next »

[Lotus Eater]

What are you doing? What great travel plans do you have?

My daughter arrives on the 20th Dec, and technically I get 2 days off over Christmas - but seeing as Christmas Day is actually the only day I'm working by then, I thought I would take her to meet my classes. (I haven't taken the holidays since I've been here - seemed really pointless when everyone else was working, no family, no beaches, no iced crabs and prawns, no champagne).

Trying to decide where to take her for some other part of the time, but she tells me her budget is tight!    Definitely snow country though - she is a Q'lder and this will be her 1st experience of the white fluffy stuff.

The New Year holiday is again the only day I'm supposed to be working, so I have no classes to make up for on the earlier weekend - so technically I could be free from 19th Dec to the 7th Jan.

She leaves on the 9th Jan and then on the 15th a cousin arrives for a couple of days.

At the end of January I am heading to Tokyo for a bit over a week - my oldest daughter and her new boyfriend are going to meet me there, plus the previous Japanese FT and we are going to potter around Japan.  An interesting way of meeting the girlfriend's mum - come to Japan!.

After that I'll be in Xi'an (maybe 2 days)until close to Tan New Year, when I head over to my favourite place for that festival and a Tan wedding I've been invited to.  Should be amazing.

[Eagle]

Winter holiday plans?  Well, leaving on a jet plane for India on January 13th and returning on February 13th.  Twenty days touring in the north and northwest and then ten days on a beach in Goa.  Of course, the missus is letting me go along with her for this holiday.

[Mimi]

I'll be in Beijing Jan 15th-22nd, then I'm meeting a friend of mine in Vietnam.  Then, it is off to Thailand (where said friend lives) and possibly some sightseeing in Cambodia.

[contemporarydog]

Winter holiday plans?  Well, leaving on a jet plane for India on January 13th and returning on February 13th.  Twenty days touring in the north and northwest and then ten days on a beach in Goa.  Of course, the missus is letting me go along with her for this holiday.

You lucky thing, where will you be heading to in the north?

Try to go to Pushkar in Rajasthan if you can - it's a bit of a cheesy backpacker hangout a la Yangshuo, but it's stunning.  And every restaurant has what I would refer to as a naughty yoghurt shake for about 50p (7 RMB).  If that's your thing of course 

[contemporarydog]

As for ourselves, well it depends on the news I get any day now about if I get my PGCE interview in the UK.  If I don't get it, I think we will be repairing to Thailand.  If I do, I will be heading for rainy britain. 

[ericthered]

I'm going to stay with the folks from the 20th onward. Walk the dog, read in front of a roaring fire, all the trimmings of Christmas. Sadly, I am not going anywhere. Need to save up for the Australia trip next year, so no out of country holiday for me.

[contemporarydog]

Permit me, if you will, some gratuitous India nostalgia.

Varanasi



Delhi



Manali



Mcleod ganj, dharamsala



Jaisalmer



Pushkar



RIshikesh - I used to cycle to this place every afternoon from the school I was working at



So many good places - and I barely even saw the south!

[china-matt]

I finally get to travel home for a month! First time in two and a half years--of course, last time I was home was only for a couple months before shipping off to China. It's going to be really strange freezing my butt off. I haven't seen snow since the winter before I moved here (so, about three years). Now I just have to hope my wife doesn't get scared by all my college buddies... we'll be having a weekend at the alma mater with tons of non-Tsingtao beer and no baijiu.

[becster79]

Heading off on a jet plane to POMMIELAND on Jan 14 ! Sssoooo excited, seeing London and Paris for the first time, full on, jam packed 16 days altogether....will spend a couple of days or so in Shangers when I get back there, but not really sure what to see. Want to REALLY have a holiday this year as I didn't go anywhere last year.

Bring it on!

[Acjade]

Sounds wonderful. Have a Very Merry Christmas and tell us all about it when you return.

[AMonk]

  signing in....My winter/Christmas vacation starts about 3:30pm next Friday, 14/12 until 9:00am on 2/1/08 (a Wednesday)...all of it Unpaid ( )

This year Hubby and I will have homemade sushi  for Christmas, and roasted chicken with the fixings and the baked goods on Boxing Day.  Nothing like shaking it up, is there?

[decurso]

 The in-laws are arriving on the 13th...and staying for 3 months!!!

 On the one hand, they will cook, clean and babysit for free. On the other, my father-in-law is fully off his rocker and my mother-in-law has ostioperosis so bad she can barely walk. It's going to be tough. We had to buy a couple thousand bucks worth of stuff(a bed, quilts, a rice cooker, a toaster, a second TV) in order to make them comfortable and it stll probably won't be enough.

[dragonsaver]

I am staying here and looking for winter work.  Gotta save me scheckels since I will be job hunting in the spring.  Dang I hate moving 

Gotta pay my own airfare back to Canada to boot.  Messed up last year with my ticket. the  head agency in Canada (Chinese) booked my return ticket for May and sent an e-mail titled August xx.  I didn't read the itinery properly and missed my flight so lost my return ticket.

[Ruth]

Heading to Canada to attend a family wedding and make the rounds of as many relatives as we can fit into a three week period.  Not a relaxing holiday.  I envy those of you traveling to far-off and exciting places, but it's really important for me to see family.  I can't seem to fit both into a holiday period - not enough time or money.

We are leaving sunny Dongguan to go to Canada during the worst weather season of the year. 

[adamsmith]

Going to have a great time touring Japan and Okinawa, then finishing up in Macau to blow any of the left over money I have. It is going to be wonderful.