Santa Claus’s vacation in a hot climate is over, we saw him visiting us in Estonia. (And my special red Christmas coat can be packed away again.)
Since we started planning our trip to South-East Asia, we were always thinking to come back latest in December for Christmas. There were many uncertain times when we were in Bali (almost applied for Australian Visa) or in Malaysia (when we were calculating how long we can stretch with our saving), but coming back for Christmas was always our latest deadline.
So, after 3 days of watching man-made wonders in Singapore and another 3 days of bearing cold in Berlin, Germany, we landed in a cold snowy Tallinn on 17th of December.

First days back in Estonia
After taking a train to my hometown Keila, visiting grandma and throwing my backpack to my already stuff-packed room at my mom’s, something inside me switched. I turned from relaxed travelling Mart to old to-do-list-killing Mart.
My next days were full of seeing old workmates, football sessions, job applications, and sorting my old stuff. There were no Instagram photos or stories, no blogging (my keyboard broke), no weird things happening around us, no relaxed feeling.
So distant was everything that happened in Asia, and so common was all that surrounded me now. Even the weather was the same when we left.
We joked with Grete that it feels like all these 9,5 months in South-East Asia were a dream, except now we have no money, no job, no home. We were really lost.
Friends and families to rescue
Luckily, it wasn’t long until we saw our friends, who we had long missed. I met most of my friends at a beer degustation event (which used to be my organized monthly tradition) and Grete’s friends at their Christmas party. Seeing familiar faces and hearing their stories about their lives
(in Estonian – no more things lost in translation), made me feel like, yes, I belong here.
And then came Christmas days. Although I am not religious, don’t like to shop for presents, and instead of waiting for Santa Claus have to play him myself, it is a special time of a year for me. It’s a time when everyone is at home, a Christmas tree is in a corner, rooms are decorated, and tables are full of sweets. And if there is snow outside like this year, it’s all just perfect.

Even though they tried hard in Malaysia to replicate Christmas feeling with Christmas stuff and Santa Clauses in malls, spending Christmas somewhere else would have never feel the same.
Now, I can say that I am finally happy to be back here in Estonia.
What next? Just hope that Christmas lasts for a while, then we don’t have to decide yet…
I agree that there is just no place like home for Christmas. I’ve spent at least 1 Christmas in Spain, France, Morocco, and Indonesia. Although each Christmas away has been memorable, nothing compares to home. Happy holidays!
Yes, nothing compares to home… Happy holidays and Happy New Year!