A not so blue day ☔️💦🌬💨
Vacation, the first thing that comes to mind as soon as we hear the word- clear blue skies & warm sunny days... well, as an avid (& somewhat seasoned traveler) I can confidently say- not so much and not always. If I’ve learned anything from my travel sojourns in the last few years, it’s that the weather will turn grey and stormy and send down a spate of downpour even on days when the sky was blue just an hour ago (I mean, c’mon).
As a travel novice, when I first started traveling, I always wanted the weather to be perfect- warm sunny cornflower blue cloudless skies with long days. The more I traveled, the quicker I was disillusioned of this vision. Over the years and after a bit of disenchantment (ok, a LOT of disenchantment), I’ve now come to realize that the weather will always be whatever it wants to be and more often than not, what you don’t want it to be. I’ve dealt with severe disappointments during my travels when the clouds played spoilsport; whether it was when they barred me from being able to see the perfect sunset over the sea or when they covered the peak of a volcano for which I’d traveled over 3 hours by quad and a total of 12 hours by flight or when they decided to rain down snow and change the whole landscape!
But (as cliched as it sounds), every cloud does have a silver lining! There are days during all of our travels when the sky is grey, the day is stormy, the wind is chilly and the sun is hidden for the whole time that you’re there. However, these are the days that stand out when you look back at them. These are the days when you waited longer, prayed harder (for the sun) and gasped at the wondrous sights when the clouds parted for a glimpse of the panoramas afar. These are also probably the days when you had fun under whatever kind of sky and learnt that it’s not the weather that makes the day perfect but your mindset to tackle any and all of it. After all, the purpose of traveling (at least for me) is to make memories, to learn dealing with less than ideal situations and to see the world in a different light.. If you always see the sun during your travels- then maybe (just maybe) you end up feeling only like a tourist rather than a traveler. So, in conclusion, my fellow travelers, go have your less-than-sunny-weather day and embrace it as part of your unique experience of the place. Without further ado, here are some pictures from days when the sky was not so blue and dandy....
The breathtaking view from atop the Sky Bridge, Langkawi, as the clouds cleared
Roads among the clouds- when the weather decided it wanted to stay gloomy all through our stay in Albay
Of bamboo huts under leaden skies
Starfish island, Puerto Princessa
The clouds playing a game of ‘Hide & Peek’ at Mayon. Alas, they never cleared enough to let us view Mayon in all its perfect symmetry!
The Great Wall of China, on a foggy day, at Mutianyu. The drama of only being able to see short stretches of this wall, at a time, definitely made for an exhilarating hike
When the rain turned this landscape into a postcard perfect one!
Jinsha Site Museum, Chengdu
If you seek the turquoise sea only under the sun, think again!
Sandbar, middle of the Indian Ocean, Seychelles
Thundering clouds over the setting sun- what followed was a beautiful greyish golden twilight and a short sharp downpour as we walked back to the car
Somewhere along the west coast of Praslin Island
When the world turns white... This road was visible just 24 hours ago. The snow during the drive back from Gudauri was one of the best memories of Georgia, for me (not so much for Jin, since he had to do the driving in this crazy weather)
When the grey in the sky only enhances the green on the ground...
Nobbies coast walk, Phillip Island