I have been
amazed by how much rain Taipei receives.
During the month of February, it seems like it failed to rain only two
days. February is nowhere near the
rainiest month and is not part of the typhoon season. They actually have names for the rain
seasons, with the Plum Rain season covering May-July. The 10 day forecast that
I look at frequently, rarely shows a day without rain. I have always said that you can tell how much
rain a city receives by how high the curbs of their streets are. Taipei has high curbs and also builds gutters
into their sidewalks.
Living in a
vibrant city that rains so much, has caused me to change my thinking about
umbrellas. Growing up as a male in the
U.S., the only respectable time for a man to possess or use an umbrella was on
the golf course. I have an extremely
large umbrella mounted to my golf bag and I have been very happy on many
occasions to have it. However, to carry
the little umbrellas to and from work, or shopping, or restaurants…well it just
didn’t seem manly.
My thinking
about carrying an umbrella, since living in Taipei, has changed. I read a blog by a Brit that said “it rains
more in Taipei than Manchester and the men actually carry brollies
(umbrellas)”. I carry a brolly
everywhere I go. I never leave the
apartment in Taipei without my backpack, which carries my Taipei map, Boy Scout
compass, camera and umbrella. Burberry
recently opened a new store in Taipei and named their marketing campaign “Make
it Rain in Taipei”. We don’t need any
more rain and they should have named it “Stop the Rain in Taipei”. I attached a link to their Taipei promo. Also, there are many Taipei rain YouTube videos
and attached a link that shows the motor scooter people decked out in rain
suits and a bicyclist carrying an umbrella, which is normal.
I follow a blogger named Morgan that is
a West Texan living in Taipei-her blog is called Our Home in the East. She commented on the rain of Taipei and
quoted:
Average yearly
rainfall in the Amazon Basin: 1500-2100 mm (60-83 inches)
Average yearly rainfall in Taipei: over 2400 mm (95 inches)
I
recently returned to the U.S. and brought my golf clubs with me. We picked the clubs up from our Zhu Nan
house. The clubs were stored in the
lowest level of the four story home, and the most humid. My wife warned me that the clubs had some
mold on them. I was appalled to see the travel
bag, golf bag, shoes, clubs and umbrella covered in mold. I did my best to clean them, but trying to
dry wet golf gear in 99% humidity isn’t easy.
Back home in the U.S. I cleaned everything again and laid them on the
driveway to dry in the hot sun and 26% humidity. A repairman servicing our house commented
that I must be anal about clean golf clubs.
I responded that I am anal about clean everything; however my clubs were
covered in mold from Taiwan. He told me
his military service took him to Vietnam and he fully understood.
The
umbrella industry was centered in Taiwan from the 1960s-80s. Like many industries, umbrellas have moved to
China. At one time 75% of the world’s
umbrellas were manufactured by more than 300 companies in Taiwan. Rihanna had a sexy video several years ago,
where she pranced around with a Totes umbrella (check it out). This brolly was made in Taiwan and caused a
run on that particular model. Umbrellas
are part of fashion in Taipei, much like purses for many women.
I
have come to love Taipei and have adjusted to carrying an umbrella. They are actually very useful and really
don’t compromise my manhood too much.
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