And sometimes that precipitation is tremendous.
Sumatra and West-Java can be miserable during that time.
Slate grey skies, twilight at mid-day because of the clouds and rain.
Sheets of lead outside and a steady drumming.
Flooding in low-lying areas.
And bugs.
When the sun does come out the humidity seems even more oppressive.
The animals aren't impressed by the weather, the people even less.
Often, however, there is just a constant thick flow of wind.
BOGOR, DEPOK, BETAWI
Palm trees will resemble black butterflies because all their leaves are bent backward in one direction. Edward Gorey would love it, as the spectrous visual is very gothic.
If you are caught in a downpour, the ferocity of the falling water stuns you, and flooding may be very sudden along rivers. At other times the wind makes everything tremble, and at the seashore breakers make mooring in shallow water risky.
No, it does not increase the chance of ferry disasters; many of those are conveniently distributed throughout the year. Nature assuredly does this for your convenience.
For similar reasons the water may rise up along the Tjiliwong, but that indeed is mostly a monsoon event. Some people live only a few feet away from the river, some barely above it, in houses built of bamboo, scrap wood, gedek, cardboard, pounded tin, and corrugated sheets.
It is not the most secure of residential locations. But if it weren't for the estuarine wax and wane, the smells would build and disease would be far more common. The flooding, I hear, just keeps getting worse.
Deforestation far upriver, near Puntjak.
BATAVIA
This city was the Graveyard of the East; strong men from Europe came here to perish, often taking a few years to do it, as malaria and various other natural checks on imperialism wreaked havoc on their health.
Now the inlanders migrate here and suffer the same.
Every year many dwelling are entirely rebuilt.
Just as impermanent as last year.
TEA
Because the local waters were so malevolent -- just think of typhus and cholera -- tea eventually became a necessary commodity for the health of residents, and has remained so among most segments of society.
Naturally, if you boil the water for your brew, it is sterile. At Chinese restaurants fresh hot tea is always served, and many people entirely unselfconsciously use the first blistering pour from the pot to wipe utensils and crockery, often before even considering what to eat.
American tourists seldom do likewise, wherever they are.
But if they did, they would have far fewer ailments.
It's a good reason to eat Chinese food.
As if you needed one.
Do NOT drink anything with ice.
It can do things to you.
And it will.
From Jakarta to Manila, drink tea. If you are lodging with a local family, there will be a collection of thermos flasks on the kitchen table that are filled regularly, with some loose leaves thrown in to colour the liquid, as well as disguise the repellent nature of the water.
Do not stay near turbid or stagnant creeks and channels.
Always drink tea. All day long, till late at night.
Move slow, to avoid perspiring.
There is no need to sweat.
You glow already.
Sloyong sloyong.
KALI
Ik loop slifslof langs de kali,
Ik hoor tjaplok-tjaplok;
Ik denk 'loh, ada buwaya!'
Maar neen, 't was een kodok.
["I stroll along the river, I hear kersplash-kersplash; I think 'darn, a crocodile', but no it was a frog."]
Older Indos may remember that this doggerel has a different ending, highlighting one of the functions of rivers in that part of the world.
One which emphasizes why you should be wary of the water.
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