Where in South East Asia should I spend Christmas and New Year?
Question by Sugar_456: Where in South East Asia should I spend Christmas and New Year?
My boyfriend and I are going travelling all over SE Asia in November for around six months, and will therefore be away for the holidays.
We are looking to have a nice Christmas day together and then a party filled fun new year!
Has anyone been travelling around that region at that time of year and can suggest where we should go? We was thinking of one of the beaches in Thailand for new year, can anyone specifically recommend one thats guaranteed fun?
Or perhaps Bali for xmas and somewhere else for New year? So difficult to plan when you’ve never been somewhere!
Any suggestions or advice would be really appreciated. Thank you x
Thanks for you help everyone, great replies, really helpful x
Best answer:
Answer by Khun Bob
Since you asked it in a Thailand Travel forum. Let me say Thailand, why not. Anyway Christmas is just another day of the week here, not much of a big deal except at the Malls. Have fun, don’t stay in one place too long.
Add your own answer in the comments!
Oh, definitely the Philippines!!! Christmas is GREAT anywhere in the Philippines!
Being a predominantly Christian country, Filipinos celebrate Christmas with a bang – parties everywhere and lots of festivities! Great food, lovely decors, the novena mass (9-day early morning mass leading to Christmas day). Shopping is cheap-o and food is great! There’s just so much to enjoy!
For a foreigner, the Phils is a great destination to go to, especially since we are a friendly and hospitable group of people. You can be sure there’s someone who can understand you wherever you go.
On the downside, traffic is bad in the city during Christmas season, and, depending where you go, you may see some beggars on the streets (taking advantage of the holiday cheer).
If you want a “tropical holiday” – I highly recommend you go to Boracay for a party atmosphere, or the beaches in Coron, Palawan, for a more relaxed and romantic atmosphere.
Message me if you want to know more about the Philippines and where to go for the holidays.
Enjoy your vacay!
If you love Christmas and New Year festivities, I highly recommend Philippines. Filipinos celebrate Christmas like no other and with style.
Christmas in Thailand is so boring. December 24 and 25 are working days and they think that the the only song to sing on Christmas Day are “We wish you a Merry Christmas” and Jingle Bells”.
I agree with K. Bob: Thailand that is.
definetly Singapore.
Singapore economicaly better than any country in SE Asia, so Singapore used to festive the christmast + new year merrier.
Culturally more of Singaporeans celebrate christmast, than people in Thailand.
So, just go to Singapore and have fun.
Second choice : Indonesia
I’d recommend you to visit Phuket, Thailand. As long as you avoid the usually crowded Patong and Karon beaches on the west coast, you can easily find remote beaches for walking, jogging, or just relaxing. There are not many sights to speak of on the island, but perhaps that makes it all so relaxed.
Two of the main attractions near Phuket are the Phi Phi Islands and the Phang Nga Bay, with the so-called James Bond Island. The name comes from The Bond film “Man with The Golden Gun” which was partly filmed on this small island. There is a good choice of organized day trips from Phuket to both the Phi Phi Islands and Phang Nga Bay.
If you need more information, try http://www.discovery-thailand.com/Phuket%20hotels.html .
Honestly, the Philippines is a VERY dangerous place to visit during the Christmas-New Year holiday season since Filipinos use illegal fire-crackers and home-made canons during their celebrations. These cause a variety of accidents and every year, there are several deaths and casualties during the Christmas/ New Year season. Being the only Christian country in that region, these festivals are celebrated with a fervor but make tourism highly unsafe.
Thailand is a Buddhist nation and Christmas is celebrated there usually by expatriates and the Christian minority. They do have some spectacular celebrations but I would recommend Thailand only if you want to celebrate Christmas with plastic X-mas trees imported from China with artificial snow in sweltering heat.
Christmas celebrations in Indonesia are rather muted since the Christian community there is also a minority.
If you want to have a real Christmas vacation in South Asia, I would strongly recommend India. Being a secular country, Christmas is celebrated there in a rather grand manner. Particularly if you visit the Goa state of India where Christians are in large numbers. Hotels etc line up special Christmas fare and you’ll have lots of streetside celebrations too. Also, it doesnt cost as much.