Whenever the weather heats up, Saigonese people flock to the parks, swimming pools or anywhere cool to escape the scorching sunshine however, sometimes the heat is just too much to take.
Ho Chi Minh City and some southern provinces are experiencing unusually sweltering weather this spring. Temperatures have remained between 34-37, sometimes hitting 38C degrees. The sun burns from 10am till the late afternoon. This kind of hot, dry weather usually occurs in May, so city slickers are struggling to adapt.
Instead of going out for lunch as usual, Truong Ha Linh and some colleagues stay in the office and order delivery. “Nobody wants to go out at this time unless they have to,” Linh says, “I am spending more time at work than normal by coming early and leaving late. This is in fact to hide from the heat but I will get extra pay for my extra work this month."
Like Linh, Mai Lan in Tan Binh District has been working Saturday afternoons for three weeks just because she does not want to return to her home which feels like a furnace. “I don’t have an air-conditioned room at home so working at the office is a better choice,” she said.
At no time does the air-conditioner play a more vital role in a room than now and it's hard to imagine how people are surviving without it. Phan Thi Minh complains that her seven-month baby keeps fidgeting and can not sleep although the fan is turned on all day. “The electric fan only blows in the heat,” she said, “we are thinking of buying an air-conditioner although we do not have much money now."
Meanwhile, her father Phan Trong Thi has to skip his usual nap after lunch and go to 30/4 Park to get some fresh air. He also often refuses dinner at home and meets some old friends at a Bia hoi.
Living on Bach Dang Street, Nguyen Ngoc Trang and her husband have just opened a coffee shop at home. They are very busy and hardly have time to take their two children out to relax. For the last three days, she has arranged time to take them to a public swimming pool after school. “Children are more active than us so they heat up quicker,” Trang explains, "my children have complained about prickly heat all over their bodies since the hot weather set in, so we are trying to make them feel better at the swimming pool like many other parents are doing.”
At Lam Son swimming-pool, a swimming teacher said that the number of people coming here has doubled for the last two weeks. “We are receiving nearly 1,000 people every Sunday."
For those working on the street, the situation is much worse. Le Quang Huu, a locksmith, and some xe om drivers are sheltering from the burning heat under a big tree. “We work right on the streets and have got used to the heat of this southern city, but it has been too oppressive these days. I have to buy a big palm hat to wear," shared Huu.
Saigonese are hoping that the temperature will soon fall so that they can return to their daily routine. They may well be set for disappointment as meteorologists are predicting that the temperature could soar to 40C degrees in May.
Below are some pictures showing how Saigonese coping with the heat:
A long sleeved sunproof blouse to protect the hand
Happy to be at the swimming pool
Let's hide from the heat
Looking for a broad brim for the helmet
Ready to go under the sun
Sun glasses and hats are selling like hot cakes
