Rain in the afternoon, and what to do about it
The monsoon here is not a season, it is a time of day. Between November and January, plan the afternoon around it.
It arrives and leaves
The heavy rain usually comes in the early afternoon and lasts between forty minutes and two hours. It is warm, it is loud, and then it stops and the pavement steams. The mistake is treating it as a lost day.
Three ways to spend it
- Under cover in a market. A wet market plus the hawker centre next door is two hours of dry walking and one good meal.
- The museums on the civic district side. The national museum and the one next door are ten minutes apart, mostly indoors, and quiet on weekday afternoons.
- Anywhere with a long corridor. The old shophouse arcades are covered for kilometres; the walk from Bugis to Kampong Glam barely needs an umbrella.
What to carry
A small folding umbrella, not a rain jacket. Jackets are too warm here and umbrellas are what everyone uses, including the people who have lived here forty years. Leave the camera bag open at your own risk.
When we cancel
We cancel a walking route only for lightning or for rain heavy enough that the group cannot hear the guide. In that case you get another date or a refund, and we will usually suggest the indoor version of the same neighbourhood instead.