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Not-crowded Christmas long holiday suggestions

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  1. #11

    Join Date
    Dec 2013
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    Hong Kong
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    Quote Originally Posted by Elegiaque:
    Wow, lots of ideas. Will have to look those up and think about it. I like the idea of not creating too much impact by just going over land from HK down/through Vietnam.

    Sri Lanka also isn't a bad idea, but I wonder how "ethical" wildlife spotting tours are there? (At a Borneo nature reserve, they were not... ) Is it a good time for Sri Lanka?

    Okinawa sounds good, too. Will have to look up what you can do there...
    Define ethical?

    The one I went on in Sri Lanka (the one north of Colombo) was completely natural. No guarantee of spotting anything (but we did see several leopards). Apparently the other one (Yala, I think it's called) is totally overcrowded and not at all natural. Which is why I recommended avoiding it.
    Elegiaque likes this.

  2. #12

    Join Date
    Apr 2016
    Posts
    244

    I would highly recommend NZ. The most popular way to see it is to rent a camper van and drive yourself. The South Island is full of picturesque lakes and mountains, where you can do some easy and harder hikes, depending on how the knee holds up. The North Island is also quite beautiful, and I cannot forget to mention the food!!!!
    NZ is very camper van friendly and they have rest stops in most places where you can have showers, etc.
    It will be a good time of year to go and the fact that you have a camper van, means no need to worry about booking anything.

    Skyhook likes this.

  3. #13

    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Posts
    1,674

    I did Xi'an over christmas a couple of years ago. Not crowded at all, nice cool crisp weather, didn't notice much pollution when I was there, a bit of snow.

    We did Mount Hua on christmas day, hardly anyone there, did the trek around the 4 peaks and a fantastic cable car ride. The terracotta warriors wasn't as impressive as I imagined but still worth seeing.

    At night time, head out for street food, very lively but not overcrowded.


  4. #14

    Join Date
    Dec 2015
    Posts
    3

    If you were willing to brave Nepal in winter...

    ... check out eastern Sichuan province - it's absolutely beautiful. Not crowded, not polluted, very Tibetan. I recommend contacting the Extravagant Yak travel company (Chengdu) and asking what they can set up for you. Extravagant Yak | Tibet Travel Experts You may even want to venture into Tibet.

    We had a lovely 9-day holiday in the Kangding and Danba regions of Sichuan, driving for one day from Chengdu, staying 3 days in Kangding and touring around there, then driving for a day to the Danba region and staying there for the remainder. Amazing views, extraordinary altitudes, fascinating people and food, and a guide who spoke excellent English, Putonghua, and several Tibetan dialects. You don't have to hike or trek if you prefer not to (I had a sprained ankle and knee and could not), but it is helpful if you can walk around the villages. In our opinion it's the best part of China by far!