beside the Chao Prya River. The sight of the lights and little boats going up and down the river plus the fabulous food is a lovely experience and although not dirt cheap is not outrageous either. If you go book first. Chok di krup!(ie good luck!)

In BKK, you should consider wandering around the flower market in the morning and then crossing Memorial Bridge to Wat Prayoon. Neither have many tourists and it's fun to feed the turtles at Wat Prayoon. Remember there are many different English spellings for the same Wat.

what does anyone think about weatherin Oct? and which beaches to go to then, gulf side?

October should be ok but the later the better...Southern beaches are a bit tricky at the moment...be cautious. Maybe look at Hua Hin.

Hi

It is the wet season so you can of course expect rain. But we were in Bangkok for about 5 days in September 2002 and we didn't get any rain at all. But from my experience you are more likely to get a downpour or two and not constant rain all day. I have posted trip reports and pictures from two vacations to Thailand (both in September) on my personal homepage gardkarlsen.com Maybe you can find some useful information there.

Regards
Gard
Stavanger, Norway