INSIDER TIP
Jemma O’Flaherty, Flight Centre
Our New Year celebrations have been and gone but the countdown has only just begun for many destinations in the East.
The Chinese New Year is arguably the biggest festival spanning countries and continents but it’s certainly not the only one. Over the years I’ve been lucky enough to experience a few of the best festivities that befall this joyful time of the year.
Two of my very favourites are Nyepi Day and Tet.
Unlike any other New Year celebration in the world, Neypi Day is celebrated in total silence. It’s a Hindu festivity that is mainly celebrated in Bali, Indonesia. This year it falls on March 17 and 18.
Colourful processions and beachfront purification ceremonies feature in the lead-up to the Day of Silence, before daily routines stop – even the airport shuts down.
Vietnam’s Tet – similar to Chinese New Year – is celebrated on the first day of the first month of the lunar calendar (this year that’s February 16), but the holiday stretches for a week. Tet is an occasion when family members pay respect to ancestors, with altars laden with flowers, fruit and offerings.
Word to the wise – travel to Vietnam during this time means quiet beaches and cities, but few attractions and restaurants are open.