Walking in a "Winter" Wonderland

Sunflower fields in Lopburi, Thailand.

The fall temperature in the Thailand was sweltering at all times of the night and day. I felt like an ant under a child’s magnifying glass when I was on the islands. The day I went on the Sunrise Dive in Koh Tao, the weather was unbearably blistering. After our dive that ended up being most of the day, I was exhausted, hot, and all I wanted to do was sleep but at 2:30 in the afternoon when the sun is beating down on your non-A/C steam room, it’s a bit more difficult.
The bungalow was scorching hot, the beach was hot, and I didn’t have any other place to go. I decided to wet myself down from head to toe with ice cold water, put on my ‘Lil Wayne tank and some undies and sleep sideways on my bed to avoid the sun beaming on my face. I had to leave the door and windows open to get some sort of breeze so I am sorry for whoever passed by my room during this “nap.” I tried to sleep for a few hours but I think I just ended up in a sweat coma. That was a low point. I was miserable and had no place to go to escape the heat. I remember vocally giving myself 2 minutes of self-pity. All I wanted was a juicy steak and fully loaded baked potato in an air-conditioned room with a couch and TV. It’s the simple things in life…

Lotus flower at Bang Pa-In.

During January, the air felt like spring time at home. Winter in Thailand is very nice, now I understand why snowbirds flock here for vacation during the wintertime. The Thai people on the other hand, crack me up because they find this climate a tidbit nipply. A high temperature of 78 degrees for them is like 45 to me. It’s still hot as heck in the mid afternoon but the locals are wearing puffy winter jackets, scarves, and beanies while I’m over here wiping sweat from all sorts of crevices. They even wrap up their dogs in old t-shirts because they think the dogs are cold too! It’s pretty common to ride your bike around and see what you think are stray dogs chilling in an old Chang tank top.

Former baseball player.

These guys are working for tips.

Chilly puppies playing tug-o-war.

Unfortunately, the cool part of the winter season only lasts for about 3-4 weeks. Although its not sweltering like it was when I was visiting the islands, I get pretty darn sweaty on my bike ride home from school. Luckily, I haven’t had any heat related breakdowns lately but it’s heating up again…

Frolicking in the sunflowers of Lopburi, Thailand.

Sunflower fields in Lopburi, Thailand (hidden secret to tourists).