Two Rainy Days in Hong Kong

I just got back from a two days, two nights vacation in Hong Kong.  I planned this trip in February so I didn't have the idea what the weather would be like.  It turned out that my vacation would be a very wet one.

I arrived in Hong Kong the day after a strong typhoon hit the city.  We could not disembark from our plane for almost an hour because of the heavy rains and strong winds that buffeted the airport.  When I reached Mong Kok where I stayed during my vacation, the effects of the storm were still evident as broken umbrellas and other debris were strewn in the streets.

My trips to Hong Kong Disneyland and Ocean Park Hong Kong were also rain drenched.  The rains were even worse on the second day when I was at Ocean Park that I wasn't able to shoot pictures  Some of the attractions were also closed thanks to the inclement weather. 

 But the rains did not stop people from visiting these places.  Perhaps they also set their trip way in advance just like what I did.  So lesson learned.  Do not visit Hong Kong during typhoon season which falls on July to November.

Varekai is simply amazing!

It was raining cats and dogs last Friday but that didn't stop me from going to the Rizal Park to watch Cirque de Soleil's Varekai.  Was it worth the trouble?  You bet!  The show was simply amazing!

Varekai follows the story of a young angel who fell from the sky into an enchanted world under a volcano.  The various creatures that inhabit the place helped him learn to fly again.  The storyline is not important however because this IS a circus after all.

The set was quite simple with only some tall poles jutting out from the back.  But the use of lights made up for its simplicity.  Come to think of it, you wouldn't go there for the sets but for the performance!  

The show features a lot of acrobatic acts that highlighted the skills, strength, fluidity and grace of the performers.  All acts were accompanied by music which was a blend of jazz, latin, africa, etc.,  and performed live by a band and singers.  My favorite parts include the net, the loop and the swing.  The swing must be the most memorable for most of the audience because of its high energy complemented by the pulsing background music. 

The clowns were also so hilarious and their gags brought the house down.  I must mention that the male clown even spoke in Tagalog to engage the audience to participate in one of his acts.

Honestly, I cannot write every performance because I am sure I will run out of superlatives to describe them. But it will suffice to say that the two hour show was so enchanting and exciting that I still feel its energy even as I write this.

In fact, we were so high after the show that we didn't mind walking in a few inches of water as the rain buffeted us on our way to get a ride home.  I must add here that the circus tent was so sturdy that once inside, you cannot even feel the strong winds and rains brought about by the typhoon.  It was like being inside a cozy building.  No wonder we were able to concentrate on and be enraptured by the program.

If it were not for the ticket price (which is way too steep for the average Filipino), I will tell everyone to watch the show.  Varekai will run until July 17.

Stormy Weather

The weather bureau warned us that it will be a strong howler and boy it was.  I wasn't able to go to work today because of the floods caused by heavy rains brought by Typhoon Juan (International code: Megi).  It rained the whole night accompanied by strong winds.  In the silence of the early morning hours, I could hear the winds howling and the windows shuddered.  I looked out the window and saw that the water in the streets was already high.  I went back to bed and slept.

It continued to rain the whole morning, but it was intermittent.  It was as if the rain was going around in circles, heavy rains one moment, then nothing and then heavy rains again.  With nothing else to do at home, I stayed the whole day on the Internet.  I monitored news about the typhoon and learned that it has left the country.   The rains were just part of its tail-end but they still pack a wallop.

The rains stopped falling at midday but the winds continued to buffet the trees in the garden.  It would have been nice to take a walk if not for the flood waters that haven't gone down.  I took a short siesta after lunch and it felt good lying on a cool bed, with the pillows and the blanket equally cold.  I live in a tropical country with plenty of muggy days so it really feels nice to lie on a cool bed every once in a while.  In fact we have an expression for that, masarap mamuluktot sa kama habang umuulan (it's good to curl up in bed while it rains).

It was still heavy overcast when I got up from my siesta.  The wind has ceased a bit and it wasn't making the moaning sounds anymore.  It was like that until about four in the afternoon when the skies turned dark again.  It was scarier this time because lightning started to strike one after the other.  

After about thirty minutes, it started to rain again and our water service was cut off.  I immediately prepared our flashlights/torches and candles in case we get a power outage.  The rain fell heavily for about an hour and then it subsided.  It started to fall in torrents again after about thirty minutes and it was during this time that we lost our electricity.  

Funny thing is, I enjoyed the darkness that surrounded me.  All I could hear were the rain falling everywhere and the winds hissing as it hit the rainwater.  Instead of getting scared or stressed by it, I felt relaxed and comfortable.  The power outage didn't last long, though.  The lights went on again after about an hour.

Sadly, in spite the preparations of government for this howler, it still caused lost of human life, and a lot of damages in property and agriculture.  I read the news that at least two persons were dead and hundreds of families are staying in relocation sites.  Rice crops amounting to PhP1.5 billion were also damaged by flooding brought about by the typhoon.

As I write this, torrential rains continue to pour even as Typhoon Juan makes it way to China.   We still don't have our water supply back but there was enough water from the rains that we can use if we needed it.

End of Summer 2009

Today marks the official end of the summer season. The Philippine weather bureau or PAG-ASA announced that this year's summer is quite short. I say short but terrible.

The two hottest days recorded in history occurred this year. I expect my electric bill to really go skyhigh this month because I couldn't stand the daytime heat and my air conditioner had to work full time. It was so hot this summer that I had a bout with my allergies several times this season.

As we say goodbye to summer 2009, we meet the rainy season with not one but two typhoons. As I write this, the weather bureau is already tracking two low pressure areas developing in the southern parts of the country. They are, most likely, going to develop into typhoons.

Typhoon Frank

It was almost a week ago when Typhoon Frank (international code named: Fengshen) visited our country. It was sunday morning and I woke up with my room dark and the wind pounding on my closed windows. The rain was noisily pouring outside.

There was no electricity and it was also dark inside the house. I managed to have breakfast with only the candles providing additional illumination.

I was out of touch for sometime. No TV, no radio, and no Internet. Luckily the mobile phones were still working so I could exchange SMS with my parents and brother.

Electric power returned by midday but there was no cable TV. My source of information was the Internet. I was able to track the path of the typhoon and found out that it would pass by area late in the afternoon.

By mid afternoon, the worst of the typhoon was upon us. Winds buffeted the trees in the yard, tearing off some the branches. A bird's nest fell from one of the trees, the poor little chicks died when they hit the concrete.

Surprisingly, the electric power didn't go off. Cable TV was even restored even as the typhoon unleashes its fury on our area. After a couple of hours, the winds and rains calmed down.

TV news started broadcasting all the horrific images of devastation in the other provinces of the country. Scores died in the wake of the typhoon. Near where I was at, there was a news of a couple getting electrocuted because floodwaters reached their electrical outlets before they got to higher grounds.

The worst story was that of the ship that capsized in the middle of the typhoon due to huge waves hitting it. Some 800 souls were aboard that ship and only it was only the day after that reports of survivors, only 20 at first and now 50, came out.

The name Frank has just been removed from the list of typhoon names in the country because of its strength and the devastation it wrought.

Pray It Rains

Earlier this month, the Philippines had a major problem. A prolonged dryspell caused severe drought in certain parts of Luzon. It was so severe that government itself told the people to conserve water or face dry faucets in the months to come. Rice farmers lost one planting season because there was not enough water to keep their plants alive.

The Catholic Church offered one solution (the Church is quite influential in our country). They asked the faithful to pray. So one Sunday, all churches in the country led the millions of Catholic Filipinos to pray for rain. And pray we did.

Our prayers must have shaken the pearly gates of Heaven because after a few days, rain started to fall. Every afternoon, the skies darkened, thunderclaps were heard and heavy rains ensued.

And it didn't end there. After another few days not one, but two typhoons developed in our area and dumped tons upon tons of rain water.

Provinces in the northern part of the country were inundated, the national capital region had to cancel school and work because of rising flood waters. There was literally water everywhere, from east to west of our archipelago.

In spite all the troubles, most Filipinos were still thankful. The rains brought relief to months of heat and humid weather. Dams were refilled to safe levels, irrigation wells replenished and the government announced that we won't be having a water crisis after all.

Yet, they say that we still need more rain.