BANGALORE: It is pouring buckets in Karnataka.
If you have already kept your travelling shoes tucked away in the storeroom for when the clouds clear up, then fainthearted ones (pardon the condescending tone), this is not for you. This is for the Alexander Supertramps among us, who have decided to bid adieu to maps and ignore warning bells, including home-stay officials who politely tell you that it is off-season.
So this was the argument we had ready for anyone who questioned our sanity when we took off on a Coastal Karnataka tour aiming to find the absolute heart of the rain. From that exhilarating experience, Expresso, tries to chalk out some do’s and don’ts for monsoon travel.
Thumb rule
As rains take away some of the sheen off tourist spots, most resorts have to do put on their best wooing shoes to get you.
And so we have packages with fancy names telling us we can track the monsoon and discover magic in it. A safe bet would be to fall for it. That would mean you have the best of both worlds-- get drenched when you want to or just watch the rain from your cosy room. In this case, you would also get the best deals (price-wise).
The second option is to land up there, which is what we did.
Though, it must be admitted that it was not due to any desire to avoid luxury-- it was just a sheer lack of planning. So, rule one (even supertramps are bound to bite into this harsh fact one day) is that planning helps. Even when you decide to land up, with no resort numbers safely stored in your pockets, there should be a Plan B. Because, as reality shows like ‘I am a celebrity, get me out of here’ might have told you by now: Internet cafes and yellow pages are pretty much non-existent when you need them the most.
So if you are going to take the no-strings attached road: Read up on the place you are going to visit, make sure you have a fair idea of the geographical location of the place, also be aware that the weather can play truant.
The first thing we did when we landed in Mangalore, without knowing that it would be raining hard, was buy an umbrella.
Packing up
Whatever place you choose to go during the rains, it is important that you let go of your desire to travel light. You just can’t have it all-- so do carry an extra set of clothes( ‘extra’ can vary here: if you are someone who takes one set of clothes a day-carry two.) The clothes that you do end up taking should be chosen based on their dry-ability quotient. Avoid jeans. Take a set of woolens (it tends to get cold in Karnataka). Take some food and lots of water. If your travelling bag is not water-proof, may the (rain) gods save you.
But if that is the case, take some polythene bags (do not dump these in places you visit). Keep the first-aid kit handy with some regular analgesics and medicines for the common cold.
Now, you are all set, so go ahead and don’t be too scared of getting dirty.