This week's floods put Bangkok under water and gave the city two days off. Here is what a downpour like this really means if you have a Thailand trip on the calendar — an honest word on the rainy season, and on what we do when the weather turns.
As I write this, Bangkok is drying out. After two days of extraordinary rain — by the news reports, close to 300 millimetres in 48 hours — parts of the city flooded, cars sat half-submerged on major roads, and the authorities declared the capital a disaster area and gave civil servants a two-day holiday, on the 28th and 29th of September, simply to keep people off the streets. Reuters reported the water was already receding as the rain eased. My first thought is for the Thai families still mopping out their homes. My second, because it is my work, is for the travellers who wrote to ask what all of this means for their trip.
The rains aren't a surprise — the amount was
Thailand has a rainy season, and this is it. The monsoon runs roughly from May to October, and late September and October are often the wettest weeks of all, especially across Bangkok and the central plains. Rain at this time of year is expected; the odd flooded street is not unheard of.
What made this week different was not that it rained, but how much fell, and how fast. A downpour of that size in two days would trouble any city in the world. So let us be clear-eyed: you can plan around a rainy season, but no one books around a once-in-several-years cloudburst. The question is simply how you travel through the wet months sensibly.
If you're heading to Thailand soon
A few things make the rainy season far easier. In Bangkok, lean on the Skytrain and the MRT — they run above and below the traffic, and they keep moving when the roads do not. Give yourself real slack around airport transfers on days of heavy rain; leave early and expect the drive to be slow rather than be caught out by it.
And remember that Thailand is a big country with more than one weather calendar. A grey, wet Bangkok does not mean a washed-out beach — the Andaman coast and the Gulf islands run on their own rhythms, and it is often bright in the south while it pours in the capital. Keep your phone charged, keep the forecast and the official advisories in view, and keep your agent's number where you can find it.
If you're flying home with Malaysia Airlines
Many of you fly Malaysia Airlines, and they have issued their own notice for passengers leaving Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK). The reassuring part first: as things stand, their flights out of BKK are operating as scheduled. The airport is running — the real question is getting to it, because the disruption is on the flooded roads into the airport, not at the gate.
Their advice is sound, and it is exactly what we would tell you ourselves. Take the Airport Rail Link out to Suvarnabhumi rather than trusting the roads, and give yourself plenty of time — arrive a good three hours before departure. Complete your online check-in before you leave the hotel, and make sure your mobile number is current in the airline's ‘My Booking’ so they can reach you if anything changes. And keep half an eye on the airport's own updates, and the local authorities, for the latest on road access.
What we do when the weather turns
This is where booking with a person, rather than a screen, earns its keep. We do not stop watching a trip the moment it is paid for — as your dates come close and the skies look uncertain, we are watching them too. When an airline opens a weather waiver, we can move a flight. When a transfer or a night needs to shift, we shift it. And you hear from us before you have to go looking.
We also say the same thing to every traveller in the rainy months: take travel insurance that covers weather disruption, and read what it does and does not cover — we will walk you through it plainly. The point of all this is simple. If the weather does turn on your dates, you are not a stranger working a call centre from a hotel lobby. You have someone in Penang picking up the phone.
So — should you still go?
Usually, yes. Thailand in the green season has a real beauty to it — fewer crowds, gentler prices, dramatic skies, a warm sea, and rain that often falls hard for an hour and then clears to a bright afternoon. Travel with a little flexibility in your plans and insurance in your pocket, and lean on people who are watching the map for you.
But we will always give you a straight answer. If a genuine emergency is unfolding at your exact destination on your exact dates, we will tell you so and help you adjust — move the trip, reshape it, or wait for a better week. That honesty is the whole reason to book with a person in the first place.
A word for Thailand
Our thoughts are with everyone in Bangkok and the provinces around it as the water goes down and the clean-up begins. Thailand has welcomed our travellers warmly for many years, and it will again — the rain passes, as it always does.
If you have a Thailand trip on the calendar and this week's news gave you pause, write to us. Tell us your dates and we will look at them honestly and tell you where things stand. That is what we are here for.
