Living in a hot, humid city like Hanoi, we often feel tempted to store all our fruits and vegetables in the fridge to stop them from perishing. While this storage method will prolong the shelf life of many fresh foods, there are some foods that should be kept unrefrigerated:

Melons: watermelon, cantaloupe, honey dew melons etc should be stored at room temperature until cut open. After then, they will keep tolerably well in a fridge for a few days.

Potatoes: don’t be tempted to refrigerate them ever. Just pop them in the pantry, away from light, and they’ll be fine

Garlic & onions: they’ll go mushy if you keep them in the fridge. Store them in a drawer or cupboard. 

Tomatoes: leave them in the fridge and they’ll quickly lose their taste. Keep them at room temperature for best results

Nuts: same as tomatoes

Honey: leave in on the shelf in your pantry. Don’t worry about it – it will keep for ages outside the fridge

Coffee: it’s tempting to put it inside the fridge to extend its shelf-life, but resist the urge. Buy small amounts at a time and keep it in a well-sealed canister

Air quality is a common conversation topic at the moment in Hanoi and the source of a lot of angst too. Where can we get trustworthy and reliable information on the air we’re breathing in?

https://vn.usembassy.gov/embassy-consulate/embassy/air-quality-monitor/

The US Embassy measures air quality at 19/21 Hai Bà Trưng in Hoan Kiem District. It updates reading every hour and uses the following table as a guide:

https://vn.usembassy.gov/embassy-consulate/embassy/air-quality-monitor/

UNIS Hanoi measures air pollution from its campus in Ciputra and posts updates here: https://tso.unishanoi.org/aqi/

For a break-down of air pollutants, visit the German Embassy website: http://hanoiair.de/en_US/

We looked at several websites and apps that claim to map Hanoi’s air quality, like: http://www.fairnet.vn/  but the readings are very inconsistent and often don’t correspond with the readings from trusted stations like the US Embassy.

Thanks to Saigoneer for unearthing this set of vintage stamps depicting colonial Vietnam

There’s a huge range in taxi prices in Hanoi. A trip from Tay Ho to Ba Dinh can cost as little as 70k and as much as 140k and still be legitimate. Companies such as G7 offer fares at the lower end of the spectrum, while a Taxi Group 7-seater could cost more than double.

Sometimes, however, we find ourselves in a taxi with a meter that’s running like a fan. If you’re confident that you’re being swindled, follow these steps:

1. Show no alarm, emotion or any signs that you’re shocked about the price. Keep a poker face and don’t stare at the meter.
2. Tell the driver that you’ve changed your mind about your destination, apologise profusely and direct him to a hotel. If you can’t speak Vietnamese, it pays to always carry the card of a hotel that’s close to your home.
3. When you arrive at the hotel, the porter will of course open the door to your taxi. Kindly ask the porter to deal with your problem. Porters are used to dealing with problems like this and invariably take your side if you’re clearly being scammed.
4. While the porter is assisting you, take a photo of the taxi’s number plate and the driver’s ID card, which should be mounted on the dashboard. This will show the driver that you intend to report him.
5. Pay the taxi driver what the ride should have cost you – discovering you have a scamming taxi driver does not mean you don’t have to pay anything.
6. Email the photos of the offending taxi and driver to the taxi company so that they know they have a dishonest employee on their books. Companies do want to know about shonky drivers, as they stand to lose their operating licence if caught by the transport police.  Reporting scams will help to eradicate dodgy drivers & we will all benefit from that.

Simple actions can have a huge impact

Sustainability is the catch-cry of the year and if you haven’t got aboard this ship, there’s no time like the present. Make just a few small changes in your life and you can save resources.

1. Next time you stay in a hotel, grab the shower cap! These amazing little things can be reused hundreds of times as food covers. Now you don’t need plastic clingfilm in your kitchen! These shower caps are also handy for dog owners – use them as an emergency water bowl.

2. Keep you phone on airplane mode as often as possible. This will save energy AND when you charge your phone while it’s on airplane mode, it will take only a fraction of the time.

3. If you’re not already vegetarian, join the Meatless Monday Movement and don’t eat meat one day per week. Cows are one of the biggest contributors to greenhouse gases, so eating less steak will have a direct effect on air quality.

4. There’s really no need to buy commercial cleaning fluids. You can clean just about any surface with one or more of these: lemon, vinegar & baking soda. Look here for recipes

5. Re-use old newspapers to clean your windows, instead of using paper towel. Newspaper gives by far a better finish too!

6. Don’t throw away your snagged or laddered stockings and pantyhose. They can be used as sleeves to keep posters and wrapping paper rolled up.

Our blog post last week on beating jet lag with herbal tea received loads of interest & comments, so we decided to investigate the topic of jet lag cures in greater depth this week. Here’s what we found:

Light: Sunlight tells your body clock when it’s time to wake up, and darkness signals that it’s time to sleep. When you arrive home, make sure you spend as much time outside in the elements as possible, so that your body takes its cues to wake 7 sleep. No matter how tired you are during the day, pull yourself together and go for a walk outside – and leave your sunglasses behind. You’ll be rewarded with a better night’s sleep. 

Say No to airline food: Refusing to eat airline food will not only help to save the planet by reducing packaging waste – it will also help you to avoid jet lag. Airline food is notoriously full of oil and quick carbohydrates, neither of which will do you any favours on the flight. Instead, drink copious amounts of water and avoid alcohol. When you arrive at your destination, if it’s breakfast time, eat a healthy, high-protein brekkie and have a cup of coffee to keep you awake.  If you arrive during the evening, a big meal once you land will help you sleep.  

Stay hydrated: A large part of jet lag is due to dehydration, which starts the minute you get on a plane. It’s exacerbated if you start drinking alcohol in the departure lounge or during your flight. Just say no to alcohol, and drink at least 1 litre of water every 3 hours. Some people report that electrolyte drinks and powders can keep jet lag at bay – it’s definitely worth trying this remedy to see if it works for you.

Showering: If you arrive at your destination in the morning, have a cold shower as soon as you get home. Your body will be reminded that it’s morning time. Conversersely, if you arrive home in the evening, a nice hot shower will signal to your body that it’s bedtime. 

As the summer holidays come to an end and everyone flies back to Hanoi, how to deal with jet-lag after a long haul flight?  Here are some natural remedies you may like to try:

Chamomile Tea can improve the quality of your sleep – you’ll wake up fewer times during the night after a cup of chamomile.

People have been using Valerian Root Tea for centuries in Europe to induce sleep. This tea can make you feel drowsy but there’s no hangover the next day.

Lavender oil and flowers placed strategically in your bedroom can assist you to sleep better, and so can drinking Lavender Tea. 

Decaf Green Tea consumed before bedtime can help you fall asleep faster and wake up feeling more energetic.

Lemon Balm Tea (made by infusing leaves in boiling hot water) can have a relaxing effect on drinkers, especially when it’s combined with Valerian Root Tea.

Spearmint Tea, a popular anti-inflammatory, can also help you to fall asleep, especially if you’re prone to evening headaches.

Cover glass objects like bottles with socks to protect them during transit

Pack the heaviest items in the bottom of your suitcase – this will make it easier to steer your luggage when you’re transiting and it will prevent lighter items like clothing from becoming creased

Carry chargers and their corresponding electrical items like phones and laptops in your carry-on luggage. If your luggage is lost or stuck in transit, you’ll still be able to use your phone

To prevent business shirts from creasing in your suitcase, fold them up department-store style and coil one of your belts inside the neck to keep it in shape

Wrap your shoes up in a shower cap to prevent them from transferring dirt to your clothing

Last but not least, check out this quick video by Marie Kondo on how to fold your clothes correctly

This is a fair question – it’s been terribly hot every day this week, with massive thunderstorms every evening. Here’s what causes this phenomenon:

Hot weather increases the rate of evaporation of surface water. We all know that hot air rises. As the air moves upwards, into the atmosphere, laden with water, it begins to cool because the temperature up there is cooler than the temperature on the land. Clouds form. Warm air can hold more water than cool air. When the air temperature drops, the air becomes saturated with water and it rains. As the droplets of water fall through the clouds, they pick up negative charges and here is where my knowledge of physics starts and ends. Something happens between negative and positive charges, and suddenly we’ve got a thunderstorm on our hands.

The street names in Vietnam actually mean something. Here’s a quick look at what’s behind the names of these famous streets in Hanoi

Xuân Diệu: a prolific poet

Đặng Thai Mai: a writer

Nguyễn Thái Học: a revolutionary

Lý Nam Đế: Vietnamese king from 544 to 548

Đại Cồ Việt: the name given to Vietnam between 968 and 1054

Tô Ngọc Vân: an artist, who died from injuries sustained during the Battle of Dien Bien Phu

Phan Đình Phùng: a revolutionary who led uprisings against the French

Hoàng Hoa Thám: a commander who fought bravely against French colonial rule

Phan Bội Châu: a 20^th century revolutionary

Nguyễn Chí Thanh: A Vietnamese General