I was sitting at the computer when I decided to go out for bread and discovered that the street had turned into a river. I mean it was raining all day but I didn't expect that much water.
The non-stop rain trapped me at the hostel, so I was starving. I had vegetables and sunflower oil (a random Chinese girl gifted it to me in a shopping mall! 🙂), I needed only bread to make plain veggie sandwiches.
I took on dirty T-shirt and shorts to feel ok about getting wet and set off to the nearest street junction. There had been an old Vietnamese lady selling bakery products. But the lady was absent this time whether because she didn't show up at her working place or, maybe, she was dragged away by storm drains, I don't know. 😉😄
In search of bread, I entered an empty marketplace and wandered among damp concrete counters smelling of rotten meat juices, mold, rat fur, and asses of the rodents. There was a shed over the place, and, for this reason, rain couldn't ruin that unique stench, only refresh it with drops through the leaking roof.
I tried to talk to few vendors loitering around in the darkness of the empty marketplace, and eventually was successful; came back to the hostel with baguettes tightly wrapped in a plastic bag. Soaked to the skin but happy - that's tropical rain, you don't need a jacket and scarf, your hands aren't freezing, can wear shorts and flip-flops... I love it.
So do children.
They were inventing cool games. For example, they were bathing in the way silly drivers would never ever notice them! 😀 Fun, fun, fun! 😀
Passing cars caused special joy - wheels sent cute waves into which the thrilled children were throwing themselves squealing with joy.
Fun, fun, fun! 😁 Until one of the adults shouted at them to stop this suicidal behavior. 😄
I would have taken a swim myself (maybe! 😄) if it weren’t for the camera. 😀 Appreciate the transparency and purity of the water in the image above!
Vietnamese and foreigners, all were happy.
Korean travelers (look like):
... and Mister Aluminum Cane:
Then, someone with a bicycle appeared from the haze of the rain with a puzzled look of a person who has lost the way.
A time traveler using the power of monsoons to travel through centuries?
Or a rain elf living in the center of the tropical cyclone?
That person was selling packs with peeled and chopped fruits. That was smart. Well, people, especially travelers, were trapped in houses and hotels, they were hungry, but you can’t go far during such a disaster.
Getting wet is not a big problem but, without fins, a walk in the deep water will be long, plus Poseidon might steal your sandals (to add to his collection of second-hand Birkenstock). I personally felt his hands jerking my flip-flops under water during my bread search.
And at last the rain turned into drizzle. Everybody was excited, taking images, enjoying the moment.
This girl noticed my camera, and I, fearing she would spoil the moment with the annoyed face, asked her "please" and was gifted with this excellent 32-teeth smile.
More images and stories from Southeast Asia are ahead! Check out the previous ones on my personal Pinmapple map.
I took the images with a Nikkor 70-300mm and a Nikkor 50mm on a full frame Nikon D750 on October 13, 2023 in Da Nang, Vietnam.