See? Those hair pin low buns, for the perfect wave...
What can I say? IT'S HOT!!!! We traveled back in June, the 24th to be exact, just after the heat wave had died down a bit. It was still hot at around 43 degrees on arrival. In Delhi it wasn't too bad, but hot, dry and stuffy? Tolerable. But once the rains came, it became extremely uncomfortable. I seriously had a love/Hate relationship with the monsoon rains. On one hand it brought some relief from the heat, on the other hand it created a whole different type of uncomfortable shortly afterwards.... Humidity
Not only was it a bad hair day every day, but it made me sweat like I never had before, like I had run a marathon in 40 degree weather. I didn't even know that my body was even capable of such sweating. I've never been a sweaty person in general, But I could literally sit or stand outside for 5 minutes and be drenched, no joke, I was soaked like I had thrown my clothes in the river, rung them out and put them back on wet, Seriously!
My hair stayed up in a low bun with a stick pin which I love and use everyday. It's just so comfortable and your hair down not move, not only that but it's chic, doesn't break your hair and doesn't give any weird kinks. I have very long hair and when I use these and let my hair down it gives such a beautiful wave! So win win! I took it down for some of my photos, but even that was a challenge to get it back up being so humid and sticky.
We visited Delhi, Amritsar and Agra before heading to Rajasthan for the bulk of our trip. Rajasthan was in July, and it was raining off and on. Nothing crazy, totally doable and didn't really ruin any site seeing adventures. Being that it's the dessert it was more dry and less rain but that pesky humidity always seem to be around. It was 85% humidity and 31 degrees which made it feel more like 48.
Indian summers are not for beginners lol.
We did however get caught is a crazy thunderstorm while shopping in the markets that ended up flooding the roads in Jaipur and we were stuck in a tuktuk for almost 3 hours trying to get back to our hotel. It was so cute watching all the children, and the "adult bigger children" playing in the flooded streets! They were having so much fun! Ahhhh the adventures, So refreshing to see! Flooding happens during Monsoon so be aware. Anyhow, Life happens and you need to just roll with and make the best of the situation. The husband spotted a beer shop while in the tuktuk and grabbed one for himself as well as our tuktuk driver. No, he didn't drink and drive, but he appreciated the gesture and it lightened the mood.
Things I came to know in India in summer..
Humidity is a killer! if your'e a hair girly you wont like it, best to avoid. The icky feeling of hair sticking to the back of my neck was atrocious. "shudder"
I believe that being the off season, you may get harassed more. Everyone is extra thirsty for business. We were literally stalked twice by tuktuk drivers and my husband had to tell them off.
Avoid street foods in summer. Most street food contains wheat so personally I don't bother. One of my trusted hosts had told us to avoid it all together because food spoils faster in the heat and is harder to digest in general.
Bring an umbrella! Not just for rain but also for sun. I cant tell you how happy it made me to have this and I used it a LOT! Between shielding me from the sun and when the downpours came I was ready like a girl scout! I picked up a soft beige one from H&m before I left for our trip. You can get umbrellas everywhere in India but bright colors are more common. Black is of course available.
You'll need more outfits or you'l have to do laundry more often. The sweat and salt that pours into your clothing is not a good time.
Cool showers were easy because the bathrooms were so warm. Didn't get cold while drying off. Most places don't have AC in the bathrooms.
If you have any respiratory issues, I would avoid the summer all together. I had to get an asthma puffer while there and I don't have asthma, but found it difficult to breathe when climbing stairs in particular. I've been prescribed one in Canada previously after my 2 horrible bouts of COVID. My lungs never really recovered.
You need to hydrate!!!! Like you've never hydrated before. I had one half water and half Gatorade per day, usually morning and full on water all day and night, Minus coffee in the morning of course.... I avoided any soft drinks or stall drinks like the lime soda and sugar cane juice. I wanted a coconut but never ended up stopped for one. Readily available in summer! Don't wait till you're dehydrated to start replenishing your fluids, it could ruin a whole day or two. I did bring the hydration tablets but never needed them with the watered down Gatorade every day.
Unless you are living in India and just staying inside, It's really difficult to do even simple things because of the heat as it's exhausting. There was a lot more I wanted to do and see but because it was so hot, I was fed up of sweating profusely and so I skipped a lot. Maybe just another excuse to go back??
Hot water is shut off in some places during summer. This happened to us at Arya Niwas in Jaipur and my husband had to ask them to turn it back on. They said no one uses it during summer so we shut it off. Now, I can do a cool shower no problem, but a frosty glacial one? NOPE! It took 3 hours to get it to work again, because there was mud flowing through the water.
I would recommend some waterproof shoes. I fell in love with the Zudio store which is pretty much EVERYWHERE in India. It has amazing clothes for men and women, with both Indian, IndoWestern, and Western styles at extremely affordable prices. I went nuts in there and visited 5 times throughout India! They had a ton of foamy shoes, sandals and even wedges there and I grabbed myself a pair. They really came in handy when the downpours came and they were SUPER comfortable.
Lastly, There is Air conditioning pretty much everywhere! And we did jump into some cafes or malls here and there to cool off and just have a snack or cold drink. Use that to your advantage. If you are ever feeling unwell and need an immediate rest, most shop keepers will allow you to sit for a bit and rest. This is heatstroke unwell, not just tired of the heat unwell.
Would I go back to India in the summer time? NO, not unless it was absolutely necessary. If you are living there it's entirely different, when you're visiting, you have a lot to cover and little time to do it. The next trip would most likely be in November or February as March is getting too hot now (global warming) and December and January are far too cold. Too many accidents and delays due to fog and visibility issues, Plus the day light time hours are seriously reduced. Would I wear a mask in Summer? No, I wouldn't. I feel like it would probably make it more difficult to breathe and you would most definitely end up with an atrocious face mask tan! I did try hats and even that was unbearable and too hot on my head. You get the gist? Bring the umbrella! FYI: Those cute little Rajasthani parasols won't cut it.
I'm slowly starting to work through all my India content and post about it. I had a very different experience travelling to India with the husband and excited to share. We were able to do more partly because there was no language barrier and I had a partner to roam around with. That's always more fun! I'm an introvert, even though I used to be a major extrovert. Being with someone does make it a lot easier to be adventurous. Solo is definitely worth it, but for myself, a partner in crime was way more fun and interesting.
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