Looking for ways to enjoy a rainy day when you are not travelling? Monsoon in India has its benefits and drawbacks. The arrival of the southwest monsoon winds brings us plenty of rainfall and relief from scorching heat. To make it even better, it transforms various hill stations into lush scenic destinations that we can visit and explore.
On the other hand, excessive rainfall can also bring in an array of problems that most Indians are aware of. If you live in cities in Mumbai, Pune or any other metropolis you are likely stuck in your home when it rains severely. This can also toss away all travel and commute plans as public transportation comes to a standstill.
For a traveller, being stuck at home can be a difficult day to pass. However, going out in a bad weather situation would make things more difficult. Hence, it would be a great idea to look for things to do at home that would help you spend a rainy day with ease.
Here are 11 things that would help you spend and enjoy a rainy day when you are not travelling.
1. Sip a Cup of Tea
One of the best things to do at home during a rainy day is enjoy a hot cup of tea. Tea is the most common beverage in India and therefore what better than sipping a masala chai on a rainy day? If you have a balcony at home, you can enjoy some hot tea with pakoda, wadas, sandwiches and samosas. This should enlighten your mood and calm down your nerves as well.
2. Enjoy Some Music
Apart from a hot cup of masala chai, you can also let music calm down your nerves and make you feel right at home. With the rain gods unleashing their wrath outdoors all you can do is play some soothing music that would complement the weather outdoors.
You can scroll through your playlist and look for some awesome rain-themed songs to help you enjoy the weather in the best way possible.
3. Read a Book
Life can be hectic but one of the things about bad weather is that it pauses that cycle for good. If you have a day or two at hand you can pick up a book that should keep you busy for the day. Reading a book would allow you to shift your focus from bad weather and allow you to relax and unwind.
If you don’t have one you can buy them on Google Play or Amazon. Those who enjoy a dark steampunk genre should look out for The Delta Pearl: A Steampunk Riverboat. However, if you are into detective stories you can give a try to Bridge to Nowhere: A Rascal Todd Mystery.
4. Play Board Games and Cards
We often tend to play games on our smartphones these days when we are on the move. However, when you are stuck at home due to bad weather you can pull out those board games from the shelf for a day. This would be a good change as you can play these games with your loved ones and family.
Board games like Snakes and Ladders, Ludo, Monopoly and the Scotland Yard would be a great choice to help you spend a rainy day. Similarly, you can play card games and carom as well.
5. Binge on Movies
One of the best ways to enjoy a rainy day effortlessly is to binge-watch your favourite movies and web series. You can enjoy them on your smartphone, tablet or your television. With a variety of channels and OTT platforms available, you are never going to run out of options. You can look out for movie titles perfect to watch on a rainy day.
If you are missing out on your favorite web series episodes this is a good time to catch up and make the most of your time indoors.
6. Nurse Your Plants
If you have few plants in your balcony this would be a good time to nurse your plants and take care of them. During the rainy season, plants are likely attacked by fungi, bacteria, viruses and bugs that can infect your plant root.
Hence, you can spend a rainy day taking care of your plants. Gardening can be therapeutic and can help you ease your mood. Also, it will help your plants to grow better and prevent getting infected by a host of bugs and spiders.
7. Enhance Your Camera Skills
Believe it or not, we live in a world where every individual would want to shoot great images. While it would be a good idea to pull out your DSLR camera and capture some images of the gloomy weather. However, even if you do not have a professional camera you can always use your smartphone camera to enhance your photography skills.
One of the key skills you can learn during bad weather is how to shoot low-light images. Since the weather isn’t sunny outside you’ll have to rely on artificial lights to capture images. This is a great skill that can come in handy when you travel at night time and take pictures in low-light conditions. You can also use this skill to take pictures when you are heading out for long drives during the monsoon season.
8. Cook Your Favorite Meal
If you have good culinary skills, how about putting them to use when the weather outside is bad? One of the best ways to spend a rainy day is by cooking your favourite meal. This would allow you to stay in touch with your cooking skills and enjoy some delicious lunch as you watch raindrops sliding down your balcony roof. This would be a great way to enjoy a gathering at home while enjoying a delicious meal.
9. Order a Take Away
Well, if you have zero culinary skills like me you always have the option to order a takeaway. This would be an alternative to enjoying a great meal at home but this time cooked by a professional chef. You can skip your diet regime for a day and enjoy some cheesy pizza, pasta, or some lip-smacking Chinese meal that would satisfy your taste buds.
10. Spend Time With Your Pet
If you have pets at home you can use this time to be with them. On a gloomy day like this, it would be a good thing to be around them and provide them with love and affection they seek. You can also take time to give them a nice bath and clean them up to ensure that they do not pick up any disease or infection.
11. Reflect and Plan Ahead
One of the best things to do at home during a rainy day is to just sit back and relax. Life is hectic but you can use this unexpected pause to your advantage. As you watch the thundering rain flooding the streets you can ponder on your life situations and challenges.
If you are a traveller you would want to plan a trip to help you simplify your travels. Even if you are not a traveller this would be the right time to take a breather and look at where you are and where you want to head from here because in the journey of life, we all are nothing but mere travellers, all together, but seeking our own destinations.
Let me know if there are any more ways to enjoy a rainy day. If you have something extra to share please mention it in the comments for the others.
8 comments
Another interesting article, and some great alternatives to all the usual and listedl Mumbai tourist attractions. It’s easy to assume it costs a small fortune to travel to such places from Europe but oddly enough I was looking into this the other night – return ticket LHR – Mumbai a tad over £300 or so 😊
Well, these days many attractions in South Mumbai (downtown) are under renovations. Hence, I’m not focusing much on Mumbai attractions. So, as per you 300 pounds is a higher or affordable price? I mean I have no clue about flight ticket affordability. I’m a train guy, Paul.
My rainy day activities are always indoors, but I guess in your climate, a day in the rain has some appeal. Still, I’d go for the board game.
I had a hunch that board game idea will appeal to you. Well, after blistering heat and humidity the rain is a welcome thing here. Like many others, I and Sarah are going to take a walk in the rain, come home and then have a hot soup.
Since it rains nearly every day in Singapore, it is work as usual for me–I know it rains most afternoons, so I just take an umbrella along if I step out.
Mumbai is a different city than Singapore. It takes few hours of rain to flood most parts of the city. Getting stuck in the office or on the way is the last thing you would wish for.
Yay! I hoped that if I got up early enough my Internet would let me read some blog posts. I’ve missed visiting here, Sharukh and Sarah. This is a delightful post. We get so little rain here that I enjoyed remembering or imagining these things.
I grew up in the southeast though. As a little girl I loved playing the rain. My favorite thing was to get a handful of powdered laundry detergent and put it in the puddle at the end of our little driveway, and watch the bubbles go down the street. But I got into trouble for wasting detergent. I managed to do this a few times before my mother started expecting it, A made sure I couldn’t reach the detergent.
Hugs to you both.
Glad to see your comment, Teagan. Ha Ha. it was nice to read about your childhood. This was a unique thing to do. At least I haven’t seen any kid doing that here. I and my friends used to make paper boats and see it go along with the flow of water. Thank you for visiting our blog and commenting. Hugs from both of us. 🙂