Braving the winter cold with Hanoi's night owls

By Giang Huy December 20, 2017 | 12:22 am PT

Temperatures in Vietnam's capital have fallen below 10 degrees Celsius at night, but life goes on.

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A woman rides her bicycle to Long Bien Market to buy agriculture produce to resell. She usually arrives at 2 a.m. and waits for two hours until the goods arrive.

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“I warm up when I pull these boxes, it’s freezing cold just sitting around,” said a porter at Long Bien Market.

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This street cleaner has to wear extra gloves and a head scarf after midnight.

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Road workers are out every night from 11 p.m. until 5 a.m.

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A scrap collector has refused to take the cold night off, and it really paid off.

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Another scrap collector keeps warm by a bonfire under a bridge. She makes around VND50,000 ($2) a day, and most of her meals are bowls of plain instant noodles. “The winter cold causes me a lot of pain in my arms and legs, but taking a break means I’ll have nothing to eat,” the 71-year-old woman said.

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A homeless man sleeps on the step of a shop on Hang Gai Street, with his bicycle and smoking pipe locked up next to him. He collects scrap or does menial jobs for people during the day.

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An old woman has trouble sleeping outside in the cold with noisy motorbikes racing by.