A lot but in particular the Merida hot months of March, April and May. Not going to lie I was expecting hell on earth and instead I got...oh this is hot but I've experienced hotter.
Mind you I wasn't outside at noon, walking, talking and sweating and yes I used the blessed air conditioning systems that are currently in the home. In essence I adapted to the heat and survived! I will say that I enjoyed posting daily commentary on the high temps reported, you know the ones like the current temp is 104° but it feels like 115°, in the shade. Those types of post. They amused my friends back in America and were totally ignored by associates in Cambodia.
And deservedly so because drum roll please, it's hotter there. Yes after all the dire warnings regarding the heat in the Yucatán and Merida in particular I can happily say that SE Asia wins the heat wars with for a number of reasons. In particular in Cambodia there’s a serious lack of good shade trees and the a good breeze only occurs as you walking into a hopefully air conditioned building and the streets are dusty.
I'm also happy to say that living there helped me and US adjust to heat here. If you are coming directly from America or Canada or even Europe...poor you, poor you. Cry in the A.C. and no one will blame you. This I promise. I might giggle behind a closed hand but I will not blame you. I'll even talk to you for at least 15 minutes on how hot it is!
I also wouldn't be me without sharing a few tips on how to survive the heat, that we learned on our travels and here in Merida.
1. Stay INSIDE - during the hottest hours, unless you really need to go out. Personally if I can't do it early in the morning or later in the afternoon, I'm going to have to pass.
2. Drink Water - We currently monitor our water consumption by each person in the house having a personal water bottle and the rest of the family monitoring it and reminding them to drink at least two a day. We also have a pitcher of water and juice in the fridge.
3. We congregate in one or two rooms only during the hottest times to save on electricity costs. Electric costs are high and you are billed every two months, versus monthly. Honestly this sucks because you can't really monitor/modify your consumption til after the fact.
4. Eat less and earlier/later - I know you're saying Kat, what the heck does eating have to do with heat. Eating times have a lot to do with your body adjusting! Follow the style of the locals who tend to eat breakfast early as heck with lunch after 2pm and dinner after 8pm.
It's cooler! Cooking in a 90+ degree kitchen will teach you that cold sandwiches and delivery are very viable options during the hot months. We invested in a panini press and a small convection counter top oven that doubles as an air fryer. Both keep the temperatures down in our not very well ventilated kitchen.
Hopefully these tips will help!
