Where myWanderlusters spend Christmas

“I’ve only had two Christmases away from home, but both memorable. One was when I lived in Japan. Memorable because I had to work on Christmas Day, it not being a holiday there (although many Japanese do like to celebrate Christmas with a traditional visit to KFC… yes, really).

“I did my teaching in the afternoon, with only one student remembering to say Happy Christmas to me! Then it was round to a friend’s house for a chicken dinner with a sushi starter, and copious amounts of sake and beer.” Hideo

“The only time I have ever been away from home for Christmas was one year in Switzerland. I was an au pair back then and the family had a chalet in the Engadine. The house had views of the frozen lake covered in snow with jagged mountains behind. It was like a scene from a Christmas card. The cable car was just a few steps away for skiing. And it should have been an amazing Christmas but I was terribly homesick.

“I was young and naive and had no idea that Christmas on the Continent was quite different. We had presents on the 24th – but nothing on Christmas Day – and certainly no turkey Christmas dinner with all the trimmings. Instead, we had foie gras with toast. I kept thinking that was the starter and that the ‘proper’ Christmas dinner would eventually arrive. It never did! Needless to say, I was not impressed!” hmoat01

“I have celebrated Christmas in Afghanistan, somewhat bizarrely, in a house full of Russian women, and one Japanese guy. There was a lot of vodka being drunk and a real rag-tag bunch of people arrived, including an Hungarian ex-Foreign Legionnaire who spent all night in his thick Hungarian accent trying to convince me he was Canadian.” Sergeant_Pluck

“More recently we went to Marrakech for Christmas and that was very nice… On the day itself we pre-booked a table at one of the lovely restaurants, there are some really very good ones there. It’s a lovely atmosphere because Christmas obviously isn’t a local tradition but at the same time, because Marrakech has been a tourist destination for so long, there’s a low level acknowledgement of the date.

“It’s a nice balance for those wanting to get away from the overwhelming traditional British Christmas but still have a little bit of a celebration. Really enjoyed the shopping too!” Kavey

“My most memorable Christmas away from home was spent travelling overnight on a boat in China, packed like a sardine in the middle of a row of berths (the bottom row of two storeys), with my feet hanging out at the end. I was the only gringo travelling on it, and had to rely on the young man in the adjoining berth to fill in my landing card, since there was no English translation.

“Was I a soldier, farmer, student, emigrant, or overseas Chinese? Was I on business, visiting parents, touring, or selling? And was my journey being paid for by the government or by myself? My neighbour had no option but to ignore all the boxes that he was supposed to tick, and to the best of belief, wrote on the form that I was a foreign tourist.

“‘Christmas dinner’ was a watery bone soup, with rice at the bottom. Unfortunately, by the time I’d managed to pick up the rice with my chopsticks (no spoon provided), the main course had sold out. As for entertainment – well, judging by the number of faces grinning at my chopsticks performance, I think it was me!” llamas

“I’ve spent Christmas in a rather remote village in the Philippines. Lots of fun stuff and community festivities going on every day leading up to Christmas, followed by a two and a half hour church service at midnight on Christmas Eve (that got a bit dull). I was well known by all the villagers by the time I left. Nice experience.” The Happy Wanderer

“I’ve had several away – Australia, Tanzania, Argentina, Singapore and so on. Most memorable was possibly the Galapagos. I was on a terrific cruise, and there were a couple of dozen other passengers. Like many places, the celebratory meal was to be on Christmas Eve. There was a mounting sense of excitement as the meal approached, and the crew has decorated the dining room beautifully. We drank champagne, had the first course, and awaited the main event.

“I should explain at this point that four of us were vegetarian, and most of the rest of the passengers were Jewish. And so, when the lights dimmed and the crew carried in a whole roast pig, there was a stunned silence.

“Still, the champagne, the wine and the company was good. And the crew must have eaten very well that night!” Lyn Hughes

“Going trekking in Doi Inthanon, to see Thailand’s highest mountain made an enjoyable Christmas Day. Even if it was misty and the views weren’t great, it was such a contrast to being at home.

“I met lots of monks too, who wanted me in their photos. I guess my curly hair had novelty value.” Natalya24

“My only Christmas away has been backpacking in Oz – we made a point of going to the beach even though it was cold and rainy and then had a huge buffet at the Big Pineapple plantation. Father Christmas arrived by helicopter.

“As I can’t remember very much else I’m guessing a good time was had by all…” Kathryn

“My second Christmas away was in the southern hemisphere many years later in 2000 when I booked myself a camping trip from Cape Town to Jo’burg via Namibia and Vic Falls. It was fantastic to be away from the Christmas excesses in the UK.

“Christmas Eve was spent driving to Maun where I had a one hour flight in a tiny six-seat cessna over the Okavango – amazing – then getting very drunk in Ngepi (naughty South African drinking games – Springbok anyone?) and being woken in the middle of the night by a pack of dogs chasing donkeys through the camp! Christmas Day was a swim in the pool before we packed up to drive to a campsite in Nata where we had a Mongolian BBQ and it absolutely poured down! No alcohol either… I wonder why?” bilbo_baggins

Where in the world has been your favourite place to spend Christmas Day? Do you like to escape the hordes at home and the angry shoppers? Where do you disappear to?

Tell us in the comments section below or post on the myWanderlust forum.