View Full Version : India in August?
Anyone done it?
I bought the flights months ago for me and my 10 yr old son because it was the only time we could have a decent length of time away.
Then i found out it was monsoon at that time of year and its realy hard to google up any decent information about where its wet or not. Personally I like the monsoon weather but we had planned to go to the mountains.
Now i've heard that it maybe foggy in the mountains in monsoon, so not much point going if all you can see is the bottom of them.
Any info/experiences out there?
tastebud
09-07-2007, 13:03
I went last August, depends on where you go(...?) Some places were super rainy, others not, & were super sunny.
sheothebudworths
09-07-2007, 13:07
Mountains are lovely in August. :cool: :)
tastebud
09-07-2007, 13:11
Mumbai was well rainy at the beginning of July, but on the way back (beginning of August) it had stopped. Goa on the other hand, was pretty rainy in August. Depends on the region.
There was fog in Kodaikanal.
Oh God, I miss India :(
Edit: we commonly checked out the weather region-by-region as we went along, on the internet.
I went last August, depends on where you go(...?) Some places were super rainy, others not, & were super sunny.
care to share a bit more info?
tastebud
09-07-2007, 13:17
care to share a bit more info?
Depends on where *you're* going. I shared so much already :D Here: http://www.urban75.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=4894354#post4894354
When I have a bit more time I'll check out my diary :D Will let you know what the weather was like region by region. Though I only went south. I think the rain'll be less intense in Aug than it was in July though and really wasn't so bad when it did rain. It's never for very long and the sun usually reappears.
Kodai was quite cold at times though, but still beautiful.
Mountains are lovely in August. :cool: :)
which bit are you talking about? and was it clear enough to see them?
i've got a thing about mountains but i dont just want to be in a foggy valley.
Depends on where *you're* going.
no particular plan. I've been wanting to go to the himalayas for so long so i was a bit disheartened when i thought it would be all fogged in.
Other than that, maybe rajhastan and a few places in the north west.
I wouldnt mind going back to goa but i dont really want to embark on any mega cross country journeys with my son in tow.
tastebud
09-07-2007, 13:22
Ah okay, I know nothing about the North. Pretty sure Sheo does though :)
Ah okay, I know nothing about the North. Pretty sure Sheo does though :)
thanx anyway.
I just had a go at reading that thread but got bogged down with all the chit chat around page 8.
we're going to have a good time anyway.
i can feel it in my water :)
lang rabbie
11-07-2007, 21:45
The northwest is fairly arid. Any of the places around the sacred lakes in Rajasthan may be at their best during the monsoon season.
On the other hand, over in the northeastern mountains in Sikkim and West Bengal it will probably be chucking it down with rain.
Detroit City
11-07-2007, 21:52
very bad time to go to indian subcontinent....its is miserably oppressive
very bad time to go to indian subcontinent....its is miserably oppressive
cheer me up why dont you :)
ChrisFilter
12-07-2007, 11:56
Ignore him, I'm dead jealous!
i like being stupidly hot and i love extreme weather
so the phrase 'it's too hot' has no meaning for me :)
I would only go if your up for rain and heat. It can get up to 100% humididty in 30+ degrees in August.
http://www.travelindependant.info/ says it as it is
*
Hot/cold, wet and dry: May and June can be unbearable. The south is always hot, the mountains can be inaccessible in winter. The cooler seasons will bring more crowds, but the heat in India can really push you to the edge of the enjoyable factor of travel, so it is worth (many think) planning your trip to include either cooler regions or cooler weather.
On the whole before and during the monsoon, humidity is far more of a problem than straight heat. When places like Delhi hit over 40 degrees in April/May, don't fight it - pay the extra for an air conditioned room if available. Conversely, remember that large parts of India are mountains or desert regions, so it can get pretty cool at night. The winter months (November - March) will see the subcontinent enjoying relatively cool temperatures and clear skies.
Generally speaking, the best time to visit India is from October to mid-April. Summer season is from March to June, Monsoon from July to September, October is again a warm month and Winter lasts from November to February. Hill stations are best enjoyed from mid-September to mid-December and then from March to mid-July. Ladakh is best visited from June to September, when most other parts of the country are in the grip of the monsoon. Mid-winter anywhere north of Udaipur (Southern Rajasthan) will be chilly morning/evenings and north of Delhi gets really quite cold.
Strictly speaking, the places to avoid are: 1. North and South Indian plains from April to July. 2. Coastal areas from May to September. 3. Hill-stations from mid-December to February and mid-July to mid-September. 4. Ladakh from October to May.
I would only go if your up for rain and heat. It can get up to 100% humididty in 30+ degrees in August.
http://www.travelindependant.info/ says it as it is
its not up for debate whether we're going or not cos we've got the tickets.
thanks for the link though. thats useful info. ;)
I travelled all down the west coast last august and loved every bit of it. It rained heavily for an hour or so most days but it didn't bother me - I found it quite refreshing. You'll have to take shelter while it's raining but it won't stop you enjoying yourself the rest of the time. You'll see crazy and beautiful sites every day you're there. Indians are really welcoming and friendly and it was definitely the best holiday I've had. Enjoy :)
sheothebudworths
12-07-2007, 13:27
Pavlik - If you want mountains, I was in Manali for the whole of July and August and when we left the monsoon was approaching, but there were still only odd days where it rained for any great length of time.
It was a great time to be there - no mists that I recall :D very spring like mostly, so beautiful days and chilly nights - and also relatively empty too, with it being out of season. :cool:
nice one. the original plan was to head for manali actually.
i'm developing an route now which could take us up thru manali and if it's raining, carry on thru to ladakh possibly.
its not a journey I've ever considered but I've just shown my son some images of the people and views and he's up for it so i'm all excited again now :)
Yay for us! :D
Highly recommended.
Truly fantastic part of the world. The attitude of the Mountain people is totally different to the plains. Its another world up there.
August's a perfect time to be in Ladakh - you're out of the monsoon's clutches there.
Last August saw me braving Kerala and finding it not quite as hot / rainy as expected.
I had a couple of weeks in Varkala when you could've imagined it was peak season - no rain, nice temperatures and a lot less people around.
I have very little to do at the moment so thought i'd share a few of our recent stories here.
We're in Manali and have been for a few days. Its amazing to be in the Himalayas. Its really chilled out here and people are lovely, the scenery is stunning and we've had a great time but we're ready to move on i think.
We climbed a very small way up a mountain yesterday and I've got a lot more respect for the people who do that for a living now. there are guys sitting outside here all day with ropes, just waiting for someone to pay them a few rupees to take them climbing.
Yesterday morning while trying to understand how anyone can cook cold omelettes on cold toast, a van pulled up outside the restaurant we were in and a few men started unloading dozens of animal bodies onto the pavement. i said to jes, that's why I dont eat meat in India. Then I realised it was all body parts of wild animals. there were headless monkeys, headless wild boar and all kinds of unknown guts and torsos being dragged about, followed by all the heads.
Everyone walking by was gagging but I sat and watched the whole thing from the safety of an aircon restaurant. It was a truely bizarre way to start the day.
Last night we watched as the main street in town gradually emptied of people to be replaced by a large pack of rampaging dogs. Then a large group of donkeys came piling up the street chasing the dogs off and eyeing up anyone who got in their way. One of them turned on a passing bloke and looked like he was he was going to headbutt him. We found it hilarious that it wasnt safe to go out late at night for fear of bumping into the notorious donkey gang. :)
here's another funny one. When we arrived at this hotel, there was a menu in the room. We asked if they had room service. They said yes they did. We said 'ok can we have a cup of tea and a coke please?' They looked very confused and said they dont do room service.
We asked 'do you have a restaurant?' they said 'yes'
we asked 'where is it?
they said 'it's down the street'
'oh you must mean one of those restaurants thats owned and run by someone else?' :)
we finally agreed to watch a snake charmer show yesterday after they'd tried to persuade us many times. it was good though because me and jes are both scared of snakes and I think it helped us get over it a bit by having a python wrapped round our heads and a cobra staring us in the face.
towards the end the guy running the show leaned over and whispered in my ear, this is going to cost you about £40 and if you dont pay these snakes can be very dangerous, while waving the cobra in my face.
I think its a shame that almost everything in this country comes down to you getting your hand in your pocket and what seemed like an amazing experience just turned into another scam. I gave them about £6 in the end because i dont mind sharing a little western wealth in the third world but then told them where they could stick their 40 quid basically.
getting a sore ass sitting here so I'm off.
tata xx
...
we finally agreed to watch a snake charmer show yesterday after they'd tried to persuade us many times. it was good though because me and jes are both scared of snakes and I think it helped us get over it a bit by having a python wrapped round our heads and a cobra staring us in the face.
towards the end the guy running the show leaned over and whispered in my ear, this is going to cost you about £40 and if you dont pay these snakes can be very dangerous, while waving the cobra in my face.
I think its a shame that almost everything in this country comes down to you getting your hand in your pocket and what seemed like an amazing experience just turned into another scam. I gave them about £6 in the end because i dont mind sharing a little western wealth in the third world but then told them where they could stick their 40 quid basically.
getting a sore ass sitting here so I'm off.
tata xx
Irritating as fuck isn't it. 500rs is still far too much. Its 250rs if you enjoyed it and they don't try to rip you too badly and nothing if they do shit like that. Tell them your going to the police. They think that as a westerner you will get something resembling service from the police, the reality is debatable, though I reckon that threating tourists with a Cobra wouldn't be ignored.
I'm quite jealous btw. How cool were the nights there at the moment. Recommend the cherries and the apple juice.
Irritating as fuck isn't it. 500rs is still far too much. Its 250rs if you enjoyed it and they don't try to rip you too badly and nothing if they do shit like that. Tell them your going to the police. They think that as a westerner you will get something resembling service from the police, the reality is debatable, though I reckon that threating tourists with a Cobra wouldn't be ignored.
I'm quite jealous btw. How cool were the nights there at the moment. Recommend the cherries and the apple juice.
the nights are bit too warm for a blanket and a bit cool in the wee hours without.
we headed over to the hot sulphur springs a few miles up the road after i posted that and we bumped into the snake charmers again. One of them said 'hey you remember me?, you got my money now?' looking hopeful.
i just said 'oh yeah, your money' and laughed out loud.
i really dont mind being a bit ripped off here as I believe we should all be on a level playing field financially anyway but i cant afford to do it all on my own.
have been thinking i should move for a few days now but just realised im in manali and i've wanted to come here for years so why not just relax and enjoy it. the hot springs are totally amazing btw. me and jes are both loving our daily baths now :)
Please be aware that the average worker in India makes 50rs a day, so 500rs is 10 days wages. If I were to give you 10 days wages for a few minutes work, you can understand where they are coming from.
Please be aware that the average worker in India makes 50rs a day, so 500rs is 10 days wages. If I were to give you 10 days wages for a few minutes work, you can understand where they are coming from.
Yea I know and my original plan was to give them a couple of hundred maximum. It was a mixture of their threatening manner and only having a 500 rupee note on me that made me give them that.
I once shared a rickshaw in rishikesh with a 'spiritual' type who was obviously a long term resident at one of the ashrams. She gave me a right mouthful because I agreed to pay 50 instead of 40. She said it was people like me who ruin it for everyone else.:eek:
I find that attitude disgusting personally because i have no interest in keeping poor people in their place or in keeping India poor just so I can enjoy cheap holidays.
Ruin it for everyone else sounds harsh but its not doing anyone any favours if you walk in and distort the local economy as massively as its possible to do in India. Inflation is running at nearly 8% in India.
Plus having lived there for 6 months, I can hear her protests coming from my mouth. It sounds really petty, 10rs, but your subjected to such a unremitting attack on your finances, with the rickshaw drivers being the worst of the bunch, you really become hardened to it. Expect to haggle and go for it, they rely on your politeness to take your cash. Trust me, they will not take you if its not worth it.
That 50rs journey is probably only 10rs. So you just gave him 5 times what he would have got if you weren't a tourist with good exchange rates and thats all it boils down to, exchange rates.
sheothebudworths
04-09-2007, 10:57
Pavlik - I think NVP may be in Manali atm! :eek:
If you get yourself up to the Apple View guest house (just up from the club house, over the bridge towards old Manali) and ask Rabet for Jamie, he'll be able to tell you if he's about or not. :)
If he is, buy the lucky fucking bastard a cider from me eh? :mad: :D
sheothebudworths
04-09-2007, 11:02
Actually - he was very recently in Ladakh, but would probably be back in Manali very soon, if he's not already.
Defo worth attempting to seek him out anyway.
I feel i should know who NVP is but i really dont have a clue atm. (am a wee bit stoned ;) )
it would have been interesting to meet up with an urbanite in manali for sure but we're in goa now anyway.
Manali was fantastic tho and we ended up being so comfortable that i decided we had to move. We had cable tv and free internet and a great room so it ended up feeling like we were just sat at home and the whole point of this trip was for my son to experience some travelling.
so a few days of stress and mucho rupees later we're in arambol beach overlooking the sea. just had a lovely swim in the sea, jumping waves and a good meal and a movie. stopping here for the last week i think. i need an input of beach life and i also want Jes to experience it becos i plan to move here full time asap.
watch this space..... if u like :)
I spent August in Ladakh and kashmi. Never mind monsoons, burning heat, civil wars etc. its the boatman you've got to watch out for in Srinigar.. :( .. I was pretty much made to feel like Terry Waite for much of my stay.. :(
You could go to Ladkh, although if you're not trekking (i.e. with a 10 year old) then they're aint exactly a great deal to do. Then again it is September now.
moonsi til
06-09-2007, 10:01
Arambol is lovely....the guy in the German bakery does a excellant massage for about R500 :)
they're aint exactly a great deal to do
In a country this size?!!:eek:
we've never sat down since we got off the plane.
unless you count the long haul trains and buses.
:)
Arambol is lovely....the guy in the German bakery does a excellant massage for about R500 :)
it is lovely and the people are very chilled too.
we've just spent the afternoon walking around the back streets
and I realised how big it is.
It must house 1000's of tourists in peak season but atm theres hardly any tourists here at all. maybe 100 that i've seen so far.
some great tropical weather too, on and off. ;)
RenegadeDog
07-09-2007, 17:41
In a country this size?!!:eek:
we've never sat down since we got off the plane.
unless you count the long haul trains and buses.
:)
i agree, the least boring, most exciting time of my life, beyond any shadow of a doubt, was my six months in india before Uni. Even now, 12 years later, living in China, I never forget about it. China is a pale shadow of India in my view. No culture/vibrancy at all... although it is quite an easy life.
feeling very :cool: :) :eek: :p :D :atm
after dissolving quite a bit of charas into my coffee earlier
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