Long holidays are a great excuse to slow down, change the scenery and gain impressions for several months ahead. It remains only to decide where to do it.
Perhaps even real couch potatoes admit: spending all the January holidays at home is boring. I want to get out somewhere, if not for eight or ten days, then at least for a couple. Any trip will bring more impressions than a series of feasts or watching TV shows. In addition, “travel is the best way to overcome the New Year’s depression, which overtakes many at the end of the year due to summing up its results and holiday bustle,” says clinical psychologist Angelos Halaris from Loyola University Chicago.
road to summer
At a time when we are so lacking in sun and vitamins, the idea of going to hot countries seems tempting. But the usual holiday with a Christmas tree and tinsel will not work, travel blogger Anastasia Yezhova warns.
“In Asia, only tourists celebrate the New Year: for the locals, it comes in the spring. However, spending December 31 admiring the sunset blazing over the ocean, and on the morning of January 1, conquering the waves on the surf is also great. For this you need to go to Sri Lanka or Bali. On both islands there is something to do for those who are with waves on “you”. After visiting trendy eateries, yoga on the beach, spas and dancing, you can go on a sightseeing tour. In Sri Lanka, a mandatory point of the program is a train through the jungle to the city of Kandy to the Temple of the Tooth Relic or to Sigiriya – to the mountain with the ruins of the palace. It is worth looking at the endless tea plantations.
After returning home, it is better not to overexert yourself, observe the sleep and wakefulness regimen.
In Bali, you can rent a moped to explore the island far and wide. Distances are small. Walk the cliffs of Uluwatu Temple, visit the craftsmen’s city of Ubud, admire the rice fields and waterfalls (my favorites are Munduk, Tukad Cepung and Tibumana) and watch the sunrise at Mount Batur.”
And travel expert Yulia Malkova was inspired by the New Year celebration in the Cambodian city of Siem Reap: “It is located near Angkor, the sacred capital of the Khmers. Toward morning, people from different countries, who celebrated the New Year in the bars of Siem Reap, sit down in tuk-tuks and go to Angkor. Before dawn, everyone climbs the hills to the foot of the temples, and when the sun appears from behind the horizon, they greet it with shouts. The action turns out to be mystical, you meet the first sunrise of the new year in the company of people from all over the world in the scenery of the sacred city of the vanished Khmer Empire.”
However, those who intend to go to the southern regions should take into account the upcoming acclimatization, reminds allergist-immunologist Ekaterina Pushkova: “This process is individual for everyone. A strong body may not react in any way. Others experience weakness, a slight rise in temperature, and digestive problems. It usually takes 5-10 days.
So a trip to exotic countries for a shorter period is a double stress for the body. In any case, after returning home, it is better not to overexert yourself, to observe the sleep and wakefulness regimen. And one more life hack is to take a drug with melatonin before the flight in order to quickly adapt to a different time zone. The dose and regimen should be selected by the therapist.
Christmas tale
Someone prefers the classics to the exotic: walks along the narrow medieval streets, the aroma of pastries and mulled wine … You can plunge into the Christmas mood in any corner of old Europe, from Scandinavia to Italy.
But fans of classical music will most likely choose Vienna to celebrate the New Year – and they have a reason for this: New Year on the balcony,” says Lisa Hessenberger, marketing manager at the Austrian National Tourist Office in Moscow. “And the main event, the festive concert of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra in the Golden Hall of the Musikverein, is broadcast live around the world.”
Perhaps it is better to come to Europe not directly on the New Year, but a few weeks before it. Christmas markets in Catholic countries usually close on December 25 or 31.
To get into a winter fairy tale, it is not at all necessary to cross the state border
But if you find yourself, for example, in Italy after January 1, do not be discouraged: you will have a chance to take part in the celebration of Befana or Epiphany. “This holiday is dedicated to the appearance of the Magi to Christ, which few people remember,” explains travel expert Yulia Malkova. “Today the main heroine of the holiday is the witch Befana. According to legend, she comes on the night of January 6 to the kids. Gives obedient sweets, and naughty – “carboni”, burnt pieces of sugar. In the evening, a effigy of Befana is burned in the squares of the country. The rite originated from the ancient tradition of burning dolls in old clothes on New Year’s Eve so that everything bad would also burn, but the church successfully combined the pagan rite with the Catholic holiday.
Smart to the mountains
“Only mountains can be better than mountains” – if this is your motto, you have probably already planned a vacation in a ski resort. However, there is also something for those who are not ready to conquer the slopes. “Guests of the Austrian Mayrhofen, Zell am See, Ischgl and other resorts are waiting for horse-drawn carriage rides, festive processions, concerts and chants, night sledding and spa treatments in thermal centers. In addition, at resorts popular with tourists from Russia, fireworks and festive dinners are arranged on Orthodox Christmas, ”says Lisa Hessenberger.
My family
To get into a winter fairy tale, it is not at all necessary to cross the state border. Kostroma, Yaroslavl, Pskov, Vologda and Veliky Ustyug are waiting for us, promising folk festivals, a bathhouse, and bazaars with sbiten and mead. In Sochi and Krasnaya Polyana, life is in full swing during the winter holidays – concerts of world stars alternate with amateur competitions and parties. But there is one circumstance: there will most likely be a lot of people there, including on the slopes. Therefore, lovers of a relaxing holiday pay special attention to the Altai Territory, where you can go skiing, and at the same time strengthen your immune system and gain strength for the whole year.
“Belokurikha, the most popular resort in Altai, is known for its mineral waters and healing air,” says Elena Evsyukova, Deputy Head of the Altai Territory Department for External Relations, Tourism and Resort Business. – Our region is also famous for pantotherapy (antlers are deer antlers during their annual growth. – Approx.ed.). It is indicated for diseases of the cardiovascular system and the brain. In addition, antler preparations help to cope with chronic fatigue, increase the tone of the body and promote rejuvenation.
If you want to be alone with yourself and nature, go to the eastern shore of Lake Baikal: visit traditional Buryat settlements, bask in the Shumak hot springs, take a walk on the clear ice of the great lake. In some areas, underwater flora and fauna can be seen even through the one and a half meter thickness of the ice shell. Such a winter holiday will help you reset your consciousness and start the new year as a different person.