Goa in the Monsoon

Lady Summerisle

strange as it may sound i really want to experience the monsoon and have heard goa is the best place in early june. any tips at all?

GoanCanuck

Goa is OK in the month of June if you don't mind the following:-

1) Thunder, lightning and heavy rain
2) mosquitoes
3) frequent power outages
4) absence of other tourists from Europe
5) closure of the beach shacks(not all)

crvlvr

ofcourse, when there is lightning and you decide to go to the beach, you will pretty much be a walking lightning rod. The good (or bad) thing is that, there will be no official to stop you from doing as you please.

Jamie11

I will be there throughout the monsoon season, quite looking forward to it. never been during monsoon before, does anyone know how bad everything gets affected, like transport etc???

thanks

Yetijuice

I highly recommend reading Alexander Frater's "Chasing the Monsoon: A Modern Pilgrimage Through India," Penguin Books, 1990. Frater travels north along the Malabar Coast trying to catch the beginning of the monsoon at Kovalam Beach, Cochin, Goa, and Bombay. Sometimes he is early and sometimes he is late.

Traveling through the monsoon will enable you to avoid the crowds. Most of the rain occurs in late afternoon and at night. You will have plenty of sunny mornings.

Peyompian

Best bet on getting that book, "Chasing the Monsoon," is a large library, or amazon used/ebay. I looked in bookstores... and I can't find it. Its out of print. I'm hoping I can get a copy in Goa, or Bombay, since the reviews of it make it seem like GREAT monsoon reading.

Personally, I LOVE thunder and lightning and rain. Nothing relaxes me like reading with the rain pouring on the roof, and the flash of lightning. White noise... ah! As to power... I'll be buying a couple of UPS's (Uninteruptable Power Supplies) in Bombay, for my computer, and a small lamp

You're not alone in your desire to see Goa during the Monsoon. I think that maybe then is when you get a true feel for the place, when the tourists are gone. I hope so, anyway...

Digital Drifter

I can't quite u'stand why people would want to move away during the monsoon. I can u'stand winter in Europe thingy and the desire to get as much as sun as possible....

but I always felt rain in India was the warm,heavy,earthy tepid shower that kind of makes you feel really alive. Sipping tea, watching the water drip off the thatched roofs, the temporary respite from manmade noise, watching parents cajoleing & threatening their kids into not playing in the rain.

Taking out the candles, waiting for the expectant power cuts, the loss of TV/radio brings that sudden intimacy with family members, discussing family,monetary and neighbourhood gossip.....

In a craptacular world, the rain is the solace.

Enjoy it.

CodeRot

I'm a rain man myself.
Bring it on.
The real India -- http://www.angelfire.com/id/croon/india/hinduism.html.

smida02

I could be wrong here, but I think that the monnsoons have been arriving late and somewhat less intense the past few years. Isn't it possible that there will be no rain until July? What are the chances of this trend continuing again this year?

CodeRot

The weather does seem to be changing. Over here in Japan, the rainy seasons and summers of recent years have been strange. One year cooler than average, the next hotter than ever. I wouldn't be surprised if India was suffering from the same upsets.

Lady Summerisle

It was 'chasing the monsoon' that gave me the idea! its a really good read, i got it in a book shop in parah ganj and sold it back when i was done so there's at least one copy floating around... is it going to be difficult transport wise do you think? we'll have to trundle down from delhi

bijapuri

BEWARE
the Monsoon seas are very treacherous. Rip currents and rogue waves will take their toll. Don't be a statistic, assuming the bother to keep 'em there

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Peyompian

The trains will keep going. You'll find a way, even if they don't

matthew stuart

I agree, i lost my father who travelled to India/Goa/Anjuna every year at the monsson season for the past 15 years. The fishing i.e Beach casting was better at that time of year. He was apparantley seen trying to free is hook which was snagged on a rock/bottom when he was washed out to sea and drowned on the 18th October 2005. We are still trying to come to terms with our loss, so sad. Dad knew the dangers and warned other tourist about the Sea's. Dad was also born in India/Ajmeir in 1943 before he moved to the UK.
I will be visiting Goa this year to try and speak with a few locals who pulled dads body from the sea, to see if they seen anything leading up to this freak accident.

Dad was laso fishing the day after a full moon/eclipse also.
Does this have any impact on the state of the sea's i.e. tides/currents/waves. I think the hurricane just missed southern india that week aswell.

nevilleb

Won't be half as crowded. Avoid swimming. It can really be quite pretty in the monsoons, and the earth will come alive with hues of brown and lush green vegetation.

nevilleb

Neville Bulsara
Travel and documentary photography