Rain Rain, Go Away

Shortly before leaving for my trip I found out that it was going to be MONSOON season in Southeast Asia during the exact time of my stay, awesome. Up until now I have yet to really experience the rain. But alas, it begins. Rain rain go away? Not a chance. In Saigon it rains everyday (starting about a few days ago and until September) from about 4 or 5pm until 10 or 11pm. Granted it doesn’t usually rain nonstop during that time, but it still seems like its always raining. Usually there will be two or three separate hours of downright downpour intermittenly through the evening.

I’ve learned that if you want to do something during the day, its best to get it done asap. I noticed something really funny today as well…as the rain picks up speed and transforms from a drizzle to a pour, at about the same time most of the motorbikes on the road will pull over onto the sidewalk and do one of two things: cover themselves, part of the bike, and a passenger if they have one, with this uniform sized poncho of sorts that everyone seems to have OR they pullover to a store location that has a decent awning to keep themselves and their bike, dry. Its almost like everyone just knows when its going to rain harder and when they need to make a move. They actually do it in shifts it seems like, one group pulls over, another leaves, weaving seamlessly back into hectic traffic.