Caught in Monsoon

beach

The monsoon is in. It is a boon for many and hassle for the rest. Haa..chhh..is a sound I can hear at office at regular intervals. If summer is unbearable, monsoon is messy.

What to do if you are caught in. If you are in an outdoor activity like beach or tracking, it is very difficult. Better to avoid such activities.

But it is fine and pleasant to be inside activities like yoga, ayurveda resorts and the likes.

Cotton is not recommended for monsoon season. It takes ages for it to get dry once get wet. Thin synthetic fabrics are the best bet. They dry quickly. If become a bit wet when you jumped out of the bus before catching the shelter, the synthetic cloths dry fast with body temperature.

It is better to buy a raincoat than an umbrella. It gives you a lot of freedom to move around easily.

An umbrella can cost anything from 200 to 400 or so rupees. The multifold umbrellas are compact but may not stand a strong wind. Buy the one that looks less sophisticated and sturdy.

Raincoats can also cost anything from 250rs to 1000+. You may buy a much cheaper transparent one. You can get rid of them, once the rain is over. The chances of you forgetting take back the umbrella is less compared to the raincoat. Buy a big polythene cover also if your backpack isn’t leak proof.

A leather shoe is your worst companion during the monsoon. Once the muddy water get inside (it will) that, you are finished. Its become a big liability, neither you can get rid nor wear it. Buy PVC ‘sandak’ from BATA or any other such shops. During the season BATA showrooms will have a huge monsoon collections. Cost ranges from Rs99.95 to Rs499.95 (it’s the BATA’s funny price tag)

Generally the bus/train/boat/flight etc doesn’t get cancelled due to rain. But generally the road traffic moves slowly. Taxi drivers charge more during monsoon. In the bus never ‘catch’ a side seat. You may not be able to prevent the leak by pulling the shutter down.

But it is not uncommon to have the trains rescheduled due to water logging on tracks.
Typically the rain can last anything from 15minutes to 2hours or more. Also it depends on your location. At times it get clouded in a few minutes and start raining. At times it drizzles thought out the day.

And many of the places (especially the scenic ones) look terrific after a couple of weeks rain. The whole area gets a fresh coat of green. The post rain sky is clearer are the air misty.

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sudheer poppa

Great one beach. In the end, I could breath the fresh air only by reading through....

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Beach

I'm motocycling across India on a 1 year journey and I'm wondering if I should store my bike during monsoon and use alternative transport until the rain begains to let up. I have waterproof gear but I'm not sure I want to risk it.

Also I'm not sure what "PVC ‘sandak’ from BATA" is. Is it waterproof footwear or sandals, or some hybrid?

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guerik

What are the HP mountains like in monsoon season? Are they effected?

bijapuri

Hp mtns in a strong monsoon year get several hours of afternoon rain several times a week in monsoon. After awhile, everythinbg turns into a primordial ooze- roads, clothes, people, poop, all one big slimeball.
fun, tho . . . .

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guerik

Yeah, you make it sound fun!
I assume there would be a lot of problems with buses in and out of the mountains, in that case? Are they just delayed or cancelled completely?

sudheer poppa

Hello biker,

Sandak is a brand of rain freindly footwear ( slip ons) by the Bata group of retail shops. It does not actualy cover your leg up completly but you can use it rather than sneakers on water logged roads..

I enjoy riding in the rain but certainly do not recommend it as it depends on each person's riding skills plus the type of traffic in place. I dont bother about machines and hence not sure if that can give problems with your bike. I follow " fill it, shut it, forget it" priciple and if it does not work, throw it....

AvidTrekker

There is the rain-shadow region of Lahaul and Spiti. They hardly get any rain. As long as you don't cross over the Rohtang Pass or into Kinnaur, you wont see any rain in HP.

Of course, if you cross over, be prepared for unscheduled delays, landslides, buses cancelled..... etc. The only all-weather link to Spiti was washed out for a whole six months in 1998 (i think it was.... 98) when the Sutlej in its monsoon fury simply blew out a spit of land on the river near Wangtu. This spit of land had the metal bridge connecting the two ends of the Hindustan Tibet Road. The Army quickly built a pontoon bridge in two days flat. All bus passengers were to get down on one side, walk across the pontoon bridge and board a corresponding bus on the other side. Sometimes there was NO corresp. bus on the other side... so you got wet till the bus arrived. FUN, isn't it ??

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concoran

Biker, Monsoon is not evenly spread across India. Only if you are in the west coast you may need to be a little careful while driving. No need to store you bike in any season.

Bryan

If your in Himachal the roads can be trecherous due to land slides.
Manali regualry got cut off but i think they've improived the road
You'd be suprised though at how well enfields handle off road hahahaha

So I would say just stop when the rain gets nuts ...and continue when it stops the rain rarely lasts all day ...well outside of Himachal but if you're heading to LAdakh where it doesnt rain that wouldn'y be a problem

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Shall brithers be for a' that.
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Jeroen

I just bused from Gwaldam (Garhwal) to Rishikesh along the main Ganga valley today and at three places there were big landslides due to the day-long rain yesterday... a bit of delay, a welcome break to spread legs, pee and watch them bulldoze huge boulders over the cliff.
A bit scary to drive right along the edge of that recent landslide though. .. but I survived.

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beach

Avoid any travel plan to the NE states. The monsoon is creating havoc at the low lands there. The rail link is cutoff to the NE. About 10000 passengers are stranded at railway stations there. Check the local news updates for the improvement in situation.

Polo

Beach I just love your posts!!!

I've even included many of your posts in my 'impress the future-inlaws with loads of info'-Booklet. Copyrighted ofcrs

I still got a little Question about the monsoon though: is the area Sikkim Darjeeling and the toy train there going to be totally flooded/hard to reach/enjoy around mid/end of september??


Thanks!!!

shanshas

The monsoons usually last till mid September in the Darjeeling area. So you should ve fine. The best time to visit Darjeeling is actually mid to late October. Breathtaking scenery and great weather.

Have a good one

edwardseco

Fine one beach, takes me back to Delhi in the monsoon and Khadi..