Summer is coming to Hanoi with the heat rising up to 40*C one day last week. God, I can't stand it. I have been trying to avoid the heat by wandering around the lake or just staying at home whenever I'm off work. Replacing the ice cold winter and drizzly rain with the extreme heat is driving everyone crazy, but Hanoians seem to have no problem because they are used to it.
Check out the people driving around with these unique shirts that cover their faces and hands, making them look like Ninjas
. I wonder why women in Viet nam have to hide their beautiful faces and bodies in such ugly manly shirts? Well, the very simple answer is that they don't want their faces to be exposed to the sun. They want to maintain a white face and avoid turning brown or even black. I wonder if women do that in western countries?
24 comments:
Actually, being slightly tanned for us is a sign that we're healthy. At least here in north america, and I also know its the same for some countries in western europe.
Summer means tanning for many American women! I know I look forward to getting a nice glow, even though I'm not very pale anyway:) I've always thought it was weird that Hanoian women cover themselves up. Everyone looks better with a little color! As for Hanoi heat: I would always spend summers away, so I missed the hottest months of the year. At least we have seasons in Hanoi--I can't imagine living in a place that's hot all year round; that would drive me crazy!
Je reconnais bien cet endroit au bord du lac ;j'ai fait presque la même photo prise du meme endroit .
Je suis allé trois fois à Hanoï et j'y reviens certainement en octobre2006 .
this is an example of what many women (and men) do in westrn countries.. people try to get dark :)
http://www.amgmedia.com/mexico/suntan.jpg
yea..traditional vietnamese people take pale and fair skin to be beautiful and innocent. as for me...im darker then dark. haha!! I was borned with a very natural tan...so no getting lighter for me. I also happen to love my color...I feel different...unique :)
In the Western Countries, the U.S. in particular, people try to turn themselves a bronze color by laying half-naked in the sun to bake. They think it makes them look healthier, but in fact causes them to get skin cancers later in life.
I was lucky to be born with a natural tan...no laying in the sun for me.
Whew, 40C must be hot hot hot! I wouldn't be able to stand it! Well here in Washington D.C. area, I can definitely say it is much warmer (and more humid) than in Chicago, and people are already wearing sandals and tank tops etc. which you never saw before mid-May in Chicago. Btw, Americans are opposite from the Asians, they actually LIKE it getting tan! ;-)
In Dubai...the temperature peaks in September...as high as 45 degree...that's when i head off to the beautiful beach...
It was so hot here last week. We went from 52 degrees to the next day 92. I thought I would die. I am not a hot summer girl.
first time i went to Hanoi...my beer went flat in 5 minutes..damn
Wow, that is crazy hot! I have to say I feel very lucky living in Vancouver. Our highest in the summer is 20 or so degrees. One time at 27C.
On the westcoast, with so many outdoor sports, I have never seen any women cover up. Everyone tries to get a tan before summer ends!
Many women in the U.S. like to be tan, but there is a fair number (no pun intended) who like to stay pale by using sunscreen and wearing hats. It's not just for beauty's sake-- they may be afraid of skin cancer. Even women who like to tan do so in a controlled fashion-- they apply sunscreen so that they will be tan, but not too dark.
my goodness..
40 degree celcius ???
Here heat is also terrible. I haven't checked on what degree it is but can't stand it too.
I also have trouble with extreme heat! My ideal days are cool, cloudy, and rainy. How I love the rain!
When the sun comes out, I typically hide indoors. I’m light-sensitive, and get heat exhaustion easily, so I’m no good with working in the sun. During the summer I save my gardening to the early hours and late hours of the day, and sometimes work outside at night.
I also have incredibly fair skin which does not tan – it only burns, burns, burns! Consequently, if I’m going to spend any time in the sun, even 15 minutes, I always cover up my body as much as possible, and put the heaviest sunblock I can find on any exposed parts. Having been badly sunburned before, it’s an experience I’d rather not repeat.
Still, as much as I dislike the heat and bright days, there is one undisputable treasure to be found in the warmth and the light: growing, swelling plants and all their flowers, fruits, and vegetables!
Even here in Florida people pay lots of money to go to tanning salons to look brown. A little more than 100 years ago in the U.S., tan skin was not in fashion because it meant you had to work outside and labor in the fields (and were probably poor).
My husband is Chinese and they appreciate fair skin like mine ;)
I can't even imagine how hot 40 is. Sometimes it gets to be 30 here but we have air conditioning.
wah. that hot!
*applying sunblocks*:p
That does sound hot! Here in the US, most people like to get tans; though some few will try to stay white.
I think I noticed the Ninja rags during my second trip to Vietnam in Sept 2001. It is strange coming from California where tanning is a kind of a luxury thing with the use of tanning breads, spray on lotions, and spray on tans (that use large chambers that basically put a coat of "glow"on you... most come out too dark for their own good though. Anyway, white rags that cover the face eerily remind me of Michael Jackson, but I can see why they do it, especially in country roads where the roads are unpaved and the dust rises.
I know this is wierd for western people but Vietnamese love to have a fair skin, but I dont :)
Thanks for all comments.
HI,
40C must be very hot,this is main problem in summer.
Its really difficult to go out of house in summer..Winter is always best..
I hate summer time because when it is freezing you just have to get a better coat or sweeter but when it is the other way around. You can do anything to change it.
This will not work as a matter of fact, that is what I believe.
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