Torrid weather on the way

According to the Thai Meteorological Department, this weeks fresh northerly breezes and rare thunderstorms will yield to an oppressive wave of heat, up to 44 degrees C, during the coming holidays of Songkram. Nice while it lasted, with night temperatures plunging to the high 70s F.

Torrid weather on the way

According to the Thai Meteorological Department, this weeks fresh northerly breezes and rare thunderstorms will yield to an oppressive wave of heat, up to 44 degrees C, during the coming holidays of Songkram. Nice while it lasted, with night temperatures plunging to the high 70s F.

Sleep without aircon

My (Thai) wife not using air conditioning at night late this week (in the Bangkok hot season) when midweek freak rains (causing serious local flooding) cooled Bangkok very nicely and brought night breezes from the lovely north.

However, this is,  as always, with a table fan directed at the bed.

less than this, you don't need it.

Sleep without aircon

My (Thai) wife not using air conditioning at night late this week (in the Bangkok hot season) when midweek freak rains (causing serious local flooding) cooled Bangkok very nicely and brought night breezes from the lovely north.

However, this is,  as always, with a table fan directed at the bed.

less than this, you don't need it.

Take a bath in front of the whole neighborhood

That's what my wife does in her Southern Thai village, doesn't think a thing of it, carrying on several conversations at once. The Thai bathe at least twice a day, and in all the years -- more than 50 -- I've been here, I've never smelled a single case of B.O., even on crowded buses in the heat of the afternoon in Bangkok. Remarkable how at the end of a hot day, everyone's shirt seems as freshly pressed as in the morning.

It was an olefactory shock to move from Thailand in 1963 to England, where many people bathed 
once a week. Standing in line at Sainsbury, you thought you were in the cheese department.

Bangkok heat stopped my heart

Failure to drink enough water over two hot days made my heart stop for 4 seconds. 

Sounds preposterous, right? I always thought that this water drinking business was an old wives' tale. Or rather, a new wives' tale, since it's mostly young people one sees toting around plastic water bottles.

But last year I learned something new about my body. Dehydration can be serious business especially if you are a bit older. Buildup of salts affects the body electrical circuits including those that produce the so-called "sinus rhythm" that times the heart rate. The result: a static-like and alarming condition called atrial fibrillation, which often leads to "sinus arrest", temporary stopping of the heart (see illustration). This is not as dangerous as it sounds, since the heart has backup beat sytems that usually refire the circuits. But the danger is that you are very likely to pass out for a couple seconds which could result in your falling down the stairs or other accident.

Result? I now have a pacemaker, which gaurantees 60 beats a minute. Effective, but a couple of extra bottles of water would have been a lot cheaper!

This is 4 seconds. How about 6 or 8 seconds? You'll mostly come out of it, but don't fall down the stairs in the meanwhile. Otherwise, a nice way to go.

Bangkok heat stopped my heart

Failure to drink enough water over two hot days made my heart stop for 4 seconds. 

Sounds preposterous, right? I always thought that this water drinking business was an old wives' tale. Or rather, a new wives' tale, since it's mostly young people one sees toting around plastic water bottles.

But last year I learned something new about my body. Dehydration can be serious business especially if you are a bit older. Buildup of salts affects the body electrical circuits including those that produce the so-called "sinus rhythm" that times the heart rate. The result: a static-like and alarming condition called atrial fibrillation, which often leads to "sinus arrest", temporary stopping of the heart (see illustration). This is not as dangerous as it sounds, since the heart has backup beat sytems that usually refire the circuits. But the danger is that you are very likely to pass out for a couple seconds which could result in your falling down the stairs or other accident.

Result? I now have a pacemaker, which gaurantees 60 beats a minute. Effective, but a couple of extra bottles of water would have been a lot cheaper!

This is 4 seconds. How about 6 or 8 seconds? You'll mostly come out of it, but don't fall down the stairs in the meanwhile. Otherwise, a nice way to go.