Winter in Saigon

Posted on November 22, 2014 by Heather Carreiro

Although Ho Chi Minh City only has two seasons, wet and dry, I still think of the year in four seasons. Seeing all the recent Facebook posts of snow in New England has been a reminder that it’s winter, which is my favorite time of the year in Saigon. I’m sure this partly because there is no snow to be shoveled here! November is when the rainy season has ended, and the skies are clear. Early mornings and late afternoons are pleasant to sit outside, as the weather is warm but not humid. It’s the best time of the year for taking walks and enjoying time in the garden.

Just yesterday, I decided to explore my neighborhood a little bit. We’ve been living in this house for 1.5 years, and since we’ve been here I’ve been either pregnant or had health issues that prevented me from walking for more than 5 minutes at a time. What I found was a ramshackle little path next to the river that starts just two houses down from mine.

The tail end of the path is right in front of our house, but because there is an empty lot next to us, that part of the trail has not been maintained. I’ve seen fisherman come hang out in front of our house before, and I always wondered how they ended up there. Because the path was overgrown and muddy during the rainy season, I didn’t know it led anywhere! It was nice to finally find the “culprit” karaoke bar across the river, whose loud, off-key, drunken ballads keep me up late sometimes.

Now that it’s not raining every afternoon, it’s also really nice to spend afternoons outside with the kids. Arianne has loved feeling the prickly grass.