’Tis the season to be jolly, right? But while Christmas can be a life-affirming, bonding and spiritually nutritious experience, if it’s just not your thing you might feel the urge to escape. And the good news is that there are large parts of this planet where Christmas passes almost unnoticed. No sleigh bells, no mistletoe, no silly hats, no turkey and no jollity to make you feel like you’re missing out.
Vietnam
Discover a tapestry of jade-green rice paddies and muddy villages against a backdrop of blue hills. (Pictured: Tam Coc, just outside of Hanoi)Credit: iStock
If you’re after an overseas holiday with built-in charm, serenity, scenery, shopping, great food, cultural splendours and astonishing value, Vietnam is a star performer. These days you can add relaxing to the list thanks to ever-improving transport systems, tour operations and glossy resorts and hotels. Although the gateway cities of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are compelling enough, both are churning whirlpools of entrepreneurial energy. Head out into the countryside to discover a tapestry of jade-green rice paddies and muddy villages against a backdrop of blue hills that rise in a distant echo of the Himalayas. Don’t rush it. Northern and southern Vietnam are distinctly different experiences, and you’ll need at least 10 days to experience either. December is the beginning of the dry season in the south, and prime time for exploring the liquid landscape of the Mekong Delta. Along with the floating markets, the fecund bird life and the water meadows, don’t miss the staggeringly beautiful region around Chau Doc, on the Cambodian border. In Hanoi at this time of the year you can expect warm, sunny days and low levels of humidity, although nights can be chilly. The one area of the country off the agenda in this season is the northern hills, which are positively frigid in December.
Nepal
Durbar square in Kathmandu, Nepal. Credit: iStock
The heart of Kathmandu is punctuated with 500-year-old palaces and temples, the population includes dreadlocked Hindu holy men, Tibetan exiles and the world’s only official Living Goddess, the atmosphere teeters between Tomb Raider and Alice in Wonderland and on a clear day, the horizon fills with the 7000-metre peaks of the Langtang Himal. December is the coolest and also the driest month in Nepal. On an average day in the Kathmandu Valley, the temperature will rise to around 20C, dropping to almost zero at night. Although the high passes will be blocked by snow, December is a fine time for trekking through steep-sided valleys notched with terraces, with snow on the mountains above and yak bells tinkling, past prayer flags floating above Buddhist monasteries. The valley leading to the Annapurna region is still accessible in December, and the crisp, dry weather offers sensational mountain views.
The Maldives
This is the best time to visit The Maldives. (Pictured: The Four Seasons Kuda Huraa)
The Maldives are the original barefoot paradise. Each of these 1200 islands is crowned by a tangle of coconut palms and circled by a narrow frosting of beach and a peacock-coloured sea that averages 27C. The largest of the Maldives is barely six kilometres long, while the smallest allows just enough room for a game of beach volleyball at high tide. They’re also staunchly Muslim, and Christmas is not on the agenda, although the island resorts mark the occasion. The best reason to go to the Maldives is what lies below the waterline. Both the diving and the snorkelling are out of this world. While the standard Maldivian island template of coconut palms, white sand and coral seas varies little from one island to the next, what defines them is their resorts. Names such as the Banyan Tree Vabbinfaru, Soneva Fushi, the Angsana Velavaru and the Four Seasons Resort at Kuda Huraa are dropped in the living rooms of the rich and famous, although the price tag will make your eyes water. Prime visiting time is November to the end of March.
Cambodia
Live like royalty on $100 per day in Siem Reap.Credit: iStock
Cambodia is as cheap and satisfying as only South-East Asia can be. Siem Reap, the base camp for visits to the vast temple complex at Angkor, has developed into a raffish but likeable town where you can live like royalty on $100 per day. Those in search of Cambodia sunny side up are turning toward the coast, which is decorated with islands and silver-sand beaches, and dotted with crumbling French villas. It’s tailor-made for the budget-conscious traveller for whom a gecko on the bedroom wall brings more joy than the thread count on the bed linen. Sihanoukville, the original backpacker haven, has been joined by Kep, a former French resort which is slowly returning to life. Kep is a classic of the laid-back, unimproved version of tourism, set on a flashing sheet of turquoise and surrounded by jungle that steals into the town’s back streets. Swim, explore the coral reef, hire a bike and pedal along the coast road, watch the sunset, feast on fresh crab on the beach, get up the next day and do it all over again. Maybe take a trip out to Rabbit Island and stay in a bungalow for a few dollars a day. Just 20 kilometres away, Kampot is the river port straight out of Conrad, with a few tarted up bars and guesthouses along the waterfront. The main reason to come to Kampot is to make the bumpy two-hour ride up Bokor Mountain, one of the few places in South-East Asia that maintains a population of elephant and tiger. At the top is Bokor itself, a former hill station shattered in fighting between the Khmer Rouge and government forces, now silent, and spooky when the mist descends.
India
Houseboats on the backwaters of Kerala.Credit: iStock
No other country offers the variety, intensity, colour, chaos and sheer drama at a knockdown price as India. Whether it’s beach resorts with a side serve of Ayurvedic treatments, tiger spotting, trekking through Buddhist villages in the world’s highest mountains, lazy floating trips through the backwaters of Kerala, pilgrim trails, epic railway journeys or camel safaris through the Rajasthani desert with musicians for company, India lays it on. A burgeoning middle class with a keen appetite for travel has underwritten a vast improvement in the tourism sector. The atmosphere, the quirkiness, the crowds and the pungent sense of difference are the same as ever, but the country now has world-class domestic airlines, a decent highway network and hotels ranging from budget-priced beach shacks to re-worked palaces. At this time of the year the southern states and cities shine, from Goa south to Kerala, the home of Ayurvedic medicine, India’s centre for health and well-being, with specialist yoga and health retreats to go with the state’s palmy, balmy lifestyle.
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