This afternoon rain in the north-east of Saigon is considered as the first rain of this year's rainy season. This information might be a good news since temperatures of these previous days are extremely high, even with Vietnamese people. Although there is no need to afraid of high UV index or sunburn, but the rainy season is not entirely good at all. These are things you need to remember.
Traffic: I had almost gotten in three accidents in 15 minutes travel in the rain this afternoon. Because of the wet roads, low visibility and careless drivers (not only the motorcycles but also cars and trucks), travel in Viet Nam is literally more dangerous, a lot!
- Don't forget to avoid traffic hubs why it's raining. The traffic jam in rainy season are surely more terrible than those in sunny season. Drivers are less patient to obey the red lights or even the police.
- Don't forget to drive slower. The streets are very wet and slippery.
- Don't forget to stay away from water surfaces on the streets, you never know how deep are those holes.
- Don't forget to keep your umbrellas or rain-coats close. Saigon's weather is unpredictable.
- Don't forget to bring a plastic bag if you travel by motorcycle. You'll need it to protect your mobile phones and wallets if the rain comes while you're on the road.
- Prepare to come home late because of the traffic jams. It doesn't matter that whether you are stucked in the offices or in the middle of some random streets, the matter is that you will be stucked.
- After the rain, some streets may turn into canals or small rivers. If you travel by motorcycle, all you can do is waiting or calling for KFC delivery. Don't try to go out with your motorcycle, it's not designed for swimming. If you travel on foot, I would highly recommend you to wait under any random eaves no matter whether you have a umbrella or a rain-coat. The pavements will shortly be fulled of running motorcycles because of drivers don't want to get their pants wet.
- But at last, it's a great season to enjoy Vietnamese foods (according to my personal experiences), not only with the food in Vietnamese cuisine restaurants but also from the street vendors. Nothing better than having a cup of Vietnamese milky coffee in a rainy morning or having a hot-pot with friends in a rainy evening, right!?
Happy rainy season!
From: http://saigonstay.wordpress.com/
If you has lived through at least one rainy season in this city, you will know that after the rain, how big rivers are streets turn into. Till now, it's a great challenge for the government to change that fact, but fact is still fact, Saigon is built up on the ground of a huge swamp. Every year, new flood areas come up and I think it would help if we take a look at flood areas which are left from last year.
