What is This 'Rainy Season' You Speak Of?

Honestly, it's not as rainy as I expected to find - it's not like we're getting monsoons every day, all day. Lately they seem to come around 4pm, but there are no rules (just like Saigon traffic, weather here does what it wants, when it wants, for however long it feels like it, and damn the consequences!) - when it rains, it rains. Sometimes it sprinkles. Sometimes it's a total downpour, sheets of rain, look-out-or-it'll-bruise-you stuff. And all of it is fun - the wind and rain are making me miss Chicago a little less.

September has been much rainier than June, and it's been lovely - except for all those times I'm caught on my bike two blocks from home in a crazy-ass downpour. And even those are ok - usually it's so hot that to get soaking wet at 40km/hr is actually a little refreshing! Only when I'm going home though - I hate showing up to work looking like a soaking wet cat.

The plants on the terrace are enjoying it quite a bit, and I've planted new creeping vines on the rooftop - with any luck we'll have the start of an enclosed garden by the time the rains slow down in two months. I got some candles to put out there today, too - this house WILL be a home, I tell you! I will work my will on my environment until it's finished. It's just how I roll.

February, March, and April are the season's extreme dry season - as you can see from the table, very little rainfall (that's in millimeters - an average of just 4 in February! That's like the amount of dew Wisconsin gets every morning!) and temperatures slightly higher - but with no humidity to speak of, it could be just as nice! I'll miss the daily showers and rain pattering against my windows in the night, but I'm looking forward to a change of seasons - my midwest blood is fighting tooth and nail against the steady climate here. Where are my seasons?! (In the north, actually, or so I understand.) I also have heard that this table is a little out of date, and that it now approaches 40 degrees celsius more often in the middle of the hot months.

From a weather standpoint, virtually any time is a good time to visit Ho Chi Minh City. No matter if it's the rainy season or not, you can count on sweating through your shirts and you'll definitely be carrying about that 1 liter bottle of Aquafina - no matter the season, it's a lifesaver. The monsoons are definitely something to see - the other day I was on the terrace messing with some plants and I looked up only to see a WALL of rain approaching me from only two street away, like some unstoppable rain monster! RAIN ATTACK! I literally dropped everything and dashed downstairs to my room to shut the window - and only just in time! It must have been how villagers felt when their towns were being raided by Vikings.

So that's it - you probably didn't even need a whole blog post for me to tell you that there are two seasons and it's either soaking wet and humid, or scorching hot and dry... but I did it anyway (I had to tell someone about that crazy rain attack!!).

'Til next time!

Sources

http://www.climate-zone.com/climate/vietnam/fahrenheit/ho-chi-minh.htm

http://www.vietnamembassy.org.uk/climate.html

http://www.vietnamonline.com/destination/ho-chi-minh-city/ho-chi-minh-city-seasons.html

http://vietnamdiscovery.com/destination/ho-chi-minh-city/travelguide/saigon-weather/