Rush Hour

Everyone rushes home at the end of the day for the usual reasons--make dinner, get in some relaxation time, etc--but in Chiang Mai, there's also the added incentive of avoiding this:



the huge raincloud about to open up over the city. The daily rain comes at varying times--usually late afternoon or night--and since half the vehicles on the road are motorbikes, the weather shuts down everything in its path. One minute people are happily lounging around food stalls and shops, the next everyone has dashed for their bikes and sped off. It's like a cartoon where you can still see the dust kicked up by Wylie Coyote.



I just barely made it to the gym in time to avoid this doozy; the storm caused blackout about 15 minutes later.