The cold season is making its first moves in Chiang Mai. Temperatures on the mountaintops have started to slip, skies are clearing, and the first sea of mist is showing up for those willing to get up early.
At Phuping Ratchaniwet Palace in Muang district, the thermometer read 12 degrees Celsius this morning (October 7). A cool breeze came with it, and visitors have started heading up to see what a Chiang Mai morning feels like when it isn’t sweating. Tourist spots on the peaks are getting ready for the high season, which is not far off.
Doi Inthanon National Park reopened its Dong Son campsite on October 1. The site takes up to 500 people a day. The Kio Mae Pan nature trail follows on November 1, after being closed for five months to let the forest recover.
Down in the city itself, the weather is pleasant enough, and visitors are being welcomed to it.
The Northern Meteorological Center, meanwhile, is not entirely on board with the cool-season mood. Its forecast for October 6 to 7 calls for unsettled weather across the north: thunderstorms, gusty winds and heavy rain in some areas. It is still the tail end of the rainy season, and a high-pressure system of cool air from China is spreading over the northeast and upper central regions.