A Stroll Under the Black Rainstorm Warning

Waking up in the morning, I saw the sky being unusually dark for that time of the day. It's not that unusual, actually, for it's usually been unusually this dark the past week already. So I turned on the radio to listen to the news, and voila, the black rainstorm warning signal was hoisted. As far as I remember, it's the first black rainstorm signal for this year's rain season.

I didn't feel the usual "damn it, why the black signal on a Saturday!" I walked over to the window and started looking down on the street and out to the harbour. I was expecting an empty street. But I actually saw a few people on the street. As vehicles drove by, I saw ripples coming off their wheels. Oooh, looks like the streets down there are flooded a bit. Then I looked at the harbour. Whoa, TST was no where in sight -- hmm well, that shouldn't come as a surprise either cuz this isn't so rare a situation when the smog attack is on. But when I looked at the water in the harbour, I saw a big patch of brown surrounded by the usual green. I hoped the brown patch was just mud being stirred up by the turmoil and not pollution from the boats in the harbour.

Okay, it was my turn to experience the rain for myself. I've always enjoyed walking in the rain in my waterproof breathables. Although I've already tested out my Mont-bell in Peru, the rain there wasn't quite comparable to what you'd experience in the Hong Kong black rain. So I quickly put on my Mont-bell, my Bossini waterproof pants (they call them waterproof, but of course I wouldn't have high hopes on a HK$99 pair of "waterproof" pants... although they've always kept me relatively dry in the average rain), and my Teva sandals, and down the street I went. I just took a stroll around the neighbourhood, deliberately staying away from the sheltered areas, and walking in the floods. I felt refreshed and delighted. The chill of the rain was washing away the stress and the blues I was experiencing the past week.

I headed towards the harbour. I could vaguely see TST. And the brown in the water was most likely mud, though I wasn't sure where it came from. Well, at least it isn't more crap falling into the water. (It's just crap that's already in the water.) The rain became lighter at this point, though I started seeing lightnings. Okay, not a good place to be when lightnings struck. I made sure there weren't strong winds nor lightnings when I came down the street. I might be insane, but I'm not that insane. So I turned around, bought breakfast, and went back home. I gladly examined my outfit. My t-shirt which I wore underneath my Mont-bell was as dry as when I put it on. My Bossini pants were starting to give way to the pressure of the heavy rain, but they were far from soaked. As for my Mont-bell shell... It's wet on the outside, and dry on the inside, of course! The sleeves are a bit wet because I forgot to tighten the Velcro of the cuffs in the beginning. But I've now learned what to do with my cuffs and hood in heavy rains.

What a delightful and different morning. As I always tell my colleagues, I always bitch about getting wet in my work clothes, referring in particular to my footwear. But on my off-work days, I actually quite enjoy walking in the rain and feeling the chill...