Merry Christmas 2013 from Lash

2013/12/25

here I am at the Taj Mahal -anticipating Christmas greetings

Merry Christmas 2013 from the Taj Mahal in India!

Ho Ho Ho and HaHaHaaa… I’m actually currently on a tropical beach in the remote Andaman Islands (at least I hope so).

I took this silly photo in early December when I visited the Taj. No, I was not traveling with a Santa Clause hat. But another fun-loving traveler was.

I thought it was so hilarious that I went over and asked to take his photo. He then suggested I put on the hat and get a photo myself. Great idea! So, Voila! Merry Christmas from the Taj Mahal!

Meanwhile, where are you celebrating Christmas this year?

Do you do the annual family Christmas at home each year? Or do you venture out on Christmas vacations? If so, what kind of spots do you prefer? Skiing? Luxury hotels? Tropical beaches?

During the course of my 15 years of world travels and 6 years living in Kyoto, Japan, I’ve celebrated Christmas in many, many different settings.

enjoying a very rare snowfall in Kyoto at Christmas

In Kyoto I was freshly re-planted from the USA, so I continued celebrating the traditional at-home Christmas with my best friend. Each year we set up a Christmas tree, decorated the house, baked Xmas cookies, bought each other oodles of presents and had a big Christmas feast.

However, during our last year in Japan we flew to remote Iriomote Island in the Okinawa Island chain to celebrate our very first tropical beach Christmas. That was really fun and exotic.

Since then I’ve celebrated Christmas on tropical beaches all over Asia, including Thailand, Bali, the Philippines and Malaysia.

I’ve also spent Christmas at a campground in Australia, in big cities like Bangkok and Singapore, and back in the US with family.

This year I’m in the remote Andaman islands, a territory of India, out in the middle of the vast Andaman Sea. On Christmas day I hope to be scuba diving on pristine coral reefs. Let’s see how it all unfolds.

I’ll let you know when I get back to ‘civilization’ in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia early January.

Meanwhile, have yourselves a Merry little Christmas, wherever you are in the world!

Cheers, Lash

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