Bah, humbug! Top 10 places to go to avoid Christmas

OK – so you’re dead exhausted after a month’s worth of Christmas parties and carols are starting to give you the jitters. Your family Christmas reunion resembles the Griswald’s on an epic disaster scale. Then, why not skip it, and head off for a couple of weeks for a peaceful retreat? Somewhere the word ‘Santa’ will be met with a quizzical stare, and that other popular name,  ‘Jesus’, won’t incur the frosty wrath of your elders while used in vain.  Here’s ten inspirational images to get you motivated.

Mandrem Beach in Goa, India. (Greg Elms)

Go to India. There it will be hot, cheap and not a pine tree in sight. In Goa you can stare at the sea and let the sound of the waves drown out those Christmas carols once and for all.

Turkey? (John Mock)

Oops, sorry…

Goreme, Cappadocia (Dallas Stribley)

See Turkey blanketed in snow during the winter months, minus the tourists.

Get lost in a Moroccan souq. (Jean-Pierre Lescourret)

In Marrakesh, Christmas carols are thin on the ground in their shopping “malls”. I’d rather shop here, anyday!

Goat for sale in Oman! (Mark Daffey)

Solve all your Christmas shopping issues right here! Buy a goat for a poor family in the Middle East. Directly. From an Oman souq.

Jiufen, Taiwan. (Craig Ferguson)

Who visits Taiwan over Christmas? Noone. That’s why you’ll love it.

Giant Bronze Buddha statue, Ngong Ping Village, Lantau Island. (John Sones)

Heady Hong Kong’s Western population might encourage a bit of Christmas cheer, so head to some of the lesser known islands such as Lantau.

A Samburu native in Kenya. (Carol Polich)

Nothing could isolate you more from Western culture than a warming trip to Kenya. Get native as the sun goes down.

Hanoman the white monkey puts out the fire in the Kecak and Fire dance at Uluwatu Temple. (Paul Kennedy)

Indulge in a hedonistic trip to Bali for a week. The Balinese will definitely be celebrating the festival of something, but it won’t be Christmas…

Young girl peering through wall of Menyang Sedi longhouse. (Tom Cockrem)

Head to Sarawak in Malaysian Borneo and embrace the hospitality of the local Dayaks for a couple of nights in a longhouse. It might be Christmas there too, but with plenty of arak (rice wine) on hand, you will soon forget what you are celebrating.

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