The Monsoon

Contents

I haven't been able to properly capture the monsoon rains on my camera yet. If I were more experienced and had a tripod I would love to show you the enormous bolts of lightening that streaked across the sky just before the big rains hit. I would use a slow shutter speed to show how the drops of rain are so dense and hard that they penetrate my North Face shell as I am riding my scooter to work. Luckily, the Crab Key restaurant in the Shangrila Hotel is just across the street so I don't have to go far when it's pouring rain. 

The ocean has become too rough to swim in and the deserted beaches are now littered with miles of garbage that has washed up. 

New plants and animals are coming to life. After the first pre-monsoon showers there was a butterfly hatch one evening and hundreds of thousands of blue and black butterflies were floating up the beach on a northerly breeze as the sun set. Now that it is so wet outside, all kinds of critters are coming into my house, like this praying mantis. 

I've also been playing a game of cat and mouse with a couple of rats. Of course there are the spiders, too. 

At least the weather has cooled off, but now when you hang your clothes to dry, they don't. I have to admit, I miss the sun and I wish I were in California for the summer. At least my brother is coming on Saturday and we'll be taking off for the deserts on the northern side of the Himalaya to escape the rain.