What to wear for the rain?

njm44

I'm flying to Trivandrum next weekend for my first time in India. Just checked out the weather forecast and seen there's potential for rain http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/5day.shtml?world=2657 . What's the best way to deal with rain in a hot climate? Do I wear water proof clothing or just use an umbrella? Is it best to buy this stuff in india or before I leave?

Anders

I find water proof clothing useless in India. By a cheap umbrella when you get there.

lostinasia

I agree with Anders--in hot tropical climates, all you're going to do with waterproof clothing is sweat yourself wet from the inside out. Use an umbrella, use a hat. It doesn't matter if you get wet anyway--you're presumably wearing light clothing (leave the blue jeans at home!), and they'll dry pretty quickly. I spent a year travelling through the tropics and the only "jacket" I had was a flannel shirt.

Nick-H

Yep: I hate umbrellas in London (where I go for the just-got-off-boat heavy-duty sailing gear waterproofs approach), but here they are really useful for keeping off water or sunshine

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edwardseco

One thing that was very useful for me was a pair of light galoshes. I lived at the end of a long dirt lane and even elsewhere it saved a lot of inconvenience. A flashlight also saves serious missteps..

Nick-H

Good point; I'd forgotten about feet. A pair of thin rubber boots (like sailing boots) could be good?

guerik

If my thorough study of Bollywood is anything to go by, a sheer sari and a bikini-top style blouse is the go.

It's so warm down there at the moment that you'll dry off pretty quickly once the rain stops/you go inside anyway - just watch out for AC. Otherwise umbrella vendors are everywhere when the rain starts

doccardshark

its too hot 4 any special rain gear.
i recommend gettg an umbrella , if at all its raining...!(this isnt the time 4 rains in Trivandrum, so more likely that there wld just b passing showers)
for the feet floaters wld be best, rain boots really dont make too much sense
hv a nice DRY trip
Tejas

john.sw

Don't worry about the rain - there may be an occasional shower, but at this time of year it's not going to pour down, and it's not going to last long!

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njm44

Many thanks! I won't bother packing any rain gear then. If I need to, I'll just buy an umbrella while I'm out there.

Digital Drifter

<sarcastically> as if that's any good when you get caught in the rain, in a flooded street, with no streetlights and with an open manhole somewhere in the street. :-)

Nick-H

Too right, D-D But until you do fall down a manhole at least they would keep the sewage out from between your toes

People seem to die quite regularly from falling down manholes: and that is in the dry weather. I was walking very, very careful the other day whenever I couldn't see the road surface. A stick would be handy.

lostinasia

The eternal debate... you're walking down a monsoon-flooded road, and you feel something suddenly wrap around your leg... you don't know what... while shaking your leg, do you look or clench your eyes closed? And how many hours do you later spend in the shower?

Is it or is it not a mere urban legend that flooded-out rats will climb up anything to escape the water, including the tourist's leg?

Do you use the umbrella to check the ground in front of you, or to protect against the rain, or to bat away the hypothetical rats?

crvlvr

ditto.. for the rest.. Observe the locals and do as they do. After all, they have been living in that rain for ages..

Auntyji