And The Heat Is On

In the months leading up to the hot Hue summer, I was warned repeatedly by my friends that I needed to prepare myself for the extremely hot June, July and August in Hue.

"This will be the hottest summer you have ever experienced," they would tell me. "I'm from Florida," was always my reply, as I laughed aloud.

But, WOW I am definitely not the one laughing now -- I was completely unprepared for the hottest summer I have ever experienced. And, I am not even kidding. The heat index makes it feel like a boiling sauna. This factor combined with daily power cuts (i.e. no fans or air conditioning during these periods) make it pretty hard to bare.

My poor Floridian friends who recently visited me in Hue got to experience the heat full force, along with the daily power cuts. We kept laughing about how their experience in Vietnam was truly "authentic".

So, here is my advice on surviving the hot, hot Hue heat (many of these were practiced multiple times during my friends' visit) along with some pictures for illustration:

1) Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate and then Hydrate Some More -- you can never have too many cold drinks in this weather. One day, we literally stopped at four different fruit drink stands within an hour and a half

2) Locate the Air Conditioning -- with daily power outages, sometimes you just want to find a place in town that has nice, cold air conditioning. This past Saturday, after spending several hours in the sun, my friends and I sat at an air-conditioned bookstore for about 3 hours to fully cool off

3) Ice Cream is a GREAT, GREAT Thing -- fortunately for me, there are many, many places in Hue to get really good ice cream which helps you feel cool for a little while

4) Go Swimming as Often as Possible -- My friend Hang and I have made swimming a weekly ritual

5) Be Positive -- It is really, really hot here right now, but I'm trying to stay positive. I am sure once the rainy season hits after summer ends, I will be wishing for the heat again.