When the word ‘Christmas’ pops into your head, what do you think of? A snowy day full with presents opened by the warmth of the fire, and a table bursting with food – turkey, stuffing, pumpkin pie… That is the typical American Christmas. But my idea of the holiday season is very different. Living in New Zealand, Christmas time for us falls in the summer and is right at the start of a 6 week holiday.
Instead of freezing nights and wishes for snow, we spend our days laying in the sun and having good old Kiwi barbeques. What does Christmas look like to me? Well, it starts with the presents, accompanied by fresh croissants and berries. Then a leisurely lunch shared with family, enjoying fresh vegetables and potatoes, summer salads and huge hams. Then in the afternoon, we usually retire to the back yard with a glass of bubbly to soak in the sun or alternatively take a trip to the beach, where Christmas carols pump on a speaker and the sea is cool and refreshing. The day is always ended with a hearty dinner of a barbeque/leftovers. And it couldn’t be a true Kiwi Christmas without the classic: Pavlova. (For any who haven’t tried it, do so now!!!!)
I don’t think I could enjoy a Christmas cooped up inside wearing sweaters and sitting by the fire. You see, for me that doesn’t even come close to a proper Christmas. I need the blossoming Pohutukawa trees and the sun-filled days that drag on for 14 hours. When travelling to New Zealand in the summer, (Dec-March) you will find that the country is at its finest. The flowers are in full blossom, and bird songs – basically the only native animals in our country besides seals and penguins – fill the air. When it gets too hot, there is always an ocean, river, waterfall or lake nearby, regardless of your location. And the best part? Summer means berries, amazing, fresh and succulent strawberries, raspberries and boysenberries. Yum!
The best Christmas I can remember was down at my Poppa’s in Wairau Valley, a town not far from the bustling city of Blenheim in the South Island. The region is world-renowned for its vineyards and orchards, producing some of the best wine globally. Rolling hills separated by long strands of a river full with trout and salmon make the area irresistible to tourists. Picture this. You wake us Christmas morning to a table full of fresh fruits and warm pastries. Carrying your plate outside, you watch as the sun rises into the sky, beams of light casting shadows on the ground. Absolute bliss. While a warm holiday season may not be what you’re used to, it is definitely not something to overlook. So when making plans for next Christmas (I know it’s early, but one can never do too much planning!) try New Zealand. Trust me, you won’t regret it.
Sorry for the short post, what can I say, it’s summer here! I will be taking a break for a while due to internet constraints at my AirBnb so I hope you all enjoy your holidays and New years.
Have you ever spent Christmas in the sun? Would you like to? Let me know down below 🙂
When I get asked the question – “What is your favorite holiday you’ve been on?” – my answer is always the same. Koh Samui, an island with soft white sand beaches and an ocean so blue, that gently laps against the shore. Rich in culture and religion, decadent and intricate temples and shrines line the streets. The air is warm and sticky but this makes the plunge into the pool that much nicer. Fresh smoothies ordered from the bar each day and nights spent staring up at the starry sky. Koh Samui is pure bliss.
It was the very second I stepped out of the plane and onto the tarmac that I knew Koh Samui was different, special. We had just caught a short flight in from Bangkok and were preparing to spend three magical days in this remote (ish) island. The airport was small and comprised of several separate cabanas – no walls, just a thatched ceiling. The heat was insane, I’m talking 30 degrees and 87% humidity. Within seconds I was hot and sticky. After meeting with our driver, we started the drive to our resort. As soon as we arrived, all my fears, all the worries I had had were immediately squashed. The resort was mind-blowingly beautiful.
Melati Beach Resort and Spa is one of those places you see in a magazine, cut out and stick on your wall. It’s one of those places that you dream of. A tropical beach getaway with delicious food and a pool bigger than your house. Upon arrival, we were served glasses of ice cold jasmine tea and face clothes scented with frangipani. Bracelets of flowers adorned our wrists and I could feel the smile growing on my face as I settled into our room. The resort had two pools – one for adults, located in the tropical gardens with a trickling fountain and one for the family. This pool was MASSIVE! It was an infinity pool that looked over the beach, with a swim-up bar, massage tables, and mini islands. Situated beside this pool was one of the two restaurants that served us the most incredible breakfast buffet you will ever lay your eyes on. But it was the beach that got me excited. 250 meters of pure white sand, with good snorkeling and caves to go exploring in. Melati was paradise.
On our first day, we headed off into town to explore. First up was the markets. A necessity in every country I travel to is shopping. There is something so soothing about strolling through a market with a drink in hand or buying fresh fruit from the side of a street. This was no different. Colorful sarongs, carved wooden elephants, magnets, scarves… the list goes on. It seemed there was never-ending steam of shops full with tacky tourist souvenirs. And I loved it. Our next port of call was Wat Phra Yai, also known as Big Buddha temple, an iconic symbol of this small island. It’s a golden Buddha positioned atop a hill so high that you can see it from the plane when you arrive. It was enormous and in the same sense, quite humbling seeing this monument. However, when we arrived, there was much construction going on, with builders sloppily putting up a brick wall that looked as though it would soon topple. After we had explored this, we headed to a local ice-cream store of course. Even though it was years ago, I distinctly remember the flavor, the taste of creamy coconut fresh in my mind.
While we were eager to visit another temple: Wat Plai Laem, we were equally exhausted. Two hours in the sun gets to you quickly, particularly when you are in a foreign country. The prospect of navigating side streets and walking up yet another hill was too daunting. So we returned to our resort in a taxi too small to fit everyone. My little sister ended up piling on top of us. We arrived back for an afternoon of kayaking, swimming and sleeping in the sun, a drink in hand. To top it off, we attended a fire show and buffet dinner at night, with decadent food and elegantly carved fruit in hand, the fire show was even more amazing (and quite honestly terrifying) that I thought it would be. There was a band performing during the dinner, singing song after song. Unfortunately, us being as enthusiastic as we were, my sister and I started screaming in delight when she started signing ‘Let it go’ from the movie Frozen. This resulted in us getting dragged up by the lead singer and having to sing in front of everyone else (Okay so it was only 40 or so people, but still!). I was quite chuffed when my mum remarked that I should have had the microphone to myself. My sister wasn’t. After a midnight dip in our private pool, we settled into bed.
The next day was our last (and second) full day in Koh Samui. After scoffing down an early breakfast, we were picked up and driven to 100 degrees East HQ where we were given a briefing on the day and had to fill out *sigh* paperwork. Then it was a short walk to the beach where we boarded a small boat. Our trip was to Ang Thong National Marine Park, a place renowned for its marine life and turquoise lakes. The ride was a 1 1/2 long and very choppy. Sometimes a bit too choppy for my liking. When we arrived my Dad was so sick he couldn’t even stand and had to sit it out on the boat while we snorkeled, until I literally dragged him into the water and towed him along while he floated on the surface, gripping my arm. Snorkeling here was the first real time I had snorkeled before. I had gotten in the water occasionally back in New Zealand, but each time I would freak out and return to the boat immediately due to a foggy mask or the snorkel flooding with water. This time was different. From the second I got in, I could see fish everywhere. There was no way I was getting out. I passed walls of coral, and schools containing thousands of fish. A moray eel peeped out of a hole, and Nemo fish stared up at me from their anemone homes. It was stunning, the snorkeling impeccable. After we got out, we spent half an hour pouring over the fish guide and screaming with excitement whenever we recognized one we had seen.
We then went to a beach on one of the many islands and were given time to tan, swim, eat a delicious lunch or go for another snorkel. I, of course, did all of those things. Then it was off to another beach where we picked up kayaks and went on an adventure, kayaking under the ridges of islands who had been lifted out of the water, and through caves and narrow passages.
After that escapade, we returned to the boat, our arms slightly tired and headed off to our final destination: Emerald lake. This lake is so picturesque that it was used in the Hollywood film, ‘The Beach’ (which I have never seen). The walk up was painstaking due to the vertical ladders you had to climb one by one. But it was well worth it. We had a spectacular view over the marine reserve on one side and the lake on the other. It was one of those moments that will be etched into my brain forever.
As if to make the day even more exiting, as we were sailing off, back to the mainland, we came across a small pod of pink dolphins. Yes, I wrote that right, Pink Dolphins!! They were beautiful, graceful and very, very pink. It was the perfect end to a day of relaxation and adventure. The next day we spent packing our bags, jumping in the pool for a final swim and contemplating bringing the restaurant chefs back home with us. Most often, we spent it mourning. This was the last time we would have that view, the last time we would have this smoothie, the last time we would sleep in that plush bed. I don’t think I will ever stay anywhere that trumps my time in Koh Samui. There will certainly be nicer resorts, nicer tours, nicer food, but there was something about that place that I can never forget. Perhaps it’s the fact that we spent barely any time there, that we left wanting so much more that makes it desirable. You can stay at a place and get bored, run out of things to do. Often this leaves sour memories – “Oh it’s so boring, don’t go there”. Sometimes all you need is a taste of what it’s like, and that’s more than enough. Koh Samui, one day I’ll come back to you.
What’s your favorite holiday destination? Would you ever return? Do you think you can get sick of a place? Let me know 🙂
Before I can launch into any posts about my favorite (and least favorite) trips and tips, I feel it’s only right to introduce myself, my philosophy and the reason I love to travel so much.
Being a young girl from New Zealand, I know how fortunate I am to live where I do. My family and I are all lovers of travel and due to this, we have always gone on vacations. For as long as I can remember, while all my friends would stay in Wellington over the holidays, we would be out exploring our beautiful country or flying off to exotic places. I am so lucky to have my upbringing and to have the opportunity to travel as much as I do, and I hope that this blog will help to share my experiences in travel to further educate others and to influence their journeys.
I’m sure everyone visiting this site loves to travel just as much as I do. But why do we love it so much? What is the appeal? Surely the long-haul flights and uncomfortable nights in a dodgy hotel room have put people off by now. Why do we keep coming back for more?
To me travel is addictive. Once you have a taste for it, you start to see the world in a whole new way and you don’t want it to stop. We are so used to the familiar. We know where we came from, we know where we live. Ask me any day, and I will be able to describe to you the exact way my street looks. I can tell you where the telephone poles are positioned and what colors adorn the doors of my neighbors. I can tell you (or at least try) what it smells like, what the people look like, what noises cry out in the night. I know my city better than anything else and I’m sure you do as well. We find comfort in that. When things are familiar to you, you instantly feel at ease, a sense of relaxation you can’t get anywhere else. For the most part, you feel safe.
It’s when we step out of our safe-zone, when we go somewhere new that we really travel. Everything seems different. The things that you barely noticed at home, the parts of your subconscious, you now notice in detail. The water tastes different, not like your water but new, foreign. The air is fresher, the rivers are colder, the food is cheaper and the people don’t look like the people from your city. In a way, traveling is terrifying. You are leaving your safe home, and venturing into a new world. A world that is completely different from the one you are so used to. But we find comfort in the familiar, and no matter where you travel, there will always be a piece of home there.
The same cafe as the one at home, the same types of houses, the same sheets, the same sense of community. In these small things, we find peace. When traveling you begin to see pieces of yourself in that country. You affiliate yourself with the attributes of the area. That’s the beauty of traveling, no matter where you go, how far away, you are never that far away at all.
I love to travel because it’s new, because it’s exciting and because I always find a new part of myself in each destination. In Vanuatu, I learned to relax, to stay stress-free and to let time pass. I let go of my itinerary, written out to the hour and just let myself embrace the culture, the new lifestyle of living. In Bangkok, I learned how to explore. I experienced a fast-paced, always moving place, where something was always happening. Somehow, because I have traveled, I can live both a fast-paced and a slow-paced lifestyle. Travel shapes you into who you are. I know it sounds cheesy, but it’s true. Travel teaches you patience, it rids you of greed and selfishness, it allows you to step into the lives of someone else for a day.
Those streets you walk down, the houses you pass – those are someone’s homes. The cafe you stopped at to grab a coffee is someone’s whole life – their career, their passion, their everything. The unfamiliar faces you passed as you went for an evening stroll are someone’s family and friends. The house you stopped to admire as you walked past has people living in it. How incredible it is that we can go anywhere and experience a taste of another life. To temporarily step into another culture, another community and feel what life is like on the other side of the world.
We love to travel because if we didn’t travel, we would only ever know the familiar. We would never expand our perspectives, never push our boundaries. Our world, our views, our ideas are limited to a single path, influenced only by those around you. But when you travel, this changes. You meet people who change your opinions, you see things that make you realize how fortunate you are, you gain an educated opinion on everything. Exploration is in our human nature.
Go, travel. Whether it’s to a neighboring city or thousands of miles away – travel is limitless. Adventure is waiting for you. I hope that I never stop traveling, that every day becomes a new journey. That’s my philosophy.
Why do you love to travel? What makes travel exciting for you? And why do you keep coming back for more? Let me know 🙂
365 Days of Travel 