Flash Flooding; Ironic Timing

Notes:

Crazy flooding in a matter of minutes. Not at any other time throughout our stay. Not when we were traveling through the lush landscapes of Trang An by boat, or traversing the notoriously rain-soaked, twisting Ha Giang and Dong Van roads, nor wandering the Old Quarter streets of Ha Noi. Rather, the rain swamped us right as our friends were about to leave for the airport. Without exaggeration, the street was flooded within 15mins. The footpath and everything on it were underwater. Each of my friends had to take turns scurrying across traffic to reach their Grab ride on the other side of the road, shoes in hand and sporting defeated looks—knowing that they were hopping into that car drenched no matter what they did.

When it rains here, it really rains. The evening downpour is no joke. Thankfully, it isn’t even the true monsoon season here yet, but my weather app still shows rain every day, although that at-a-glance forecast can be quite misleading. Of course, you have to come here prepared for it, but I’m still glad that rain hasn’t ruined our parade at all so far really. Not yet at least.