I have troubled in Europe a lot, but barely at all in Asia and Australia (one very whirlwind trip to Tokyo, KL and Sydney, ten years ago - - that was in May, as I recall).

KL was moderately sauna-esque (isn't it so, most of the year)? but we enjoyed our short stay - - definitely not unbearable, and the evenings/early morning were close to pleasant.

Now I am contemplating a short multi-continent whirlwind which would include several days/nights in Europe (not sure where), a one-day stopover in Oman, and 4 nights in Bangkok.

We would not have to wait until April to go; other dates from January onward might be possible - - but April would work better for us perhaps.

Would you recommend basing the decision on climate of the months in the period January-April? If we "tolerated" Malaysia in May, will we find Bangkok acceptable in April?

Thanks in advance for any replies... and...

Best wishes,

Rex
from the Europe forum

Rex, April is the hottest month in Bangkok. The average high is 94 F, which doesn't sound so bad until you realize that the humidity will match it. It's probabaly the worst month to go. January would be excellent, and February would be fine as well. It will still be hot - many say Bangkok is the hottest city in the world. And while it's one of my favorite cities, it is HOT.

Thank you very, very much. I think you just saved me from trying to sell my wife on a not-very-good idea.

You are most welcome. Come back with questions when you want to know where to stay, what to do and great places to eat!

kathie's info is 100% as always....she is the 'rex' of the asia board!!

may/june are nicer if you want to go further into that direction, but some rain almost daily in late afternoons..

november is the best month all around...

Okay, plan B (I wonder if my wife has seen this thread yet - - I e0mailed it to her, but haven't had the chance to speak to her about it yet)...

...how about Hong Kong instead - - and early May instead of April?

According to worldclimate.com it looks pretty favorable.

What's the right length of time for HKG?

4 nights?

I was in Hong Kong the first week of May years ago and had glorious weather - but I was lucky.

Take a look at this site: www.weatherbase.com

It gives average highs and lows, not just average daily temperature, which is not as helpful. It will certainly be cooler in Hong Kong than in Bangkok, but May isn't the best month there.

The right amount of time for Hong Kong? Well, 4 days and you'll barely scratch the surface. But you did say this was a quick trip, right?

i think 5 days is good for an introduction to HK....its a really great place with good food, good sites, good shopping, good everything honestly....

choose your hotel carefully....many of us prefer the kowloon side of the bay...

don't ignor bangkok....it is a must...i'm off for my 10th trip there shortly...

<< The right amount of time for Hong Kong? Well, 4 days and you'll barely scratch the surface. But you did say this was a quick trip, right? >>

Oh my, I'm a bit redfaced when I think how green this question sounds (admittedly, I haven't done ANY reading) - - if I substitute New York, London, Paris or Rome for HKG, it becomes abundantly evident that four is no more the right answer than 2, 14, or 40.

But thanks for being kind.

If we do this, I think we would still incorporate a day or two, just for a teensy taste of BKK, in addition.

Hell hot in Bangkok in April. Happy Travels!

sorry to jump in ...

I too am thinking of a side trip to Thailand/Bangkok next April or May. But when I looked at the Worldclimate.com website, the stat for Bangkok looks like this:

Jan: 25.9C, rainfall 10.6mm
April: 30.1C, rainfall 71.8mm
May: 29.6C, rainfall 189.4mm
June: 29.0C, rainfall 151 mm

Definitely Jan is the best month to go. But if you have to pick between April, May and June, wouldn't April be beter? it is 0.5C hotter than May but has an average of 2.5 times less rainfall??

John, April is the hottest month in Bangkok. The www.weatherbase.com data is more helpful to me because it gives a slightly different kind of breakdown.

Rex, let me discourage you from stopping in Bangkok for 1 or 2 days. It's not enough time to do or see anything, and that is the impression of Bangkok you'll carry away with you. Either spend at least 4 days or skip it. Personally, I like both Hong Kong and Bangkok, but I find Bangkok more fascinating, much cheaper (you can live in the lap of luxury in Bangkok for the price of a mediocre hotel and no food in Hong Kong!).

The difference between going to Bangkok in November, December or January and going to Bangkok in one of the hotter months such as April is that there's a CHANCE that the weather will actually be mild. That being said, there is also the possibility that the weather will be "hell hot" (as Guenmai so eloquently put it). Bottom line is that it is USUALLY hot in Bangkok. If April is the only month you can go, go in April - it is a great city. Forget about going there for just 1 or 2 days - you won't accomplish anything and you will waste a day of your vacation getting from HKG to BKK.

Thanks for pointing out that rainfall data to me.

Let me explain the trip (which honestly, I don't think we are going to take)... and the rational behind "a day or two in Bangkok".

The impetus for this can be found on the Mileage Run forum of flyertalk.com - - I haven't mentioned that up to now, because I wanted to keep the "Oklahoma land rush" to a minimum, while I am making my decision...

...there is a first-class fare, roundtrip, on Gulf Air (you can buy it on cheaptickets.com) for Dublin-Bangkok at only $914 (taxes take it to about $1120, I think).

I don't have two weeks to be able to pursue this global jaunt - - maybe 10-12 days - - and it's a LOT of flying, even if it is more comfortable than I would normally be able to afford.

First, we would have to get to Ireland. Allow say... three days there (and that costs about $600, best case scenario, from Louisville).

Then the itinerary involves TWO _consecutive_ overnight flights (after the short one hour flight DUB-LHR) - - LHR to Muscat (Oman), with a 15 hour (all daytime) layover there - - and then an overnight flight, Muscat-BKK.

Since BKK is likely to be "hell hot" in April, I reasoned that... well, okay, we might as well fly onward to HKG (available for only another $150 USD roundtrip, for example).

But with all that flying, I figured we should take a night or two (each direction?) in Bangkok, before continuing on to HKG (staying four nights there; keep in mind, this is all still just a hypothetical itinerary).

But my wife labels this (at least mildly) crazy, and not all that cheap - - so would we really enjoy it?

Since I am a "newbie" here (on the Asia forum), you may not know that I present my wife with crazy ideas, every now and again - - some mildly, some moderately, some totally.

Whatever label you put on this idea, I am pretty sure we are not going to do it.

But it keeps tantalizing me, for some reason...

Ah, the old "mileage run" trick. Well, it's only worth doing a mileage run (in my book) if you have fun doing it. So, since it appears that the Hong Kong leg is unnecessary to the mileage run, I'd say spend all the time you can in Bangkok. If $$ are any consideration, as I mentioned earlier, you can live very well indeed in Bangkok for the price of just getting by in Hong Kong.

The biggest mistake people make on a first trip to Asia IMO is that they try to go too many places, and never get a flavor for any of them. Bangkok becomes "that hot place where we saw those buildings covered with pieces of elaborately painted porcelain."

<< The biggest mistake people make on a first trip to Asia IMO is that they try to go too many places, and never get a flavor for any of them. >>

I understand. Over on the Europe forum, "we" say the same thing all the time.

This is NOT a "mileage run" for me (if I do decide to take it). It's a genuine trip to two continents, in first class, at a price way below market price. I cannot foresee flying on Gulf Air again - - the best "other airline" opportunity would be Virgin Airlines (offers triple mileage for first class, minus 30% - - in other words, 210% in their program - - that, I might use).

My one previous trip had a "stopover" of less than 48 hours in Tokyo - - I am pretty good at languages, and I gave it six weeks of serious effort, just for those two days...

... and I never felt so defeated in my life. It felt as if I might as well not even tried. I'm sure that if I had stayed 10 days, it might have started to pay off. I pledged to myself, that if/when I ever go back to Japan, it will be for weeks (preferably, say... six).

Rex, I thought yo'd understand. Do let us know what you decide. We love helping people "discover" Asia.

Rex-give BKK a visit. You won't be disappointed. It's a rare combination of fascinating and relaxing. Jan. is much better than April, but April would still be great. You will see why Asia keeps pulling us back.

Don't forget Songkran is in April. I think it is the most fun time in Thailand.

But its not for everybody.