Backpackers Oasis?: We’re still stuck with The Rain here in one of the city's most popular nightspots. — Photo courtesy of Vinpearl
Alex Reeves - @afreeves23
One thing I adore about living in Hà Nội is the rapid spread of information. The virality of content here surpasses anything I've experienced elsewhere. The grapevine is endless, the rumour mill perpetually churning. However, what's crucial is the ability to sift the truth from the inevitable buffalo excrement that accompanies it.
Recently, a tourist took this more literally than figuratively by diving into a flooded Tạ Hiện Street and swimming through it with onlookers as varied in their reactions as the following days comment sections. It’s 2024, of course it’s on a now widely shared video of his antics. Carefree and amusing? Reckless and unsanitary? I'll leave it to the readers of Việt Nam News to decide. Either way, if this latest piece of viral Việt Nam hasn't appeared on your screen yet, it soon will.
While Olympians at this summer's games in Paris were embroiled in contamination controversy regarding the use of the River Seine for open water swimming (the first time in a century), this gentleman had no such reservations. He dove deep into the overflowing gutter spillage of one of the city's best-known nightlife spots, renowned more for its inebriated vibrancy than its cleanliness. Whether his fame will outlast the new friends his body may have picked up in the muck remains to be seen.
As soon as I saw the video, I already knew I had to mention it in this week's rumination. But to what end? What does the video actually say about anything? The first thought that springs to mind is decision-making, particularly as an 'expat' or tourist. We are guests in this fine country, and while such escapades or moments with humorous intent can seem harmless at the time, they aren't always perceived that way by everyone. News spreads fast, and upholding the civility and reputation of our hosts should be at the forefront of our minds, in full sobriety or otherwise.
Secondly, flooding is no laughing matter; it's a serious urban planning challenge that causes expense, chaos, and worse in some regions of the country. However, this is not the place for a lecture, nor does anyone need me to elaborate on the impacts of heavy rain – I'll save that for the classroom.
Heading into the holiday weekend, this viral video and weeks of downpours which seem so deliberate and conspiratorial in their rush hour timing, prompt reflection. When it rains, life briefly pauses, but the city marches on. Help in the form of pushing a waterlogged motorcycle to the safety of the curb or handing a spare poncho to a forgetful foreigner (I’ve been the recipient of both). When the rain comes, we're all in it together and a helpful hand is never far away. The worst of the weather can bring out the best in the people. Every cloud, as they say. Over and out. — VNS
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