For years now, large barrels of iced tea have been provided free of charge along the roads of HCMC, for people to combat the searing heat outside.
One such barrel in front of the Mac Ty Nho Church in District 1 has attracted many people. The church has also erected a canopy at the site to shield people from the sun.
Southern Vietnam regions have been seeing a heat wave that lasts over a month due to the effects of El Nino, according to the Southern Regional Hydro-Meteorological Center.
The heat wave is expected to peak from mid-March through April, with HCMC recording temperatures above 38 degrees Celsius on certain days, while other southern localities are expecting record temperatures above 39 degrees. The number of sunny days this year is also forecast to be higher than in previous years due to complex weather patterns.
On March 13, congregation member Nguyen Thi Nguyet (L) fills an inox container with iced tea for public use outside the church, as a deliveryman stops by to take some water.
Plain water and clean cups are available next to it, with a basket for used cups as well. The 58-year-old woman said the water and the equipment was provided by the church, while churchgoers nearby are in charge of resupplying the tea and the ice.
"At first, the container was a plastic one, but it got misshaped easily [in the hot sun], so we switched to an inox one," Nguyet said, adding that after she finishes work in the morning, she spends her free time volunteering for the church.
Vo Ngoc Tin, 26, has spent over four years working as a ride-hailing motorbike taxi driver. He often drinks the free iced tea, which he fills into an insulated water bottle.
"I've known this place for about a week now. Whenever I pass it, I would stop and take a sip. The tea here is good, with a hint of ginger... It helps save me a considerable amount of money," Tin said.
Every day, Nguyet refills the water around five times. During peak periods, over 200 liters of water can be consumed a day, twice as much as usual.
Around 4 km away from the church, three jugs of water are also available free of charge on Vo Thi Sau Street. At the Vo Thi Sau-Pasteur intersection, Pham Hong Hai, a security guard at a nearby building, said he usually drinks the iced tea from the plastic can.
He said the water is provided by a motorbike taxi driver.
"I saw that it was a meaningful act, so sometimes when the water runs out, other people and I use our own money to resupply it," he said.
On Vo Van Tan Street, an iced tea container has also been provided free of charge by a nearby company.
Loukas, a tourist from Canada, brought a bottle to fill. He said he often saw people drinking from it, and after realizing that it was free, he decided to use it.
Also on Vo Van Tan Street, 32-year-old Huynh Thanh Phi watches over the water can and resupplies it a few times a day. The can belongs to the business he works at, and has been there for over a year.
