Bangkok To Penang

Hello Fellow Riders,

As the title says, I'm planning a motorcycle trip from Bangkok to Penang next week but I'm still uncertain if I pick the right time.

I did a lot of trips around Northern Thailand in the past couple of years and I'm kind of familiar with what to expect from the rainy season in terms of how it affects riding but I've never been in the South before during the rainy season and as far as I know it's the middle of it now there.

What I'm curious about is what rainy season means exactly in the South, I mean does it rain all day long for weeks non-stop or every days there a couple of showers, storms maybe with breaks in between?

Any feedback would be truly appreciated.

Regards,
Tom

I was observing the weather radars for a couple of days now and actually that made me a bit concerned because most of the radars shown heavy clouds crawling from the east passing through the area causing rains and even thunderstorms. It seems a bit clearer however for the last 1-2 days maybe but still looks kind of cloudy.

But looking at only the weather radars doesn't tell how frequent the raining is on a day average. That's why I was curious what people's experience is who rode that area this part of ye year.

Eoin Christie said:

This time of year tends to be afternoon downpours. These are usually fairly short, but torrential (as in instantly flooded roads), resulting in crowds of motorbikes sheltering under overpasses to wait for the rain to pass. I got caught out several times on the way home from work in KL when I was down there a few weeks ago.
In general, if you see it coming, it’s a good time to pull in for a coffee, and 10 minutes later it’s back to normal.

Sometimes it will rain extensively during the night, but then usually stops early morning.

It’s definitely not a reason to put off a trip - It’s actually the time of year I like best.

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Thanks a lot for all of the responses/feedbacks.

Yes, I decided to do the trip. Starting tomorrow. Looking forward to see the South from the saddle finally.