The monsoons here are incredible. I can't say enough about them.
Perhaps it's because I came from a dry climate...The desert southwest (southwest Texas).
I've experienced rains in many locales and countries and nothing seems to compare to the rains here in southern Thailand.
After school today I decided to stop off at my favorite Thai restaurant. I ordered one of my favorite dishes, fried pork, mixed vegetables over rice with soup (pork vertebrae with bean sprouts, green onion, and flavorful broth) and a side dish of cucumber and raw green onion, all mixed with pungent, aromatic, and spicy Thai peppers...of course.
After finishing my meal at 2:15 p.m., it had begun to rain.
Five minutes later, it was a solid downpour, and by 2:35 p.m., I was soaked to the bone even though I had my umbrella with me.
It seemed as though the rain was coming in from every angle.
Now I'm home. It's 4:00 p.m. The rain is only now beginning to let up.
Over an hour and forty-five minutes of heavy rain...
This kind of rain in southwest Texas would kill people.
Looking out my front door, I can easily understand where the metaphors, "Curtain of rain," and "Sheets of rain," come from.
The thing that baffles me, is most of the soil here is clay...red clay...clay doesn't absorb water. So, I wonder, "Where the hell does it go?"
People here are used to the monsoons and seem to coexist with them well, but, I've seen pictures of past years when flooding took its toll on southern Thailand and still threatens to wreak havoc again.
What will this year be like?
The anticipation leaves me breathless.
-Jeeem
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