Hot and Bothered

Hong Kong summers are an endurance trial.

It's one thing to have to deal with the oppressive heat and humidity, it's another not to have any cold water.

That's right, the pipes in our village deliver hot water from the cold tap. Not tepid, hot. That means no cold showers to cool off until later in the evening, well after the sun has gone down, and even then it takes a while for the pipes to clear.

And when the weather is hot and sticky it's not unusual to take more than one shower per day. It's not fun to get all sweaty from say, house cleaning, only to stand in a hot shower. When you get out, you're still sweating. The only solution is to turn on the air conditioner and dry out until you can shower later.

True, I could do housework with the air conditioner on so that I wouldn't perspire as much, but it's such an electricity pig the mere thought of the power bill is enough for me to leave it off.

Why are the pipes getting hot in the first place? My guess is the lack of insulation; the sun cooks the building's exterior all day, the concrete absorbs the heat, and the heat is transferred to the pipes. When I hit the sheets at night I can feel the warmth radiating from the walls like a glowing fever.

Too bad I can't store all that wasted energy for the winter, when the concrete reverses its behaviour and makes it feel like we're living in a dungeon.

At least then a hot shower is welcome.

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