The beginning of Hanoi's 2014 summer has been brutal. The first heat
wave of May has continued now for a few weeks, with high temperatures
combining with high humidity to sap the energy out of even the most
heat-hardened of the population.
But we must soldier on through it for now. The rains will come and we will get used to it to an extent. And we will keep our clients well hydrated as we amble slowly - in the shade - from one Hanoi street food table to the next. If appetites for food are down, we will down more drinks.
Hot coffee? No - we recommend it with ice. Truth be told, Vietnam's climate - apart from a few months of cool weather in the north - means that the locals, almost without exception, are taking their caffeine with ice as a matter of course. When Hanoi coffee houses brew their coffee, it is cooled to room temperature and, if a customer does want it hot, a portion is heated to a simmer in a little saucepan.
On the subject of ice, many of our clients express concern about consuming ice in Vietnam, afraid that it may make them sick. These days, even street food eateries are ordering safe factory manufactured ice rather than bothering with the process of boiling water and freezing it. From time to time, ice may be handled in a dubious manner but in general, at street eateries with little or no refrigeration, if one wants a cold drink, ice it must be.
Even in beer at such eateries, ice is required. Though this may go against the grain for many beer drinkers, the practice has the added benefit of providing hydration to an alcoholic drink that typically dehydrates. Hanoi's other beer culture, bia hoi (or fresh draught beer), is pulled from lengths of hose attached to kegs packed in layers of insulation and dry ice or stored in refrigerated metal cabinets. A couple of tumblers of this preservative-free, low alcohol beer is almost compulsory drinking, particularly on our evening tours. Though, in Hanoi, there is no stigma attached to drinking at any time of the day.
There are soft options, of course. We carry water throughout our tours and though it may not be cold after the first five minutes in the current weather, it is wet. We eschew manufactured soft drinks in preference to those made in the city's tea and coffee houses. Would you prefer a Fanta or a freshly made long glass of passion fruit juice? A Sprite or green tea, sweetened with sugar, soured with lime, cooled with ice?
Quenching a thirst and keeping liquids up to our clients is just as much a priority in the Hanoi summer as feeding them.
