Patong floods

Just a quick post about weather here at the moment because it seems to be what most people are interested in.

I  like to tell people that Phuket is an all year round destination, which it is. Usually when it rains in low season we get short sharp tropical downpours that clear quickly.

But it’s not like that at the moment, in fact it feels like it’s been raining non stop for weeks. Anyone who booked a holiday for the first two weeks of October is going home with less of a tan than when they arrived.

Thailand along with much of South East Asia is experiencing the worst rains for decades and it’s causing severe flooding in much of central Thailand. As I write this the ancient city of Ayuthaya, north of Bangkok, is underwater and the floods have reached the outskirts of Bangkok, forcing families to flee their homes and businesses to close.

For anyone with an imminent holiday to Phuket I can tell you that Phuket is not underwater. There have been some flash floods in Patong beach and a couple of other areas. These happen every year and clear quickly. There have been some landslides which are troublesome to those of us that live here, causing traffic delays and pot holing the roads. But from a tourism point of view it’s business as normal.

Today has been sunny all day so hopefully the weather Gods are smiling on us again.