Christmas was finally upon us and we chose to spend it in Vietnam’s capital – Hanoi. On our journey through Vietnam, we have learned that the Vietnamese love celebrations and Christmas is no exception.
We arrived in Hanoi on the 23rd December and headed straight out for some food before hitting the market then wandering over to Hoan Kiem Lake. The whole city was absolutely buzzing and even though this is pretty normal for Hanoi, the added Christmas trees, fairy lights and music everywhere really made you feel festive.
Because we arrived on a Saturday, the area around the lake was a walking street which made for a busy yet pleasant stroll around it. That was until we came across the parking lot for children’s cars and I fell victim to a 5 year old in a Mercedes Benz running over my foot.
A short walk from the lake is St Joseph’s Cathedral and at this time of the year, is beautifully decorated and jam packed full of people spreading festive cheer – and glittery antlers.
All around the lake, there are children and adults playing jianzi which is basically keep ups with a shuttlecock type thing – very popular in Vietnam. There’s also a free concert going on which we end up watching all of and it includes a Michael Jackson dancer, a beat boxer and a DJ set of Christmas remixes which sounded like they were recorded by The Chipmunks.
The next 2 days were spent by us having a break from tourism to just enjoy the Christmas spirit in Hanoi. We mooched about the Lake for most of the time because the atmosphere was hard to beat with all the karaoke and dancing going on. The Old Quarter is absolutely wonderful though and you can easily spend hours cafe or bar hopping, or both if you feel fit.
We also treated ourselves to a Christmas dinner in a gorgeous restaurant and had venison for our main course. Totally delicious but you can’t beat the homemade Christmas dinner with turkey and all the trimmings!
As it was our first Christmas away from home, we really missed our families but receiving a parcel from my Mum with dairy milk selection packs, socks, jumpers and Christmas Crackers will become one of my best Christmas moments ever!
We hope everybody had a wonderful Christmas ??❤️??
I’m glad you had a good. Merry Christmas to the both of you and a happy new year. Xxx
Merry Christmas and happy new year too, Chris! I’m looking forward to meeting Walter ?
Sounds a perfect place to spend Christmas – love the though of you opening your box of goodies from your mum. Such a thoughtful and very lovely thing to do!! Have a wonderful New Year xx
You too, Nicky! Hope you’re having a great time with your family 😀 all the best xxx