At home, we helped the feelings by putting up and decorating the Christmas tree a few weeks earlier, endless listening to the usual “Last Christmas”, “Let it Snow”, “All I want for Christmas is You” and seriously over-indulging on home-baked cookies prepared according to Mum’s recipes.

All in all, as good as it gets for a Christmas in the City (and without family)!

I started my tour with breakfast at Tian Kee, a retro-styled café. I have read that it had taken over the premises of the Tian Kee Provision Shop which was privately run and for 54 years catered to the daily needs of the neighbourhood.

In the late afternoon I came back in order to stroll around the blocks and take some pictures. I was initially not happy as the weather was rather hazy. After review I find however that it adds a special touch and conveys the nostalgic feeling really well.

I have actually spent more than two days at the beach and was not bored! Having spent time with my sister, her husband and their two kids surely contributed to this… nevertheless, I was quite astonished.
I did a lot of shopping and had fun doing it! As I usually hardly buy anything, this was quite a change.
I travelled much less than normal and enjoyed to stay at the same place for several days.

There might be different explanations and reasons and one might event think that it is simply because I’m getting older. Who knows?

It is however not as if we would not have seen anything from the country. Hoi An and Hue are very different places, but both beautiful in their way. The below pictures try to convey my holiday feeling which in words would be summarised as follows:
friendly and helpful people, beautiful beaches and landscapes, interesting historic and cultural sites – all in all an excellent mix!