We'd forgotten how it rains in Saigon. And rains and rains and rains. This time of year, there's no waiting out a downpour. If it catches you unprepared, get prepared - to get very wet.
We got caught at the extreme edge of District 3, near the corner of Nguyen Dinh Chieu and Nguyen Thien Thuat streets. The neighborhood is an interesting grid of food stall-lined lanes, and we were wandering after a late lunch, scoping out dinner possibilities for later in the week. In retrospect, the steadily graying sky and distant rumbles of thunder interspersed with the occasional jagged slash of lightning should have been signal enough that it was time to catch a cab and head back to our hotel.
Instead we ducked down an alley for a little refreshment.
(I should point out that we'd vowed to consume at least 4 fruit shakes a day each for the duration of our stay - they're not so easy to come by in Kuala Lumpur, and certainly not for the equivalent of 75 US cents. We were just trying to stay on track.)
Then it started raining.
We'll wait it out, we thought. Our table sat under a wide umbrella, and it was actually kind of cool to sit there all cozy and juiced/caffeinated up and watch alley life go by.
Then it got a little darker, and started to rain a little harder.
Our umbrella started to leak. The ladies running the juice stand kindly waved us into their kitchen, where we perched on stools and watched them stomp on the roaches that ran in to escape the rising waters. They seemed to know something we didn't, because they fitted a plank at the base of their door frame.
A half hour later, still raining. Hard.
The juice ladies ushered us out of their kitchen and across the alley, where a neighbor generously offered her stoop. As she and her son and her mother hung about the dining table watching TV we hunkered in their doorway, watching the water rise.
From just barely enough to reach the top of the foot,
to much, much higher.
For two and a half hours we sat there, as the rain teasingly slowed before the sky let loose again full force two, maybe three times. (We finally gave up and got soaked walking back to our hotel.)
A lot of time to think on that stoop, watching the rain, and the juice ladies across the way push that plank down to the base of their door frame and hold it there with their weight as the water rose, before finally giving up and retreating with their kids to the second floor when it rushed over the top and into their house. Black, nasty water with bits of trash floating in it, water that I shuddered to plunge my Teva-clad feet into. That water was calf-deep in their kitchen, their living and dining room.
Do you know how many times a rainy season it rains like that, in Saigon?
Sitting on that stoop, I was reminded of Shanghai in the late nineties: all gloss and glitter on the surface, not quite so shiny underneath. Saigon at night on the back of a motorbike is like a stroll up Nanjing Road to the Bund - Neon! Hubbub! Buzz! Locals riding the wave of growth and prosperity! The new, improved, modern [fill in city name here]!
Every bit the fabulous. But, for some, not quite the whole picture.
Great job on the imagery ... sure brings back lots of memories for me. I like the fact that your blog doesn't have to be food-centric each time :).
Posted by: pixeldose | 2008.09.05 at 00:41
The Epic Odyssey of the mucky torrential dark mucky water. So detail and imaginative brings chills up my spine. I can smell it despite the caffeinated fruity shakes. Pictures are awesome it is well woven into the plot of getting wet ;-)
Posted by: nhbilly | 2008.09.05 at 06:14
A lot like KL. 5 drops of rain at 5 p.m. and the whole city comes to a major standstill as a massive traffic jam follows suit.
Posted by: Cupcake | 2008.09.05 at 15:51
Sure does bring back memories. I sat for 5 hours in a cafe once, watching raindrops bounce off tin roofs and palm trees that plays a heart sick tune. I'm new to your site and am an instant fan.
Posted by: chewybanhbao | 2008.09.05 at 16:45
It's been a long time since I've been in a tropical rainstorm. Here in San Jose, it's so dry that we go 5-7 months without a drop of rain. Even when we were in Hawaii, they would call rain liquid sunshine because it was so light. I think my kids would freak out if they experienced the kind of rain back in Malaysia/Vietnam.
BTW, like your new picture on top--suits the name of your blog (you even managed to get a cute cat picture in it too ^_^). But not liking the gray side bar too much--reminds me of the rain actually. But whatever you end up deciding on, I'll always love the pictures and the content.
Posted by: Annie | 2008.09.06 at 06:21
Thanks pixeldose - I would say food leads us to a lot of places and situations that aren't food-centric. The blog is a place I can write about those.
nhbilly - thanks for reminding me. That black water did smell!
cupcake - well, yes. Except it doesn't happen most everyday straight for about 3-4 months! Saigon is sinking, BTW...
chewybanhbao - welcome! Glad you like the site.
Annie - don't worry the gray bar isn't permanent. In fact we've decided to undertake a BIG, major makeover, with someone's help. That'll probably happen in about 6-8wks. In the meantime we're stuck with what I can muster from Typepad's design templates.
There is something wonderful about tropical rain, isn't there? I actually used to really love the rainy season in N CA - we were there for the 'miracle March' in '91 or '92 .... something like 28 straight days of rain. Things got soggy but it was great!
Posted by: Robyn | 2008.09.06 at 09:12
Nice story, and great pictures. I can almost imagine the rain and the ickiness having to step into the water.
Posted by: Bentoist | 2008.09.07 at 21:57
What do u mean Saigon is sinking????? (o_O)
Posted by: Tramie | 2008.09.09 at 01:56
The best rainy days pictures I have ever seen! I noticed that nowadays, Penang rains a lot more than it used to be. I have been back to Penang for 4 times this year, and it just rains and rains and rains every time I go back!
Posted by: Rasa Malaysia | 2008.09.09 at 02:27
Yes... easy to wax lyrical about the wonders of monsoon rain when you're a tourist... it's one of my favourite things about Asia... but not so easy when there's no hotel to retreat to. Hard lives...love the smoothies..some sunshine in that day!
Posted by: Stephanie | 2008.09.09 at 19:15
Bentoist - thanks very much!
Traimie - Too much dredging for development, inadequate sewage/drainage infrastructure, unavoidable annual rainy season. Our old house, which was near the river, is now unreachable during high tides (yes the river is subject to tides), with water halfway up an SUV at the street leading to it. District 1 now floods regularly during the rainy season (it didn't when we lived there).
New massive drainage system is in the works but things will get much worse before they get better, unfortunately.
(Won't stop us visiting, of course.) ;-)
Rasa - weather patterns have definately changed in the 3 yrs we've been here. It's been nothing but rain this last month, weird, long, all-day on-and-off rains that we certainly never saw our first August/Sept in Malaysia.
Stephanie - thanks for getting it. I really could drink 5 Vietnamese smoothies and 5 Vietnamese iced coffees every day....
Posted by: Bentoist | 2008.09.10 at 11:47
Wonderful evocative piece.
Reminds me of a time I was in Dhaka and we had just sped up the Brahmaputra - outrunning a cyclone.
Well the cyclone hit Chittagong head on and we in Dhaka were only treated with, well, perhaps the other end.
Anyway, was at a big store downtown looking for a hostess gift before going to someone's home for dinner and my friend told me to take all the time that I wanted to browse because no one was going anywhere anytime soon.
I looked out the window and it was like being behind a waterfall. There were no raindrops to speak of, just sheets of water pouring steadily in front of the store windows.
Like you, we were stranded for at least an hour or two until the waters on the streets receeded enough to venture out.
Dinner was wonderful though and the company grand - even if we were drenched.
Posted by: Laura Kelley | 2008.09.11 at 10:21
I love this set of photos.... especially the last one. And I can't believe you're still shooting with film! Awesome! ^^
Posted by: Swee-Jin | 2008.09.11 at 19:33
wonderful photos! thank you so much for getting my mind off the elections!! i'd almost forgotten that there is a real world out there...
Posted by: dena | 2008.09.12 at 08:14