April Heat -- Bangkok and Angkor Wat

[MercedMike]

Our cruise ends in Singapore in April. We are considering extending to Bangkok and Angkor Wat but I know that is the height of the heat season there.

For those who have been there, is it possible to do a lot in the air conditioned car with short excursions out into the heat, or should we face long hours trekking and sweating?

[paul929207]

Both Bangkok and Angkor Wat will require some walking.
In Bangkok, we probably spent 3 hours or so in the Palace and grounds.
Angkor Wat, we had two half day tours where we were out of the bus for the entire time. Angkor Wat is an enourmous complex. It covers about 100 square miles, so you see only a small fraction.

[rdowney]

We spent three nights in Siem Reap as a pre-cruise trip trip from Singapore. We were there in January so it wasn't the peak of the heat.

You don't need to spend hours at a time trekking through the ruins. Hire a car and driver, which will give you more relief from the heat than a tuk-tuk and let you cool off while traveling between sites. Follow the usual routine of touring in the morning, return to the hotel for lunch and relaxation and then go out again later in the afternoon. Spend as many nights as possible in Siem Reap so that you don't need to see as much each day. Our trip would have been more relaxed if we had stayed one more day.

Angkor was one of the highlights our trip. It was well worth sweating a bit.

[Riverroad]

rdowney has given you good advice. We were in Siem Reap in mid-March this year and the heat was, in my opinion, unbearable. The air conditioned car can only take you so far when you're visiting the temples. Cars cannot drive you up to the entrance so you'll still have to walk a fair way. As was suggested, tour early in the morning, return to your hotel for lunch and return to the sites in the late afternoon. As hot as it was, it was an incredible experience. BTW, we flew from Siem Reap to Bangkok to connect to Hong Kong. When we landed in Bangkok on March 18, it was over 100. We were very glad we were going on to Hong Kong!

[Klongmaster]

Originally Posted by MercedMike

Our cruise ends in Singapore in April. We are considering extending to Bangkok and Angkor Wat but I know that is the height of the heat season there.

For those who have been there, is it possible to do a lot in the air conditioned car with short excursions out into the heat, or should we face long hours trekking and sweating?

April is certainly the hottest month in Bangkok and the middle of the month is the mayhem of the Thai New Year which is celebrated by splashing water on everyone. However, if you take a private tour, you'll not get wet, and the heat will be manageable. This company seems to get good reports from cruisers here.

[MercedMike]

Thank you all for your comments. We will give them great consideration.