September on Patong Beach Phuket

These photos are just a few random snaps from my phone to show what is fairly typical low season weather in Phuket in September. I spent the day on Patong beach with my family yesterday from 11am until about 6pm. These photos were taken at around 1pm.

You can see that the weather was overcast and that there was a nice onshore breeze blowing. It was threatening to rain all day until about 3pm when the clouds cleared to blue sky. I could see that it was raining in the mountains behind Patong but we stayed dry on the beach.

Note the breaking waves and the red flags flying to warn against swimming. There was a rip current just off shore. That's normal at this time of year. In high season the sea is generally flat as the find comes from the east not the west.

I was surprised at how many people there were around Patong considering that September is one of the quieter months. Weekends are always busier because locals hit the beach and weekenders from KL, Singapore and Bangkok fly in but even so I remember that five or so years ago the beach would've been virtually empty in September.

Patong Beach in July

I took the two photos below on Patong beach yesterday lunchtime. Just to show that Phuket low season weather isn't always wet.

Karon Beach today

On my way back from Scuba Market in Kata I stopped and snapped a few photos of Karon beach. They are not great shots, taken with my phone, but they give an idea of what the weather is like at this time of year. While the rest of Thailand is flooded, Phuket is basking in sunshine.

What I like about Karon beach is that it's very long, great for walking or running on, especially at low tide. You can always find a quiet area of beach away from jet skis if you like. The path along the beach road is also good for strolling along in the evening. It's an uninterrupted path all the way, no need to step on to the road or over drainage holes. That makes a change in Phuket and is especially nice if you are pushing a pushchair. I noticed that the beach road has had the power cables put underground and the road resurfaced in  an ongoing beautification project for Karon.

At the north end of the beach near the football stadium are some nice seafood restaurants. They are always busy in the evening. There are also so cheap Thai restaurants further south by Karon Park.

In the high season Phuket Scuba Club have a small set up at the south end of the beach near the Karon Beach Resort. They offer beach dives on the shallow reef there. Or you can do a long tail boat dive to Karon Rock, a submerged rock just offshore.

In the low season when the wind is blowing onshore it's common to see kitesurfers on the water. Swimmers need to take care on Karon in the low season, when strong rip currents can easily overpower the unwary.

In the first week of November this year Karon beach is hosting an international volleyball tournament with the top female teams from around the world competing.

South end of Karon beach restaurants

Karon beach road

To the beach

No lifeguards on duty today

Karon centre

Karon circle

Phuket Sunshine

Since I posted about the rains last week it's been bright sunshine and clear skies all the way in Phuket.

I took these pictures on Kata beach yesterday. Kata beach is a favourite of our family because it's lined with trees so you can find space in the shade to snooze or have a picnic. I also really like Kata Seafood restaurant at the far south end of the beach for it's good cheap food and great location. Next to the restaurant on the rocks is the tiny Ska Bar which is nice in the evenings. I'm not so keen on the hawkers who now appear every night on the beach selling fireworks to tourists who should have more sense. The paper lanterns are ok but the fireworks make me nervous. More than once I've seen them fall over in the sand and fire off horizontally. But I guess as long as people buy them they'll keep on being sold.

Later as I was driving past Patong beach I stopped to take a couple more snaps (below). The photos don't show it too well but I was surprised how browny green the sea of Patong Bay looked compared to the bright blue water at Kata beach which is only about 15km south.

Phuket Floods

Rathutid Rd, Patong - Floods every low season

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.