“At least we were lucky with the weather”. I wish. Sadly, not this time. Sadly not me.
It is so cold that even dogs wear clothes. This one even has a hood.
Everybody talks about the weather. The weather is number one topic in Hanoi these days. Coldest winter since 2007, maybe ever, snow only a few kilometers away. Big Freeze. Cold, cold, cold. Seriously cold. Woolen hat and gloves type of cold. Add to that chill factor (Arctic wind) spiced up with humidity and moist (first drizzle followed by never-ending pour) and you’ll have all the ingredients for January weather in Hanoi.
I knew the winter months could be cold. I read all about it on the Internet. This was also my primary worry prior to arrival. (Perhaps I should have started in Saigon after all. Told you so?) On the other hand, 16 degrees (C) or so in the daytime didn’t sound too bad. It could get colder, however, no guarantee. But I was prepared. I took with me (just in case) my uggs, jacket, few sweaters, and jeans. I also read about lack of heating in hotels and got prepared for that too – at least mentally. Should it be too cold I would simply get a small electric heater. I was optimistic. Perhaps those winter jackets I saw people wear on youtube were just Hanoian winter fashion. I can manage a month or so, can’t I? Well ….
My friends thought I was exaggerating. Ash, “you are just spoiled by the warm climate”. Spoiled? I was a pretty good sport or tried to be .. considering. For the chill in Hanoi is brutal. And I mean BRUTAL.
Challenge no 1
Winter jacket I bought to fight the Hanoian winter
No matter what I wore, which was plenty, it was never enough. So I followed in local’s and visitor’s footsteps and bought myself a nice winter jacket. The North Face is the fashion brand of choice worn by the whole Hanoi. Not sure how genuine the brand is but as long as it keeps me warm I don’t frankly care.
With the winter jacket in place my full keep-me-warm-attire is as follows:
- tights, thick jeans, socks, uggs
- two vests, THREE sweaters (rather thin, cotton – don’t own wool anymore), windproof jacket and newly bought winter jacket
- pashmina, gloves
- and then, on the top of all that, rain cape.
A novelty of the rain cape came as a welcomed surprise. Not only does it give me some extra windshield but I can also “hide” under it (or rather make less visible) my bag and camera, which, of course, I am carrying with me everywhere. The whole of me, the clothes and the gear, looks rather grotesque. No, no picture. But …. what do they say? .. something about the time of need?
Challenge no 2
Dressed for Hanoian winter I was ready for the streets and the street food at last. This proved to be more of a challenge than I ever expected.
This chicken and noodle soup require both chopsticks and spoon. Chopsticks are used for the noodles and spoon for the broth as well as ‘noodle holder’, iow anti-splashing device.
Sitting on a toy-like stool with the knees up my chin, trying desperately to hold on to the dangling camera that is just about to hit the ground and holding on to the bag that is constantly slipping of off my other shoulder, while balancing hot bowl of soup containing noodles that must be eaten with chopsticks, preferably with chopsticks and a spoon for which I need two hands otherwise the whole things will splash, splash and splash some more (rain cape proves to be rather handy in all situations) and furthermore getting wet from both above (rain drops from sky and/or made shift roof) and below (paddles on the ground ruining my uggs) is an art in itself and requires long time practice. The art I haven’t quite mastered yet. Phew.
Why do I need a bag? Not for any valuables (I read all about the pickpockets), but for two extra pashminas (just in case) pen and paper in case I come up with some brilliant ideas, extra battery for my camera, the rain gear. The valuables, as advised, are spread out in all of my 15 pockets that a pair of jeans, shirt, and two jackets provide me with.
Challenge no 3 and no 4
Once I’m done eating I need to pay – yet another challenge. First I need to figure out how many zeros should be on the notes I am about to part with and then, which is as challenging, remember into which one of 15 pockets I put the notes with that amount of zeros.
No shoes are allowed into that hair salon
One could argue why won’t I go to an indoor place. Indoor/outdoor is rather diffused and fluid concept I didn’t quite figure out yet. The same applies to private vs public as private homes are turned into public restaurants and cafes and then turned back into homes again after “business hours”. For now, my definition of indoor vs outdoor is – the borderline is where one leaves the shoes. Note that many businesses (shops) make you leave the shoes outdoors, iow you are not welcome indoors wearing shoes. Guess it could be the reason or one of them, people wear flip-flops in this terrible weather as they can easily slip them on and off.
Furthermore, there are very few places with doors, still fewer with doors that actually close and even fewer with doors that stay shut. And none of them serve street food.
There is no fool like an old fool
No matter how much you wear the chill will get to you. Your only wish then is a nice and above all warm hotel room. Dream on. In Hanoi, one can never get warm. There is no heat in hotel rooms, remember?
Solid gray. As far as an eye can see. West Lake.
I expected no heating in hotels. Thus I never even questioned the lack of heating in my room. If this is the way things work, I better learn how to cope with that. (Or not)
Freezing outdoors is one thing. But freezing indoors is different ball game due to limited mobility. To keep sane, I had to stay in bed under covers, dressed from top to toe incl my winter jacket. Yet, I could never get warm enough. There were times my hands were so frozen I couldn’t type. Frozen to the bone.
What to do? Ah, what to do? First freeze. But now freeze and rain. I cut my visit to Hanoi short and went to Sapa in hope for a better weather and for a glimpse of the sky which I haven’t seen ever since I arrived. Not one ray of sun. Only solid gray. Without as much as one shade. Enough is enough.
As I was in bed under covers, booking my Sapa hotel which provided electric blankets, I looked at the AC in the corner of my room thinking “How I wish you were a heater”.
Immediately after I happened to look up and saw THIS .. hmmm .. how strange. Why do I need two coolers in the winter?
But then I saw THIS. And something clicked, my gray cells woke up and worked again. I called the lobby and asked:
“Is there any heating in my room?”
“Of course there is, ma’am, let me send someone up to show you how to turn it on“.
