Vietnam 3: Cool Weather

I wore a sweater.

For the first time in the over four years we have served abroad, I wore a sweater. Yes, it was a light cardigan. And, yes, it was only for a few hours in the evening. But, it was a sweater. A Sweater!

Hanoi weather does not have a great reputation. Hot and humid in the summer. Cool and humid in the winter. Rainy at other times. However, we’ve had a few good days here and there. This past week, a cold front moved in and two days of rain washed some of the fall haze out the atmosphere. With the air a little more breathable, I ventured back onto the streets. It was cool. Not Bangkok cool, which means under 90 degrees, but real world cool, in the upper sixties. During the day. No chance of sweating through my shirt on the way to the market. No need for that second shower (OK, maybe still a need, but for a different reason). If it wasn’t for the obstacle course sidewalks and the Formula One street crossings, it might be a great time for a walk.

Hanoi is perhaps the only major city in Southeast Asia that truly experiences the seasons (other than rainy vs. dry) and the appearance of fall is a welcome event. At this point, I’m not convinced that the heat has disappeared, but I look forward to days without air conditioning. Of course, it’s supposed to be cloudy and wet for most of the next few months, but we’ll have to see how cool and cloudy compares to hot and hot.

Local Hanoians treat the change in weather slightly differently. As the temperature dips below 70 degrees, out come the winter jackets, hats, and gloves. Little girls wear mufflers, their mothers with scarves wrapped around their necks. Of course, it’s colder on a scooter, so some extra-clothing certainly is justified. Nevertheless, when I’m in shorts and they’re huddled together to keep warm, there is a definitely different approach to cooler weather.

Liz and I got up early the other morning to participate in the annual Terry Fox Run for cancer research. We’d done so once in Bangkok and wanted to take advantage of a rare opportunity to run in a large group on Hanoi’s streets. We arrived at 7 am to join a few friends from the Embassy in a sea of local participants. Many businesses, hospitals, and universities sponsored teams wearing matching t-shirts or ribbons, marching proudly behind banners with their names. In our shorts and t-shirts we stood out in the sea of sweatshirts and blue jeans. Warm-up for the race began a little before 8 with three female singers, clad in mildly risqué outfits, singing and gyrating to Shakira tunes, I guess with the intention of getting our blood flowing. Soon after, the run started. “Run,” of course, is a term of art and not particularly descriptive of the ensuing events. Hanoi police had kindly blocked off the streets surrounding a lake in downtown Hanoi, but the crush of participants (roughly 4,000) made movement difficult. Most Vietnamese came to walk with their co-workers and friends, not so much to run, making it difficult to manage a decent pace as we wove (weaved?) between groups of laughing and chanting packs. Disappointed scooter drivers, deprived of their usual route to the market or work or wherever, sat on their bikes and watched as this curious mass circled the lake for about an hour. As the Vietnamese walkers (and many Western runners) finished a few circuits, they stood around the starting area talking and taking photos (and blocking a few determined runners, such as myself). Eventually, the girl group returned to the stage and a group of a few hundred young Hanoians sang and danced along with the music. 10 minutes later, the police undid the barricades and the hordes of Hanoi drivers returned.