Rainy Season

Just as it sounds, it has been raining ALL the time. Before, it was your occasional heavy rain for 20 minutes then the rest of the day would be overcast. But now, it rains non-stop for hours. Granted, the rain fluctuates from heavy to light, from monsoon to blowing sideways, but either way, it's rain all the time. If I had a car to drive to work, this wouldn't be such an issue. Due to the fact that I use my motorbike to get everywhere, all this rain is a huge pain in the butt. I have a rather large heavy-duty poncho that I have been getting a lot of use out of lately. Driving in a downpour with a poncho still manages to crack me up every time, honestly, if people from back home could see me doing this, I would never live it down; I laugh at myself during a rainy commute just because I know how absurd I look. But then again, everyone else on the street looks identical to me- there's no such thing as looking cool in a poncho. Even after a rain when the streets are still wet, sometimes a poncho is necessary. The kick-back of water from the rear wheel of a motorbike can be brutal. The streets of Ha Noi are not the cleanest I've ever seen, and when street water flies into my face when driving behind someone else, I always make sure not to open my mouth for any reason. Plus, if I'm sleepy in the morning and don't feel like working, putting on my poncho and getting out in the rain (and traffic) is a sure-fire way to wake the hell up!