[Photos] A Visual History of Saigon's Rainy Season Through the Eras

Oh, rain.

Not five months ago, we were begging for a deluge to take away the insufferable heat of pre-rainy season. Today, we’d give a kidney to avoid having to drive — or worse, get off and push our motorbikes — down a flooded street during our evening commute.

Rainy season is an annual excuse for Saigoneers to focus their frustration on a single subject, and though we may guffaw and claim it gets worse every year, the residents of old Saigon had to navigate the flooded streets of the city without the likes of Uber, or even a heads-up from the Weather Channel.

Here’s how old Saigon fared during the rainy months, courtesy of Flickr hero manhhai:

A 1930s coachman and his makeshift raincoat.

Rain pools outside of an American military hospital near Tan Son Nhat Airbase, 1965.

Women head for cover as rain falls near Ben Thanh Market, 1966.

A downpour turns the corner of Le Loi and Pasteur into a river, 1966.

A cyclo driver navigates the floodwaters of Le Loi and Cong Ly (now Nam Ky Khoi Nghia), 1968.

Rain falls outside Cho Lon's Capitol Hotel on Dong Khanh Street (now Tran Hung Dao), 1967-1968.

Nguyen Hue after a rainstorm, 1969.

Rain falls on Tu Do Street (now Dong Khoi).

Cyclo drivers work in the rain, 1971.

Pedestrians take cover under the awning of a downtown hotel.

[Photos via Flickr user manhhai]