Tram Anh Margrett and Matthew Brown are a Canadian couple staying in Hanoi who never thought of anything worse than a snow storm. But after their first days assuming that they were getting used to the life in Hanoi, they saw the flood which made even Hanoians, who already know about flooding and traffic jams, shocked. Join VietNamNet in sharing the story of this couple who are now still stuck in their apartment at the hostel of Hanoi Academy of Theatre and Cinema at Mai Dich, Cau Giay district.
"The experience of the flood in Hanoi this past week was a new experience for us. Coming from Canada, we have experienced heavy rain and snow storms that would leave behind severe damage, but nothing quite like what damage the flood has done.
We should have known that flying into Hanoi on the eve of Hong Kong’s Typhoon Nuri at the end of August was an omen of much rain to come. But, we knew it rained a lot in Hanoi, our family warned us that it often rained for a week at a time without letting up. However, that knowledge did little to save us from the shock we experienced when we tried to leave our home Friday morning only to see what used to be a street had turned into a river.
We stopped short in our tracks and looked at each other, puzzled about what our next step should be. Was this normal? Would we be considered childish for not braving the thigh-high water to go to work? We bickered back and forth about whether we should call and cancel our morning appointment, before finally deciding that there was no way would be able to enter either a bus or a taxi without filling the vehicle with water.
As we sat at home, watching the rain fall through the window, we wondered whether we would be subject to this massive rainfall and flooding regularly during our time in Hanoi. We scoured our travel books and the Internet to figure out why what we thought was the beginning of Hanoi’s dry season was starting out so wet. We questioned how we were going to get food and regretted eating that last bag of instant noodles earlier in the week. We thought the water would go down by the afternoon and then we could go in to the office, but instead the rain continued all day and into the evening.
By Friday evening we had begun to hear from some of our colleagues that this rainfall was indeed irregular and not something that we should even attempt to go out into. There was the fear that we would run out of food and that our parents back home were going to find out that something terrible happened to their kids.
The thunder sounded like a building had collapsed and the rain came down so hard, it felt like the school bully beating you up for your lunch money. We went to sleep ignorantly hoping that the streets would be cleared by morning.
On Saturday morning we woke up and realized that the water wasn’t going anywhere. Still, though, we waited anxiously and convinced ourselves that once the rain stopped, the water would go down. Luckily by this time we realized that our dormitory contained a canteen in which we could eat three meals a day, although the smaller snack bar outside our apartment quickly ran out of food and drinks.
Our days became timed based on when we would hopefully be able to leave. In the morning we said “maybe in the afternoon,” and in the afternoon we said “maybe in the evening,” only to be followed by the evenings’ thought of “maybe in the morning…”
On Sunday we began to see people walking out into the street and heard that the markets were open again. We rushed outside only to see that the water level was still much too high for our walking standards. We spent much time receiving calls and emails from our worried friends and families who were just beginning to hear of Hanoi’s newsworthy flooding. Everyone was concerned about the same things, “do you have enough food to eat?” and “please do not go outside until the streets are not flooded!”
We are use to seeing snow levels at a metre or more high but never water levels! We were lucky in the fact that our room did not flood nor did the property where we live, and we still had a substantial amount of food available. We wish the same could be said for so many others.
We heard so many stories about people who were stranded for days without food or electricity, and people's houses that were flooded and caused a lot of damage to their possessions. We watched people trying to drive through the water on their motorbikes, either getting stuck or damaging their bikes. For us, it was a painful sight to see so many people in unfortunate circumstances. There were so many moments where we wished we could have done something to help the people around us but we felt helpless, knowing deep down there was nothing we could have done.
Over the course of the last few days, the flood waters have gone down and we will hopefully be able to go out by tomorrow to buy some food. It was also a very challenging time for us because it was the first time we had started to live together as a couple. We were ready to rip each other's heads off because we had never lived together before this, and the flood made it all the more memorable.
We were getting on each other's nerves and arguing over stupid things like why we had such a small refrigerator and why it was empty. We were also stressing about not being able to go to work, because it was a new job and first impressions are important. We felt better though once we found out that not many people we work with went in to the office anyway.
Our time indoors, however, has had many positive outcomes. It has given us time to practice our Vietnamese. We have learned how high our appreciation is for certain Vietnamese food and drinks, such as bun cha, café sua da, Bia Hanoi, and pho bo, that we have been missing out on.
That it is, indeed, possible to be in the same room with your partner 24-hours a day for at least five days without killing each other. The importance of hoarding food and buying in bulk in case of emergencies is vital to survival, even emotional survival. And most importantly, we have learned how many wonderful people we have around us here in Hanoi that have helped us get through this new, and somewhat scary, experience!"
"The experience of the flood in Hanoi this past week was a new experience for us. Coming from Canada, we have experienced heavy rain and snow storms that would leave behind severe damage, but nothing quite like what damage the flood has done.
We should have known that flying into Hanoi on the eve of Hong Kong’s Typhoon Nuri at the end of August was an omen of much rain to come. But, we knew it rained a lot in Hanoi, our family warned us that it often rained for a week at a time without letting up. However, that knowledge did little to save us from the shock we experienced when we tried to leave our home Friday morning only to see what used to be a street had turned into a river.
We stopped short in our tracks and looked at each other, puzzled about what our next step should be. Was this normal? Would we be considered childish for not braving the thigh-high water to go to work? We bickered back and forth about whether we should call and cancel our morning appointment, before finally deciding that there was no way would be able to enter either a bus or a taxi without filling the vehicle with water.
As we sat at home, watching the rain fall through the window, we wondered whether we would be subject to this massive rainfall and flooding regularly during our time in Hanoi. We scoured our travel books and the Internet to figure out why what we thought was the beginning of Hanoi’s dry season was starting out so wet. We questioned how we were going to get food and regretted eating that last bag of instant noodles earlier in the week. We thought the water would go down by the afternoon and then we could go in to the office, but instead the rain continued all day and into the evening.
By Friday evening we had begun to hear from some of our colleagues that this rainfall was indeed irregular and not something that we should even attempt to go out into. There was the fear that we would run out of food and that our parents back home were going to find out that something terrible happened to their kids.
The thunder sounded like a building had collapsed and the rain came down so hard, it felt like the school bully beating you up for your lunch money. We went to sleep ignorantly hoping that the streets would be cleared by morning.
On Saturday morning we woke up and realized that the water wasn’t going anywhere. Still, though, we waited anxiously and convinced ourselves that once the rain stopped, the water would go down. Luckily by this time we realized that our dormitory contained a canteen in which we could eat three meals a day, although the smaller snack bar outside our apartment quickly ran out of food and drinks.
Our days became timed based on when we would hopefully be able to leave. In the morning we said “maybe in the afternoon,” and in the afternoon we said “maybe in the evening,” only to be followed by the evenings’ thought of “maybe in the morning…”
On Sunday we began to see people walking out into the street and heard that the markets were open again. We rushed outside only to see that the water level was still much too high for our walking standards. We spent much time receiving calls and emails from our worried friends and families who were just beginning to hear of Hanoi’s newsworthy flooding. Everyone was concerned about the same things, “do you have enough food to eat?” and “please do not go outside until the streets are not flooded!”
We are use to seeing snow levels at a metre or more high but never water levels! We were lucky in the fact that our room did not flood nor did the property where we live, and we still had a substantial amount of food available. We wish the same could be said for so many others.
We heard so many stories about people who were stranded for days without food or electricity, and people's houses that were flooded and caused a lot of damage to their possessions. We watched people trying to drive through the water on their motorbikes, either getting stuck or damaging their bikes. For us, it was a painful sight to see so many people in unfortunate circumstances. There were so many moments where we wished we could have done something to help the people around us but we felt helpless, knowing deep down there was nothing we could have done.
Over the course of the last few days, the flood waters have gone down and we will hopefully be able to go out by tomorrow to buy some food. It was also a very challenging time for us because it was the first time we had started to live together as a couple. We were ready to rip each other's heads off because we had never lived together before this, and the flood made it all the more memorable.
We were getting on each other's nerves and arguing over stupid things like why we had such a small refrigerator and why it was empty. We were also stressing about not being able to go to work, because it was a new job and first impressions are important. We felt better though once we found out that not many people we work with went in to the office anyway.
Our time indoors, however, has had many positive outcomes. It has given us time to practice our Vietnamese. We have learned how high our appreciation is for certain Vietnamese food and drinks, such as bun cha, café sua da, Bia Hanoi, and pho bo, that we have been missing out on.
That it is, indeed, possible to be in the same room with your partner 24-hours a day for at least five days without killing each other. The importance of hoarding food and buying in bulk in case of emergencies is vital to survival, even emotional survival. And most importantly, we have learned how many wonderful people we have around us here in Hanoi that have helped us get through this new, and somewhat scary, experience!"
From: Tram Anh Margrett and Matthew Brown
Pic from: Wuzihong
Pic from: Wuzihong
No comments:
Post a Comment