boohoo100

Hi,

I am wanting to go backpacking for 5 weeks but I'm a little concerned with the weather.

Forgive me for asking such a simple question but for those that have been there in November will it rain all the time(like for a whole day)or are we talking about afternoon and evening downpours?

I've done a fair amount of research and fully understand the monsoon seasons and the effect they have on each side of Malaysia at the various times of the year but I'm still a bit unclear as to whether this is going to be a wash out and asking for trouble before I even get there. I know I can expect rain(heavy at that)as the climate is that way all year round which is not an issue to me(I actually love an excuse to sit and watch a good thunderstorm) but I would not want to spend 5 weeks under grey skies either.

I realise nobody can predict the weather but I don't want to write off planning a potentially good trip either. A few grey days I can handle, sun and storms perfect for me but if the likelihood is it will be dull and rainy generally(albeit very warm and humid) I'm wondering if I should pick somewhere else, reluctantly.

Unfortunately I can only go at this time of the year so I can't change my dates much even if I could. I did Thailand, Laos and Cambodia last year similar time so I don't want to duplicate my last trip so soon. Even though the weather there was perfect!

Concluding the East coast and Borneo are just asking for trouble in terms of rainfall(although I would quite happily fly internally and check it out all the same if the forecast looked favourable whilst on the ground in the country) and West is best this time of year for sun. So would a route kicking off in KL, heading to Penang then run along the West Coast and to a certain degree inland heading to Singapore then over into Indonesia be a reasonable rough idea for a route at this time of year?

Much appreciate any advice anyone can give.

Many thanks.

Kathie

I've hit more rain in Malaysia at that time of the year than in Indonesia (Bali, Lombok and Java).

We spent a week in Penang in November, and we had intense thundershowers every afternoon, and sometime all afternoon and evening. In Malaysian Borneo, we had wash-out rain storms (there was a foot of water on the highway - they closed roads for a couple of hours) in the Kota Kinabalu/Mt. Kinabalu Park area. It didn't rain nearly as much in the Danum Valley just an afternoon rainstorm each day. And it was drier in Kuching.

In Indonesia, we had rains only in the afternoon. None of the days was it totally clear with blue skies, but it was nice, partly cloudy with sun breaks early in the day.

If you decide the weather is too iffy for you in those areas, do consider Myanmar. You can only stay a maximum of 28 days, so you'd need a week elsewhere. Myanmar is changing rapidly - I recommend people go sooner rather than later.

marmot

Indonesia's a big place with a lot of different microclimate zones. If you're thinking Java/Bali/Lombok, Novemeber is a transitional month. Some days you'll get rain; some not. As long as you're not expecting 100% blue skies, I don't think the weather would affect the quality of your trip.

As you head farther east into Nusa Tenggara -- Sumbawa, Flores, Sumba -- it gets drier.

boohoo100

Thank you for the replies.

Kathie, I thought the western area of Indonesia was going to be he best for the weather in November but the places you mention are over to the East more towards the Philippines(as I look on the map). Was it a case of sunshine and showers in those areas or was it although not raining at times, very dull and cloudy?

Marmot, so in general the weather improves the more you head down through Indonesia in the direction of Australia?

An idea I have is to fly into Kuala Lumpur and return home from Jakarta(or vice versa) and take an internal flight maybe to sling shot myself to other parts of the countries as I appreciate they both cover vast amounts of land.

Thanks for taking the time to reply and if anyone else has been to this part of the world and can give me the benefit of their experiences with the weather I would very much appreciate it.

All I do know is the sight of rain many times is guaranteed!! Just some frequent sights of blue sky too would be great.

Kathie

The weather we have encountered on many trips to Java, Bali and Lombok in Nov (and into December) has been off and on intense rain. Usually, there are "sun breaks" (as we call them in Seattle) but sometimes it is cloudy most/all of the day. If you take a look at our Java photos, you'll get a sense of what I mean. www.marlandc.com

Within the areas you are traveling, look for Air Asia flights as they are cheap and pretty reliable. If it were me (and it isn't), I'd avoid Jakarta and perhaps fly home from Singapore. Or, since KL is the major base for Air Asia, just take a cheap flight back to KL to return home.

If Indonesia will be the focus of this trip, take a flight from KL to Bali (Denpasar) or Central Java (Solo or Yogyakarta) to quickly get you to the focal point of your trip, There will be lots of overland travel within Indonesia you can enjoy.

marmot

It's difficult to generalize about weather in November because this is a transitional month. December will be wetter. Sometimes it's sunny, sometimes it's rainy.

Indonesia becomes more arid as you cross the Wallace Line between Bali and Lombok. This is moving east not south, though the micro-climate of Lombok, Sumba, Flores, Sumbawa and parts of Sulawesi is dry like northern Australia. Bali and Java get more rain and are lusher.

When you get to the far eastern part of Indonesia, into Papua (the western half of New Guinea) you cross the Lydekker line and it gets wetter again. Maluku and the Spice Islands are in the middle.

But this is climate, not weather. This is the tropics: it rains all year, even during the dry season. If it were me (and as Kathie says, it isn't) I'd take a chance on the weather in Java and parts east in November/December. You'll definitely get some sunny days over a period of 5 weeks. Maybe 60/40 but it's hard to say which way.

Flying is the best way to get to Indonesia's farflung places, and Indonesian airlines are very low priced, though not always on reliable schedules.

Depending on what your interests are you might spend some time in the less developed areas like Sumba/Flores/Sumbawa or Sulawesi (north and central)and the Maluku Islands. West Papua is real rain forest, where, not surprisingly it rains a lot.

Jakarta is a wild place for urban adventurers -- I wouldn't recommend it to everyone, but it can be fascinating window into the underside of Asia.

Kathie

Do note that marmot lives in Indonesia, perviously in Jakarta, now on Bali. She is our local expert.

boohoo100

Thanks again both of you for the replies. You have been very helpful.

Thinking I've exhausted just about every website when researching weather for November. I'm reluctantly swaying to the conclusion that perhaps this is not the best time to visit this part of the world. It is somewhere I would really like to explore but I just happen to have picked perhaps the least favourable time of the year to go so maybe this one is an adventure to be done at a different time of the year when it rains a 'little less'.

When I was travelling around Thailand, Laos and Cambodia last November I kept a keen eye on the forecast for Malaysia and the rains looked relentless. This I backed up looking at some historical weather data recently and it didn't look very pleasant. Hope I've not talked myself out of a perfectly good trip

Kathie, interesting you should mention Myanmar. It was on my wish list bit of paper along with Vietnam. As a matter of interest, can you get visa on arrival at a land crossing from Thailand into Myanmar? I've read that you need a visa before hand if flying into Myanmar? Would that be something to sort in the UK prior to leaving or do I do what I did last year several times in other countries and just turn up at the border ?

Thanks again.

Kathie

Well Myanmar is one of my favorite places. You must get a visa in advance. It is possible to cross the border overland at a few places from Thailand without a visa, but you have to leave your passport at the border and can't go father than 5kms or so from the border. It's just a day trip, a way some people do a visa run from Thailand. You would be most disappointed if you just turned up at the border and could only visit the border town.

If you have an interest in Myanmar, I'd suggest you go soon. It is changing rapidly... I haven't been since 2011 and I'm stunned by some of the changes reported by other travelers and by a friend in the country. Let me forewarn you that it is the most expensive country to travel in in SE Asia (not counting Singapore) because the infrastructure is still trying to catch up with the number of visitors, so hotel rooms have been in short supply.

I think you may have talked yourself out of a perfectly fine trip to Indonesia. As I mentioned, I've traveled in Indonesia many times in November. While we did get rain, it was not relentless by any means. Remember that the rain comes down, then stops. I live in Seattle where it can rain for days and barely measure an inch to two, An inch can come down in a matter of minutes in the tropics.

LancasterLad

Boohoo100.

There's a lot going on in Myanmar at present, above and below the water-line.

If I were you, for the latest on the ground advice, I'd keep tuned in to...

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowFor...8-Myanmar.html