Monsoon season is upon us here in Taiwan. Although I've heard different people tell different stories of when monsoon season really is. One thing I know for sure are that late summer/early autumn is typhoon season. Oh and a Chinese lesson for you, the rainy season is called "plum rain" and generally last from late spring through the summer.
Typhoons are just like hurricanes, they can break some things and blow over a lot of trees, but so far there hasn't been a really bad one during my time here. Although some people will get leaking or flooding in their apartments. A "good" thing about typhoons are that usually you will get one or two days off when there is a typhoon. It definitely brings back memories of being a kid back home and how one snow flake makes you hope for a snow day. Granted if there is a typhoon you can't really go outside, but generally they don't last too long. Although I have gone out in a typhoon with my dog so she can pee and poop. It's not a joy.
Last week was a first though. It rained a whole lot and one day the government closed schools and businesses for a half day. The reason given was because of flooding. Apparently there had been mudslides and some people had died, so the closing was reactionary. But as Taipei is just a maze of buildings, not sure they had to close down Taipei. Then again my friends would kill me for second guessing their half day off.
Taipei can get very flooded though. The water drainage system is not the best, so there are often large deep gatherings of water around the city. Many grates and gutters get clogged by trash and things that people throw in them, and often you will see government workers year round going around unclogging them.
One unfathomable thing though is that most street drains and gutters are often covered. People put rubber mats over them. I have no idea why, and nobody else seems to either. Yet anytime it rains you can walk down some streets through an inch or two of water, because all the drains are covered over.
Given the choice though, I actually prefer typhoons to a rain storm. This is because rain storms always have thunder with them, which scares my dog. You haven't had a good night's sleep until you've had a dog next to you constantly shaking and tapping you with her paw as if she wants to continuously notify you that there is a rain storm outside. Her other go to move when there are loud noises that scare her, is sitting on people's head when they are laying down. As if when she is uncomfortable, she wants you to be uncomfortable as well.
Oh sorry for the boring picture. I found it's hard to get a good shot of rain. Even when it's like a constant sheet of water falling outside, it's hard for my phone's camera to pick it up. I figured I'd get a shot of a lot of people on the street with umbrellas, but for the past week the streets have been barren. I tried to get this shot of the water coming off of an awning thus making it seem like a waterfall, but no such luck.
@maggiemae
You are welcome. If you ever are interested enough to come to Taiwan, make sure you don't do it between May and November, unless you like the rain!
June 17th, 2012
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You are welcome. If you ever are interested enough to come to Taiwan, make sure you don't do it between May and November, unless you like the rain!