The rainy season, what they call the monsoon in Asia, varies by locale. In Bali, monsoon lasts from October through to April. Our tie here, February and March, is near the tail end.
We were only a bit apprehensive about our timing, since this season is also the low season, so we would expect a bit of a break on the already low pricing. But we also knew that monsoon does not mean days on end of torrential rain, but rather, and hour or two or three during specific parts of the day.
We certainly have experienced torrential downpours during all hours of the day. But rarely did they last more than a few hours. Often the rains came at night, but more often, simply, later in the day. And we certainly did get caught out and about, and had to hunker down a bit.
The most extreme experiences have come only recently, in Ubud, in the days preceding Nyepi. Luckily the rains let up and cleared in time to allow the night-before-Nyepi celebrations to go on unimpeded.
Which was a good thing, since we were very looking forward to the Ogoh-ogoh processions.
Moral of the story: don’t let the idea of rain ruin your mojo.We have lightweight rain gear and bought a couple of umbrellas, and we are easily ready for anything. In fact, it’s been our practice to bring our umbrellas (a hassle) as a sort of a talisman to deter the rains, a small price to pay.