What to do when the monsoon clouds decide to bring rain? Well, first things first: never trust the weather forecast when travelling through Asia. The weather is unpredictable. It might look nice and sunny in one minute, might rain heavily in the other minute, and change back to blue skies and sun. If I wake up and it rains, I still mostly do whatever I planned to do on that day. In Ubud it was raining a lot, I still went to the rice fields and when I was there it suddenly stopped and I had them all to myself (since the other tourists didn’t want to go there in the rain) However, if you wanted to hike up somewhere, which might be too dangerous when it’s raining, or if you wanted to get a nice tan while lying on the beach you might have to look for something else to do.
Go to museums I know it sounds boring and might not be on top of your to-do list. However, it’s inside, try, can be very interesting and in Asia going into a museum will almost never cost you more than 3€. You can spend a few hours in a museum (I always find prison museums or ethnical museums quite interesting) When leaving the museum it might already be warm and sunny and you can continue with your initial plans.
Learn a new skill. Asia offers a wide range of different classes and workshops. In a cooking class, you can learn how to cook the country’s traditional dishes. Most cooking schools offer morning and evening classes, provide you lots of information about the different ingredients and you mostly get a cooking book. Not only do you learn a new skill and stay dry, but you also meet other people and can enjoy a homemade dish. If you are an arty person you will also enjoy one of the various art classes that are offered in Asia. I am not creative, neither really artistic. However, one of the nicest mornings I had in Asia, was when I participated in an art class and could bring home a self-made souvenir/piece of art after my travels.
Would you like to give something back to the locals during your time in Luang Prabang? If the answer is “Yes” visit “Big Brother Mouse”. Many young people are eager to learn English but don’t have a lot of opportunities to practice. If it’s wet outside, why not head to Big Brother Mouse and talk to local kids? The kids are given the chance to speak English to foreign visitors, and the travellers can find out more about the country’s culture, and how young people live in this part of the world. The education centre is open 7 days a week and offers two sessions. One at 9am and one at 5pm – both last for two hours and there is no need to call ahead, just show up, sit down with the kids and teenagers and start talking.
Treat yourself. What better way to let the rainy hours pass than lying on a massage table with the smell of lemon grass oil in your nose. There are multiple fancy resorts offering a range of treatments such as facials, body scrubs, aromatherapy massage, oil massage, Thai massage, manicures, and pedicures. If you are on a budget, there are plenty of smaller places offering the same in a less fancy environment for much cheaper.
If you are not interested in any of those things or you already participated in cooking and art classes, visited all the museums and already had three different massages – just go to your hostel's common area. The plans of the other travellers are probably also affected by the rain and there is always one person with cards. You can spend the day talking, playing, eating, drinking and simply relaxing in your hostel. Furthermore, it is really interesting to listen to other travellers' experiences and stories.
