It’s cold outside. I'm sitting here in my office, wearing a sweater, drinking coffee and waiting for the Sun to rise. My fingers are sluggish. It’s 68F. The next two weeks or so is going to be hell. It is cold.
Oh, I have been cold before. Growing up in in Midwest America it often snowed and the temperatures could stay below freezing for months at a time. As a young boy, I often had to chop ice on the frozen ponds for the livestock to drink. It was cold.
Once, I delivered a baby during an ice storm. Then there was the winter I about froze in the Sahara Desert and it was of my own doing. I was with Uncle Sam and my only pair of long johns had to go. I had not taken a shower nor washed my clothes for about two months. I stunk but my long johns stunk more and finally they had to come off. The Sun was beginning to warm the days up so I thought spring was near. I was wrong. Winter lasted about another month. It was cold.
Winter in Thailand might last a month.
And every year there are reports in the local news
of rural Thais accidentally burning down
their bamboo houses trying to stay warm in the cold.
Nothing better than a hot coffee on a cold morning.
To Cold to Smile
I like sweaters but don't get to wear them very often in the tropical forests.
Only when it's cold.
During the winter months people lose a lot body heat by not wearing a hat. I tried to explain this fact to Uncle Sam many times, but he said a helmet was good enough.
Doing business in the cold is quicker.
This young vendor said "No need to to haggle it's to cold".
She was right and we paid her asking price.
It was just to cold.
Many people like the cold weather as it allows the winter fashion to come out of hibernation. But regardless of the frigid temps some people still have to go to work. Here is a nurse looking for frozen people to weigh.
One school year a young student asked "Why are the mornings colder when I can see the Sun is out?" It was an excellent question even though the class had a spelling quiz going on at the time. Later, I explained it this way. All night this cold air has just been sitting there. When the Sun comes out the cold air molecules begin to move and rise trying to escape. This dance of the molecules is why it is cooler in the mornings.
The key to staying warm during the winter in Thailand is to keep moving.
Because even the tropics can get cold.
Baby it's cold outside...