Travel Blogger Daily Blog: Traveling (But Not Singing) In The Rain

Weathering The Weather Storms

By Kevin Wilkerson, PubClub.com Travel Blogger

It’s raining, and while that may make for some good song lyrics, it’s not what I enjoy when I travel.

I live in Southern California and frankly, just don’t like the rain. Don’t do well in it, don’t like to be out in it, don’t want to be anywhere near it.

First of all, it really puts a damper on things. Pun intended by the way.

I can’t walk around the same as when it’s sunny and nice. I’m looking down to avoid puddles rather than up and at the sites and scoping out the bars and restaurants.

I can’t stroll around and take my time because I want to get into someplace and, well, out of the rain.

I have to wear somewhat uncomfortable clothes.

Plus, the pulse of a place changes when it rains. There’s not as many people out, the shopkeepers and bar/restaurant servers take on a kind of depressed demeanor and the fellow travelers replace their smiles with frowns.

And how often do we get to places anyway? We want the weather to be good so we can fully enjoy those destinations.

I was on Phuket Island in Thailand where it rained at some point for my entire three days. Every afternoon it poured. I spent that time in my hotel room looking out the window as drops from the sky pelted the deck.

I went to New Orleans and it rained off and on for all four of my days in the Big Easy. retreated to my room and wrote up articles on NOLA for PubClub.com and when it stopped – and the sun even came out a few times – I bolted out the door as fast a benchwarmer on a football team got the call to go into the game from the coach.

There’s another thing too about traveling in the rain. Destinations that shine in the sun are dreary when they are wet. One of my key objectives when traveling is to get photos and videos of a destination and if it’s cloudy and rainy, they don’t make my stories as appealing to the reader.

The only city I’ve ever visited that is almost as pretty when it’s raining as it is when its sunny is Amsterdam. There’s something about those small, arched brick bridges over the canals that is nice regardless of the weather.

Otherwise, I want to be traveling when it’s sunny

Cheers!