Claustraphobia is generally unfavorable in Vietnam

Sometimes it's really convenient to be tall, sometimes not. All of you "tall" people will confirm this to me.

Now, with my approximately 1.85 meters, I am by no means one of the giants in Europe, but in Asia I am on average a head taller than the rest of the people.

The physical differences of humanity may not be news to you, but I get to experience it up close here.

I hope you all had a good start to the new year, if not, there will be another chance next year. I was really captivated. Not only by the big show and the exuberant party atmosphere, but rather by all the people around me.

With my companions of the last few days, I went to Hanoi's biggest New Year's Eve party. Without even having been to one, I would compare the dimensions to those in Berlin.

We pushed through the crowds in a conga line until we, or rather I, had a good view of the spectacle. Because, as I mentioned before, I was now at an advantage and could look over the masses. But I didn't really feel comfortable doing it. I shared about a square meter in the dense crowd with about nine Vietnamese people. Groups of people squeezed past us again and again.

60 seconds before midnight, at 5:59 p.m. for you, the smartphones shot up all of a sudden. The reason, the countdown started. As always, striving for integration, I did it too and watched the last seconds of the old year and the first seconds of the new year on my phone.

But then it was over and we started the journey home.

On Wednesday, I visited a room in an international shared apartment and decided to rent it as my accommodation for the next few months.

That was the end of my time with my Vietnamese hosts, who welcomed me warmly and always provided me with good Vietnamese food. Despite the lack of verbal communication, non-verbal communication worked quite well most of the time.

Thanks for everything!

On Friday after class, which I will tell you more about next week, I took the bus towards Cuc Phuong National Park south of Hanoi. The reason for this spontaneous weekend trip was that my Kyrgyzstan excursion friend Helena is working there as a volunteer only this week and we agreed that I would visit her in the national park.

But first I had to get there. I got on the minibus and tried to make myself as comfortable as possible for the three-hour journey. It remained an attempt, because no matter how much I twisted and turned, it was never really comfortable. In addition, my vehicle was a hop-on-hop-off bus and clearly more people got on than got off.

Despite all the adversities, I still arrived at my destination. Cuc Phuong National Park is an area of ​​protected rainforest with a rich variety of animal and plant life. Endangered animals are cared for in special rescue centers by locals and volunteers. The trade in exotic animals is particularly widespread in China, as traditional medicine and wealthy private individuals draw on the (apparent) value of primates, turtles and pangolins.

In the afternoon, I rented a scooter and explored the other attractions of the national park, such as an ancient cave and a thousand-year-old tree.

Today I started the journey back by bus. More than 50 women, men and children ended up sharing the bus with a regular 26 seats.

Normal in Vietnam and that's why you should definitely not be claustrophobic here!