It's beginning to look a lot like winter

I'm told by locals on a near daily basis that this has been an incredibly mild winter. Terms like "sunbathing weather" are thrown around with the casual nonchalance that only true hardweather boys possess. But what these crazy northerners are forgetting is that the rest of us (sane) folks are not used to this kind of climate. Whilst I was sadly deprived of the White Christmas I've dreamt of since childhood, I can no longer deny that winter is well and truly here. Snow has fallen, melted and fallen again, matches are regularly postponed for weather, the sun doesn't rise til it's almost time for it to set again and the walk down the hill to the bus stop becomes more and more treacherous every day. Black ice, as it turns out, is very likely to be the cause of my early demise. 

A wariness of spending too much money before I've received some decent sized paycheques means there will be no fancy skiing holidays for me. A trip to Edinburgh was the highlight of the new year so far but with southern England buried in snow and sitting at a comfortable negative seven degrees; it looks like I won't be doing much tourism for a while. So the question becomes: what is the humble traveller to do when leaving the house comes with oversized coats, frostbite and horizontal sleet flying in your face?

Winter can still be a grand old time of year for those of us who are sensibly unwilling to risk pneumonia. The humble thrills enjoyed back home can still bring comfort abroad. Restaurants, movies, bars and cafes are just as enjoyable. Museums, galleries and shops are still open and whilst good television seems to have gone on hiatus lately, a night in watching one of the many award ceremonies that kick off during February is just as fun here as back home. One of the difficulties modern travellers face is getting over the belief that you have to be doing something every day in order to justify your trip. Sometimes simply enjoying yourself is more than enough.

Something about the rain

I've spent close to two weeks in Singapore so far and if there's one thing I now know about this place; it's that they're not hurting for rain. My god this country is damp. With rain close to 300 days of the year and lightning storms on 170 of those days, you learn quickly to accept that you're unlikely to go through a day without getting a little bit wet. So here's some suggestions about what to do on rainy days during your travels.


1. Stuff the rain, go out to the streets/parks/whatever-unsheltered-area-you're-interested-in anyway. If you're in a warm country, this shouldn't be a miserable experience for you, but rather a new chance for some great photos and activities with tiiiny queues. Just don't wear heals, soft shoes or white clothes.


2. Ride around on public transport all day. Unless you're in a city with underground trains (or sometimes even then), taking public transport back and forth can give you a pretty great look at parts of the city you might not get to see otherwise. Plus, after a few trips, you'll never get lost or flummoxed by ticket zones again.


3. Find a nice cafe and catch up on emails. You know those friends you promised to send photos to? You know that mother who complains that your emails are too short and infrequent? You know that boyfriend who's getting all paranoid that you might meet someone else? Here's your chance to make every last one of these folks think you're the greatest. A couple of facebook posts, some pic uploads and a lengthy email or two and you'll be the most popular person you know!


4. Do all that cultural stuff you claimed you were planning on but have yet to make time for. Museums? Art Galleries? With all the valuables inside, these are usually the last places where you're likely to get rained on. The catch is that everyone else knows this, too. Expect larger than normal crowds.


5. Reenact your favourite movie scene. Let's face it, Hollywood loves a good drizzle. So get out there and dance off lampposts, run screaming from serial killers, declare true love, kiss strange girls, have a martial arts fight in fancy suits, whatever! You could even make your own movie if you wanted, but that could just be me being overambitious. I'm like that.