Almost normal Christmas in Vietnam

Still a little cold from the last few days on the moped, we went to Cat Ba, the only inhabited island in Ha Long Bay and largely a national park. Since the Vietnamese winter hardly attracts people to the coast, we had a very relaxing time with lots of space, empty beaches and five days to celebrate our Christmas in Southeast Asia.

Our almost normal celebration had Christmas trees, delicious cake, duck breast, a lot of Christmas songs, contemplation, love, even presents and also the obligatory cold, which is somehow also part of the celebration.

But what it didn't have was family, friends, Stollen, nine things and a church service ☹.

The loved ones at home organized themselves well and survived the holidays well, even without our cooking, the green Santa Claus and the family games. We took time to get healthy - which wasn't a punishment given a room with a fantastic view of the rocky islands of Ha Long Bay - did yoga on secluded beaches or just watched the waves.

If you want to see really crazy scenery in the water, you should get in a canoe here and travel through tunnels through the rocks, admire the steep and green slopes (now we understand why Hundertwasser believed that trees can grow on the sides of houses ) or just sit on the boat and marvel at what nature can do. We were really impressed!

But almost everything has a downside and the same applies here. Halong Bay is a world natural heritage site and the Vietnamese government is now implementing very tough conservation measures, which is depriving the people who live there in floating villages of their livelihood.

A magical place on earth where I understand the people well and don't want to be driven away. This path to becoming a world heritage site must be taken together with the people who live there.

With a heavy heart we got back on the ferry and via Hanoi, then on to Luang Prapang (Laos), where we now have a real apartment for almost three weeks...

Kathleen