The rains arrive like a relief column — and promptly overstay their welcome.
Parts of the city flood with the clockwork regularity of a Swiss train service run in reverse. Underpasses become ponds. Roads become rivers. The iconic Minto Bridge fills up like a swimming pool, and photographs of cars half-submerged in its waters circulate on social media with an almost festive annual tradition.
Check the weather before heading out. Drivers can behave like idiots in the rain and think nothing of drenching a pedestrian with a wall of gutter water at forty kilometres an hour. If you’re walking, stay watchful.
Mosquitoes peak during monsoon, and with them, dengue. Use repellent — Odomos is the local brand of choice, available in cream or spray form from any pharmacy — especially at dawn and dusk, when the little vampires are at their most industrious.
