Surat: diamonds, floods, and a whole lot of heat
so i just got back from surat and honestly... it's a lot. this city in gujarat is sitting on the tapi river, right near the arabian sea, and let me tell you- the weather is no joke. i just checked and it's 23.94°C there right now, but apparently in summer it can hit 40-45°C. hope you like that kind of thing.
first off, surat is famous for two things: diamonds and textiles. someone told me that they polish like three-quarters of the world's diamonds here. three-quarters! and the textile industry is huge too. but it's not just business- the city's got history. it used to be a major port back in the day, and even though it had a rough patch with that plague outbreak in 1994, it's bounced back hard. now it's one of india's cleanest cities and apparently has the most flyovers in gujarat. impressive, right?
but here's the thing- the climate is wild. summers are brutal, monsoons bring floods (like, 2006-level floods that hit 75% of neighborhoods), and winters are mild but still humid. and with climate change, the flooding's only getting worse. the tapi river overflows, and with all the rapid urbanization, it's a recipe for disaster. someone said they've got automated weather stations now to predict floods, but still- be careful.
if you get bored, bharuch, navsari, and even parts of maharashtra are just a short drive away. the district borders are pretty interesting- arabian sea to the west, narmada and bharuch to the north, navsari to the south, and nandurbar in maharashtra to the east.
the people here are a mix- gujarati, sindhi, hindi, marathi, telugu, you name it. the city's population is huge (6 million+ in the district), and the literacy rate is high (87.89%). but the sex ratio is a bit off (788), which is something to think about.
as for food, i didn't get to try much, but it's gujarat, so expect vegetarian gujarati cuisine with a twist from all the other communities living here. and if you're into festivals, navratri in october-february is supposed to be amazing.
honestly, surat surprised me. it's not your typical tourist spot, but if you're into diamonds, textiles, or just want to see a city that's figured out how to bounce back from disasters, it's worth a visit. just pack sunscreen, an umbrella, and maybe some mosquito repellent. you'll need it.
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