It’s raining, it’s pouring

Kuching – Borneo

It’s the first of December tomorrow down under and I think officially the first day of summer, yet it hasn’t stopped raining (and I mean monsoon proportions)  for at least a month.  Hot, cold, wet, temperate – the weather is as changeable as me trying to decide what to wear when I go out.  When I say rain let me clarify, I mean rivers running down the street where the road used to be.  Puddles that look deceptively shallow, but as one finds out way too late,  are the depth of the shallow end of a swimming pool.   Rain that has the ability to drench a person within nanoseconds leaving the them stunned and bemused.  When I say cold, I mean 2 blankets and a high tog duvet kind of chill which I need at some stage of the night after  the stuffy 30 degree air plummets to 7.  Well at least the reservoirs are filling up, and the water ban has been put on hold.  My garden is flourishing and my car has had more washes in a week than it’s had in the last two years.

However, enough is enough  – I have Xmas parties to attend and would rather turn up in a strappy little number than a knee-length woolly jumper, tights and galoshes.  BBQ’s and pool parties are not going to cut it if it’s teaming down and the meats soggy.  Maybe I should stock up on food and buy an inner tyre tube or a huge floating rubber duck just in case I get rained in.   It’s not going to get me to my turkey dinner which is kindly being provided by someone who lives the other side of town in a valley but at least I’ll have some fun.

Sumatra  – riding the rapids

One thing I’ve learnt from travelling is that a huge plastic cover is invaluable for the unexpected – they come in a variety of colours and can be bought in most countries that experience monsoon weather.

I thought the mauve was particularly fetching.

Vietnam