Advice on weather and waterproofs!

chris0304

I'm really sorry, I know this question or very similar to this one has been posted before, but this is a little more specific: I shall be in Udaipur and Jodhpur for the last few days of august and in jaisalmer and jaipur the first week of september - how much rain am I to expect? will it be raining all the time - and therefore needing to take waterproof coat/trousers - or for only a few hrs a day? After this i'm flying down to Bangalore, then getting the train to mysore, madurai, pondicherry and Chennai - what will the rains be like here? last time I was in India I was in Mumbai in late August, so I got some idea of the weather, but I know the monsoons vary greatly over the whole country, and as i'm backpacking I want to know exactly what clothes to take.

Thanks.

Noodle

The monsoon not only varies greatly over the whole country it also varies from year to year and from week to week and is generaly very unpredictable. You could have 3 weeks rain 24/7 if you're unlucky, or you could have 3 weeks no rain at all. Likely you will have a mixture of the two.

I would advice you to take waterproof coat and trousers in any case because the chances that you won't meet with a torrential downpour somewhere are slim.

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stop digging.

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Nick-H

If you are bringing waterproofs down South they should be very lightweight and ***breathable*** --- else it will get as wet on the inside as on the outside.

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Noodle

Here as well, and I'm middle-west (close to Mumbai)!

federica

For the South I find waterproofs totally useless. Better buy an umbrella, you will get one in almost every corner shop in India, so no need to bring one.

Although it is raining a lot it is still very hot, and breathable clothes like goretex only work properly with temperature differences between your body and the outside temperature.

Light and fast drying trekking clothes are a better option.

vir

I suggest you don't take any kind of waterproof clothing. If you see that its raining too heavily take shelter in any tea shop/restaurant and do people watching.

We rented really good quality raincoats when we were in Katra for our vaishnodevi yatra. and it was raining heavily when we were in town for 2 days. Carrying a raincoat can be quite a hassle. and then another hassle is to find out how to let it dry (in a hotel room ??? where it will take a long time and make the room messy)

Water proof gortex boots are also not very helpful as when it rains heaviliy roads will have lots of water and lots of potholes. Any passing vehicle will make water go into your boots very quickly.

If you want to go somewhere take a auro rickshaw.

If its raining heavily you will not be able to do a lot anyway. Just be inside your hotel room, train, bus, rickshaw, restaurant, Museum etc. Basically do stuff which are indoor.

Noodle

Actually I must agree with that. For me an umbrella and flip flops (cheap to replace) work best in the monsoon. When it's raining too strong staying inside or waiting in a restaurant is the best option as no amount of clothing will really save you from these downpours ...

Nick-H

Wash you feet and legs with lots of soap and hot water when you've been wading.

The sewers overflow...

And be very careful where you put your feet when you can't see the road surface. Manhole covers go missing, people fall down the holes and drown.

Oh, and watch out for the fallen electricity cable pumping current into the water all around it --- that's another way that people die in what migh not look like a particularly dangerous patch of water

chris0304

Thanks for all that!

Mahesh

You can expect monsoon in Southern part of the country so you need to be prepared accordingly.