Christmas Day - Day 35

Merry Christmas everyone. The day didn’t exactly kick off the way we’d hoped.

The night was rough. I was up with a pretty ordinary stomach, and then Emmett joined the party early in the morning with the same thing. Bad day to be a toilet in our room. By the time we were all up, opened presents, and tried to get moving, everyone was pretty tired and feeling off.

Still, presents were opened, which was really nice. The kids were happy, rocking their new outfits. Emmett in his new shorts, Maddie in a new shirt and there was a nice Christmas buzz down at breakfast. Lots of “Merry Christmas” being thrown around, kids playing with new toys, families all together. Even feeling rough, it was still a good moment.

The plan for the day was Khem Beach, on the south-eastern side of the island. We’d heard great things. Getting there, though… not so great. We rode down to the main street to get a grab taxi and somehow got absolutely stitched up. We paid 440k VND while everyone else paid around 250k. Not ideal, but we were committed at that point.

Thankfully, the beach itself was awesome. Clear, clean water, plenty of people around, restaurants backing onto the sand, and a really good vibe. We met up with friends from the hub who’d moved to another resort and had hired out a section with heaps of chairs, which made things super easy.

Next door was a resort with what felt like ten interconnected pools, cascading down like a waterfall. The kids floated around for hours, beach swims in between. There was even a slide, although the kids rated it as “pretty boring”. Standards are high these days.

We grabbed pizza for lunch, which went down well enough, but everyone was still feeling a bit fragile, so the day stayed pretty slow and low-key. When the rain rolled in during the afternoon, we made a dash to beat the crowds… and got stitched up again on the way home. Another 400k+ VND while others paid half. Christmas Day transport was not kind to us.

Back near the resort, we kept things gentle and grabbed smoothie bowls for dinner, perfect for unsettled stomachs. There was talk of heading back out for drinks with others, but honestly, none of us had it in us. Sensitive bellies, low energy.

So it was showers, straight into bed, tablets and phones for a bit, and just resting.

It wasn’t a traditional Christmas, and we found ourselves reflecting on that throughout the day. What actually makes Christmas feel like Christmas? It’s not the location or the activities, it’s family. Waking up together, presents, long lunches, shared meals, being surrounded by people you love.

This year it was just the four of us, far from extended family, on a tropical island. Different. Quieter. Still meaningful, just in a different way.

Here’s hoping everyone wakes up feeling better tomorrow.