Page 7
8/18/2023
There be dragons!
p.p8/24/2023
The earth has reached the location in its travel around the sun where Vietnam is now beginning to receive less direct sun – YAY! I am sooo happy that it is now only “beastly hot and humid” here in Hanoi; “Brutally hot and humid” was really beginning to wear on me.
The shift in temperature down to the early 90s, “feels like" early 100s (the equivalent rating to ‘wind chill factor’ or ‘heat index’) began pretty acutely three days ago. Probably had a lot to do with the recent typhoons Talim and Doksuri dissipating and typhoon Saola moving away from, instead of toward-ish, Vietnam. But then, I'm no meteorologist, so that would be speculation at best.
Here's what I do know. The change has been palpable. Prior to the change, by the time I walked down the four flights of stairs to my apartment lobby (to walk over to the park for my daily exercise), I was already mopping my brow. Seriously. Mopping my brow with a small microfiber towel. Not kidding you. Beads of sweat. Now, I can make it all the way to the park before the towel makes an appearance. Big change in my world.
The change, however, is bitter-sweet. The "cooler" temperatures means more people of all ages are coming to the park to walk. This, in turn, means things are getting more and more congested. This wouldn't necessarily be a problem, but given my legs are much longer than the average Vietnamese, no matter how slowly I walk, I gain ground on the people in front of me. Then it's the ol' bob-and-weave to get around them…only to have to do it again within a few steps. It's all good though, just more exercise for me.
It never ceases to amaze me that at 5' 9" I tower over most Vietnamese. Men average 5' 5" and women average 5' 1" (https://en.vietnamplus.vn/vietnam-ranks-fourth-in-southeast-asia-in-average-height/234598.vnp).