Southeast Asia on a Shoestring, 20 years (and a child) later

When we bought our 1992 edition of Southeast Asia on a Shoestring to start making travel plans, there was no Internet. No social media, no hostel booking sites, no Thorn Tree, no TripAdvisor. Not even Hotmail.

When we saved enough and packed up that guidebook, my girlfriend and I put everything in storage and hit the road for a year. For that first trip, both our planning and our travels depended heavily on a book that many travellers referred to as ‘the bible’. Travelling through multiple countries without it was extremely difficult.

Southeast Asia on a Shoestring then and now, 1992 and 2012

That original guidebook still included Hong Kong and Macau, but Vang Vieng wasn’t even listed for Laos. The cover was amateurish and inside there’s not a top-10 or ‘best of’ list in sight. A prominent request at the front of the book asks for letters of clarification from travellers, promising a free guidebook for the most helpful ones.

We carried travelers’ checks and lots of $100 bills stashed in hidden places. ATMs were a novelty still in much of Southeast Asia. Our guidebook said, ‘Money sent by telegraphic transfer should reach you in a couple of days.’

Sometimes we scored a terrific deal thanks to our guidebook’s advice. Other times the recommended guesthouse had gone downhill or our shoestring budget led us to a real hovel. With no online feedback, reputations good and bad took time to spread.

After getting warmed up all over Thailand, we traveled by train to eastern Malaysia. After Kota Bharu, we chilled on the blissfully rustic Perhentian Islands back before the word was out, checking in at Abdul’s Chalets, the place our guidebook listed as ‘the quietest and one of the best places to stay.’ We paid $4.80 a night double, with an oceanfront view from our verandah.

We made our way through Malaysia to Singapore and across Indonesia to Lombok before circling back to Thailand and flying west to Nepal. Along the way, our trusty book led us to $3 motorbike rentals, great $1.50 meals, and the occasional travel agency that could be trusted. It also clued us in on how to get a driver for the day for $5 without also getting caught in a gem scam.

The author and then-girlfriend Donna at the top of Mt Merapi, Java (top), and after a batik class, Yogyakarta (bottom), 1994. Photo: Tim Leffel.

In the summer of 2012 we went back to Asia—that girlfriend turned wife and I—but taking along the daughter born 11 years ago. This time we had a vacation budget and a youngster’s attention span to factor in. Twenty years ago our budget was $20 a day for two after flights. This time we were aiming for $150 a day for three. We’d gotten older and a litter wiser. Had we also gotten a bit, well, softer? We would see: for old time’s sake we packed the latest edition of the old standby, Southeast Asia on a Shoestring.

Comparing the old book to the new, many things were cheaper then, but not all of them. Back then, it cost a staggering $120 to visit Angkor Wat – if you could manage to make it there. With almost no hotels to choose from in the midst of a civil war, the few budget doubles in Siem Reap were listed from $12 to $30.

Fast forward to 2012 and the world has changed as much as we have. We headed out for a three week trip to Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam packing tools and information that were unthinkable back then. We had apps with maps, booking services in the palm of our hand, and the ability to see what other travelers we’d never met experienced at any hotel we’d want to visit. We could log in from any computer and find train schedules. Now we could, with a few taps and a credit card, book a double room at one of 50 hotels in Siem Reap, Cambodia listed for under $30 a night.

Part of the fun of looking back at that original trip is the differences of course, but it’s kind of comforting to return and recognize the essential elements that haven’t changed. The street food is still as varied, the markets are just as frantic, and the bargains are still as prevalent no matter what your budget may be. And here’s a journal entry from Chiang Mai in 1994 that could have been written yesterday:

‘Sidewalks are not meant for pedestrians. Sidewalks are a place to park your car, leave your motorbike, sell vegetables, set up a food stall, store your merchandise—anything more productive than walking from place to place.’

We appreciated our guidebook’s background info on the Grand Palace of Bangkok, the best parts of Angkor, the royal tombs of Hue, and the old city of Hanoi. We had apps for that, but they always felt more like a brochure than a resource: too brief, too fragmented, with no narrative flow. Like us though, LP guidebooks have changed and grown up too. They have gotten wise to feeding readers what they want (like itineraries and highlights) and have figured out how to appeal to a wider audience, including families.

We used our book daily, especially for maps, but things were different now for us vacationing parents and their child. Looking at accommodation recommendations 20 years later, we felt…old. We’ll pass on that fan-cooled room with a shared cold-water shower for $7 a night, thank you. We’ll take the hotel with air-con and a private bath with nice towels.

Like Lonely Planet, two decades later we’ve grown up, gotten wiser, and yes, perhaps gotten a little softer.

Alina, Donna and Tim Leffel at the Silom Thai Cooking School, 2012. Photo: Tim Leffel.

Tim Leffel is author of ‘The World’s Cheapest Destinations‘ and editor of PerceptiveTravel.com, home to monthly travel stories from book authors on the move.

Lonely Planet’s Southeast Asia on a shoestring – all grown up but still the definitive guide to budget travel in Southeast Asia.

View the original article here

Southeast Asia on a Shoestring, 20 years (and a child) later

When we bought our 1992 edition of Southeast Asia on a Shoestring to start making travel plans, there was no Internet. No social media, no hostel booking sites, no Thorn Tree, no TripAdvisor. Not even Hotmail.

When we saved enough and packed up that guidebook, my girlfriend and I put everything in storage and hit the road for a year. For that first trip, both our planning and our travels depended heavily on a book that many travellers referred to as ‘the bible’. Travelling through multiple countries without it was extremely difficult.

Southeast Asia on a Shoestring then and now, 1992 and 2012

That original guidebook still included Hong Kong and Macau, but Vang Vieng wasn’t even listed for Laos. The cover was amateurish and inside there’s not a top-10 or ‘best of’ list in sight. A prominent request at the front of the book asks for letters of clarification from travellers, promising a free guidebook for the most helpful ones.

We carried travelers’ checks and lots of $100 bills stashed in hidden places. ATMs were a novelty still in much of Southeast Asia. Our guidebook said, ‘Money sent by telegraphic transfer should reach you in a couple of days.’

Sometimes we scored a terrific deal thanks to our guidebook’s advice. Other times the recommended guesthouse had gone downhill or our shoestring budget led us to a real hovel. With no online feedback, reputations good and bad took time to spread.

After getting warmed up all over Thailand, we traveled by train to eastern Malaysia. After Kota Bharu, we chilled on the blissfully rustic Perhentian Islands back before the word was out, checking in at Abdul’s Chalets, the place our guidebook listed as ‘the quietest and one of the best places to stay.’ We paid $4.80 a night double, with an oceanfront view from our verandah.

We made our way through Malaysia to Singapore and across Indonesia to Lombok before circling back to Thailand and flying west to Nepal. Along the way, our trusty book led us to $3 motorbike rentals, great $1.50 meals, and the occasional travel agency that could be trusted. It also clued us in on how to get a driver for the day for $5 without also getting caught in a gem scam.

The author and then-girlfriend Donna at the top of Mt Merapi, Java (top), and after a batik class, Yogyakarta (bottom), 1994. Photo: Tim Leffel.

In the summer of 2012 we went back to Asia—that girlfriend turned wife and I—but taking along the daughter born 11 years ago. This time we had a vacation budget and a youngster’s attention span to factor in. Twenty years ago our budget was $20 a day for two after flights. This time we were aiming for $150 a day for three. We’d gotten older and a litter wiser. Had we also gotten a bit, well, softer? We would see: for old time’s sake we packed the latest edition of the old standby, Southeast Asia on a Shoestring.

Comparing the old book to the new, many things were cheaper then, but not all of them. Back then, it cost a staggering $120 to visit Angkor Wat – if you could manage to make it there. With almost no hotels to choose from in the midst of a civil war, the few budget doubles in Siem Reap were listed from $12 to $30.

Fast forward to 2012 and the world has changed as much as we have. We headed out for a three week trip to Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam packing tools and information that were unthinkable back then. We had apps with maps, booking services in the palm of our hand, and the ability to see what other travelers we’d never met experienced at any hotel we’d want to visit. We could log in from any computer and find train schedules. Now we could, with a few taps and a credit card, book a double room at one of 50 hotels in Siem Reap, Cambodia listed for under $30 a night.

Part of the fun of looking back at that original trip is the differences of course, but it’s kind of comforting to return and recognize the essential elements that haven’t changed. The street food is still as varied, the markets are just as frantic, and the bargains are still as prevalent no matter what your budget may be. And here’s a journal entry from Chiang Mai in 1994 that could have been written yesterday:

‘Sidewalks are not meant for pedestrians. Sidewalks are a place to park your car, leave your motorbike, sell vegetables, set up a food stall, store your merchandise—anything more productive than walking from place to place.’

We appreciated our guidebook’s background info on the Grand Palace of Bangkok, the best parts of Angkor, the royal tombs of Hue, and the old city of Hanoi. We had apps for that, but they always felt more like a brochure than a resource: too brief, too fragmented, with no narrative flow. Like us though, LP guidebooks have changed and grown up too. They have gotten wise to feeding readers what they want (like itineraries and highlights) and have figured out how to appeal to a wider audience, including families.

We used our book daily, especially for maps, but things were different now for us vacationing parents and their child. Looking at accommodation recommendations 20 years later, we felt…old. We’ll pass on that fan-cooled room with a shared cold-water shower for $7 a night, thank you. We’ll take the hotel with air-con and a private bath with nice towels.

Like Lonely Planet, two decades later we’ve grown up, gotten wiser, and yes, perhaps gotten a little softer.

Alina, Donna and Tim Leffel at the Silom Thai Cooking School, 2012. Photo: Tim Leffel.

Tim Leffel is author of ‘The World’s Cheapest Destinations‘ and editor of PerceptiveTravel.com, home to monthly travel stories from book authors on the move.

Lonely Planet’s Southeast Asia on a shoestring – all grown up but still the definitive guide to budget travel in Southeast Asia.

View the original article here

A Tokyo New Year's

Tokyo is one of the world's most crowded and bustling cities, but anyone who travels there around New Year's will be able to see a far different face as workaholic Japan takes its longest holiday of the year.

Christmas, which is a normal work day, is mainly a retail event, with Japan devoting all its energy to "Oshogatsu," the New Year period extending roughly from December 29 to January 3 - the first part in frantic preparation, the second in enjoyment.

Days of dry, crisp cold bring clear air and sharp views of Mount Fuji from many parts of the city, and with most Japanese companies closed and many people back in their hometowns, trains and streets empty out and the capital takes on a laid-back and leisurely air for those who choose to stay.

DAY 1

5pm: Head to "Ameyokocho," one of Tokyo's oldest market streets. Bracketing the raised tracks of the Yamanote Line and running south from Ueno Station on Tokyo's northern side, the area is boisterous on regular weekends but really cranks it up at this time of year as people come shopping for New Year feasting. Just about anything imaginable is for sale here - fish on trays of ice, piled vegetables and fruits. Vendors shout to attract business under bright lights, and pots of food at nearby open-air restaurant stalls steam in the cold.

New Year food is called "Osechi," and housewives prepare enough for the three days from New Year's day so they don't have to do any cooking then. Most foods have symbolic meanings, like simmered black soybeans for good health, and herring roe, which symbolizes a wish to have many children. Many people eat sea bream, whose Japanese name echoes the word "congratulations."

6pm: If you decide not to drop into one of the restaurants under the train tracks for some sticks of grilled meat and a glass or two of hot sake, hop on the Yamanote Line at Okachimachi Station and get off a few stops later at Yurakucho, on the edge of the posh Ginza shopping area.

The area under the tracks is crammed with restaurants, from Italian to Thai and Californian cuisine. But try "Andy's Shin Hinomoto," across from the Yurakucho Denki Building. Run by genial Briton Andy, Shin Hinomoto features sashimi, stir fries, tempura and daily specials in a long room with arched ceilings and a jovial, casual atmosphere. As the evening wears on, loud groups of people drift out into the street after "Bonenkai," or "Forget the Year" parties, in many cases a bit the worse for wear.

9pm: Stroll the Ginza, checking out the window decorations in stores like Cartier, or lit-up trees in front of Mikimoto, the pearl shop. Other colorful displays can be found in Roppongi Hills or the Marunouchi area near Tokyo Station.

As New Year's day nears, many stores will also sport large "kadomatsu" decorations - literally "gate pines" - consisting of pine boughs and bamboo stalk arrangements on each side of the door. This is echoed in private homes, where pine is used to welcome ancestral spirits.

Stop to admire the lit-up front of Tokyo Station, unveiled in its pre-war classical brick glory in October after an extensive exterior renovation.

DAY 2

9am: Take the Ginza Subway line to Asakusa and make your way to Sensoji, the Asakusa Kannon temple. Enter through the Kaminarimon, a bright red gate with a huge dangling lantern, and head up the Nakamise shopping street. Though many of the goods here are of the cheap souvenir variety, other stalls offer crisp, freshly made rice crackers and other tasty treats.

Sensoji is popular for "Hatsumode," or the first shrine and temple visits of the New Year, when people go to pray for good luck in the coming year. It can take hours to move the 200 metres up Nakamise, but the mood is jovial amidst incense smoke from huge metal burners near the main temple building. Millions visit Sensoji and other popular sites, such as the Meiji Shrine, during the first three days of the year - some wearing the traditional kimono.

Other people make these visits at midnight on the 31st, when temple bells all over Japan boom out 108 times for each of the sins of mankind. Trains run all night and some restaurants and pubs stay open until dawn.

Afterwards, wander around the Asakusa area, which still has an old neighbourhood flavour. About five minutes' walk from the temple is a street of open-air restaurants selling grilled meat on skewers and stewed tripe with tofu. Belly up to a counter stool and have some beer or hot sake.

1pm: Head east across the Sumida River. You'll pass the headquarters of Asahi Beer - recognisable by the "Flamme d'Or" (Golden Flame) sculpture on its roof that locals refer to as "The Golden Turd" - on your way to Tokyo's newest landmark: the Tokyo Skytree.

A futuristic broadcasting tower of dubious beauty, the Skytree is 634-metres high and has been certified by Guinness as the world's tallest tower. It anchors a shopping and pleasure complex that includes movie theatres and an aquarium, and boasts two observation decks: one at 350m and the other at 450m. 

Tickets to the observatories cost 2000 yen (NZ$28.80) for the lower one and 1000 yen for the higher one, and can be bought on the day. But check the website for special periods, such as New Year's, when other arrangements may have to be made.

6pm: Feel daring? Then eat at Torafugu Tei Monzen Naka-cho, which features fugu, the blowfish that can be fatal if improperly prepared. Torafugu Tei has reasonably priced courses that start with delicate slices of raw fugu fanned across a plate and ends with a thick rice porridge in fugu-flavoured soup. To drink, try hot sake with a lightly grilled fugu fin in it for flavor.

DAY 3

8am: If it's the first or fourth Sunday of the month, check out the flea market at the Togo Shrine, at Harajuku Station on the Yamanote Line. The shrine is crowded with vendors selling everything from junk to elaborate wedding kimonos and antiques. Also on the first Sunday is a flea market at Arai Yakushi Shrine at Arai Yakushi-mae on the Seibu Shinjuku Line. Hope for good weather as it's cancelled in the event of rain.

11am: Brunch at Suji's, a restaurant in the Roppongi entertainment district with all the traditional options, including Eggs Benedict or even just two eggs with home fries and toast. Large portions and good prices.

1pm: With the construction of several new museums in recent years, Roppongi is now billing itself as "Art Triangle Roppongi." Within a short walking distance are the Mori Art Museum, the Suntory Museum of Art, and The National Art Center, Tokyo. Notable is the Mori Art Museum, on the 53rd floor of the Mori Tower in the Roppongi Hills complex, which offers good views along with the art. Both Roppongi Hills and the Tokyo Midtown, near the National Art Center, have seasonal light displays.

3pm: Take the Hibiya Subway line up to Akihabara, Tokyo's electronics Mecca. Year-end bargains are likely to abound, and many stores - like stores all over Japan - offer "fukubukuro," or lucky bags, on January 1. Each bag is sold for a set price, but the contents are unknown. Take a chance!

- Reuters

View the original article here

Top 10 New Year's traditions

HOGMANAY: A fun-filled way to bring in the new year.

New Year is a time for fresh starts, hopes, dreams and saying goodbye to the old year.

At this time of festive camaraderie and reflection, here is a Top 10 favourite New Year traditions from across the globe:

1. Germany and Finland

How about a spot of fortune telling to ring in the New Year?

Molybdomancy is an ancient technique of divination that involves interpreting the shapes made by dropping molten lead into cold water.

On New Year's Eve in Germany and Finland, family and friends come together for a spot of lead pouring - Bleigießen in German and uudenvuodentina in Finnish - and make predictions for the coming year.

It isn't an exact science and there are no firm rules on what the shapes actually represent. A bubbly surface can mean money is coming your way; a broken shape misfortune. Ships refer to travelling; a ball means luck; a monkey says beware of false friends; and a hedgehog means someone is jealous of you. But don't get too worried if you receive a bad fortune - the predictions are just for fun.

2. Mexico

In Mexico, families celebrate New Year's (Vispera de Año Nuevo) with a mix of religion, tradition, superstition and special festive foods.

Families decorate their homes in colours that represent wishes for the upcoming year: red for love, yellow for work and green for money. For even more wishes, Mexicans eat a grape (preferably seedless) with each of the 12 clock chimes at the stroke of midnight, while making a wish with each grape.

To start the year with a clean slate, another tradition involves writing a list of all the bad and unhappy events that happened over the year, then before midnight the list is thrown into a fire and the negative feelings of the past year are gone.

In keeping with the country's Catholic traditions, Mexican sweet bread (Rosca de Reyes) is baked with a coin or charm hidden in the dough. When the bread is served, whoever gets the slice with the coin or charm is said to be blessed with good luck for the New Year.

3. Wales

Calennig, the Welsh name for New Year, means New Year celebration or gift and since ancient times the tradition in Wales has been to give gifts and money to friends, family and neighbours. Today, it is customary to give bread and cheese on New Year's morning, with children receiving skewered apples covered with raisins and fruit. In some parts of Wales, people must visit all their relatives by midday to collect their Calennig. That's a lot of bread and cheese!

4. Japan

The Japanese New Year (Oshogatsu) is marked with a range of cultural and religious traditions from eating special family meals and making temple visits to sending postcards. Since 1873 Oshogatsu has been celebrated on January 1, but traditionally it followed the Chinese lunar calendar. O-misoka (New Year's Eve) welcomes Toshigami, the New Year's god, and across the country people celebrate with concerts, countdowns and fireworks as well as more traditional activities.

It is customary to send handwritten New Year's Day postcards (nengajo) to friends and family and the post office guarantees any cards sent in time will arrive on January 1.

Food plays a big part in New Year's celebrations. People eat a special selection of dishes called osechi-ryori, including of boiled seaweed (konbu), fish cakes (kamaboko), mashed sweet potato with chestnut (kurikinton), simmered burdock root (kinpira gobo), and sweetened black soybeans (kuromame).

Around 11 pm, people gather at home for one last time in the old year and eat a bowl of noodles-long noodles are associated with crossing over from one year to the next.

On the stroke of midnight, Buddhist Temples across the country ring their bells exactly 108 times. One of the most breathtaking celebrations takes place at the Zojoji Temple in Tokyo where thousands of people gather to release silver helium balloons carrying New Year's wishes into the midnight sky.

After the clocks strike 12, many families visit a shrine or temple for Hatsumode (first shrine visit of the year).

On New Year's Day, the Japanese give money to children in a tradition known as otoshidama. Money is handed in small decorated envelopes called pochibukuro. The amount of money given depends on the age of the child, but it is not uncommon for kids to get more than ¥10,000 (US$120).

5. Philippines

In the Philippines, New Year's Eve (Bisperas ng Bagong Taon) is a public holiday and people usually celebrate in the company of family and close friends. Traditionally, most households host or attend a Media Noche (dinner party).

Most Filipinos follow a set of traditions that includes wearing clothes with dots (in the belief that circles attract money and fortune) and bright colours to show enthusiasm for the coming year.

Throwing coins at the stroke of midnight is said to increase wealth as does serving circular shaped fruits and shaking of coins inside a metal can while walking around the house.

Things really get loud as people make noises by blowing on cardboard or plastic horns (torotot) banging pots and pans, playing music, or lighting fireworks to scare away bad spirits.

6. Scotland

Hogmanay is the Scots word for the last day of the year and has become one of the world's most recognized New Year's celebrations.

The roots of Hogmanay date back to the celebration of the winter solstice, incorporating elements of the Gaelic celebration of Samhain.

There are many customs, local and national, linked with Hogmanay. The most widespread is the practice of 'first-footing' which starts immediately after midnight. First-footing involves being the first person to cross the threshold of a friend or neighbour's home and giving symbolic gifts such as salt, coal, shortbread, whisky, and black bun (a rich fruit cake) to bring luck to the householder. This goes on throughout the early hours of the morning and into the next day, and can last well into mid-January.

But it's not just about ancient traditions in Scotland. On New Year's Day a new custom has begun to take hold - the Loony Dook. Since 1987, the brave (and the mad) have taken the plunge into the icy cold River Forth in Queensferry, Edinburgh for a refreshing start to the year. A sure fire way to get rid of a hangover, the event attracts thousands of Loonies, spectators and swimmers alike.

7. Ecuador

One of Ecuador's quirkiest traditions sees men putting on their finest frocks and dressing up as women to represent the "widow" of the year that has passed.

However, the focus of the country's celebrations comes in a much more fiery form.

At midnight, families and communities come together to light fireworks and burn Monigotes - papier-mâché effigies - of politicians, public figures and popular culture icons.

The puppets range from small, simple, homemade offerings to giant, detailed, professionally made creations.

The puppets are filled with sawdust or newspaper and, in some cases, firecrackers. Burning the Monigotes represents getting rid of the bad feelings, events and spirits of the past year.

8. Greece

While Christmas in Greece is a relatively solemn occasion, New Year's Day is filled with celebrations and gift giving. January 1 is the name day of Aghios Vassilis (St. Basil), the Greek Santa Claus, and many customs are based upon his arrival.

On the morning of New Year's Eve, children go door to door and ask permission to sing kalanta (carols) to bring good wishes to their neighbours, announce the coming of Aghios Vassilis and bless the house.

Later in the evening, families gather for a meal of roast lamb or pork and an extra place is set at the table for Aghios Vassilis.

An onion is hung on the front door (alongside a pomegranate that has been hanging since Christmas) as a symbol of rebirth and growth.

Around midnight the household lights are switched off and the family goes outside. One lucky person is given the pomegranate and smashes it against the door as the clock strikes midnight.

As the New Year rolls over, Greek families all over the world cut into a cake - the Vassilopita - bearing the name of Aghios Vassilis. Each Vassilopita is baked with a coin or medallion hidden inside and whoever gets it will be rewarded with good fortune in the New Year.

9. Italy

As you might expect, New Year's celebrations in Italy start with eating a whole heap of delicious foods.

The evening begins with the traditional dish, "cotechino e lenticchie." Cotechino is a savoury pork sausage that contains "lo zampone," the actual hoof of the pig, and is a symbol of abundance. Lenticchie (lentils) are believed to bring good luck and prosperity in the coming year to those who eat them on New Year's Eve and represent the money that you will earn in the coming year. So the more you eat, the more you!

If you're looking for love, or a bit of help in the fertility department, red underwear is the way to go on New Year's Eve. To complete the ritual, these red delicates must be thrown out on January 1.

Sadly, several of Italy's more wild New Year traditions are rarely seen today.

In the past, people would throw old personal effects out their windows (it doesn't hurt to be wary of open windows on New Year's just in case) and smash plates, glasses, vases and other pottery against the ground to drive away bad spirits.

10. Chile

The citizens of Chile have developed a range of traditions to bring them luck and help make their wishes come true in the New Year.

Several sure-fire ways of scoring yourself some good fortune involve food and drink. Eating lentils and downing a dozen grapes - one for each month of the year - on New Year's Eve will ensure prosperity in the coming year as will drinking a glass of champagne with a gold ring inside.

Sticking a "luca" (1,000 Chilean peso bill) in your shoe before midnight will see it multiply in the coming year and, if you're feeling generous and want to spread the good will around, give your friends, family and neighbours ribbon-wrapped sprigs of wheat at midnight.

But it's not all about money.

Wear yellow undies for romance, wear them inside out for a well-stocked closet and wheel your luggage around the block if you're dreaming of travel.

- © Fairfax NZ News

What sort of traveller are you?

In search of a new Christmas ritual

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All good things come to an end

Lessons and farewells

View the original article here

Top 10 New Year's traditions

HOGMANAY: A fun-filled way to bring in the new year.

New Year is a time for fresh starts, hopes, dreams and saying goodbye to the old year.

At this time of festive camaraderie and reflection, here is a Top 10 favourite New Year traditions from across the globe:

1. Germany and Finland

How about a spot of fortune telling to ring in the New Year?

Molybdomancy is an ancient technique of divination that involves interpreting the shapes made by dropping molten lead into cold water.

On New Year's Eve in Germany and Finland, family and friends come together for a spot of lead pouring - Bleigießen in German and uudenvuodentina in Finnish - and make predictions for the coming year.

It isn't an exact science and there are no firm rules on what the shapes actually represent. A bubbly surface can mean money is coming your way; a broken shape misfortune. Ships refer to travelling; a ball means luck; a monkey says beware of false friends; and a hedgehog means someone is jealous of you. But don't get too worried if you receive a bad fortune - the predictions are just for fun.

2. Mexico

In Mexico, families celebrate New Year's (Vispera de Año Nuevo) with a mix of religion, tradition, superstition and special festive foods.

Families decorate their homes in colours that represent wishes for the upcoming year: red for love, yellow for work and green for money. For even more wishes, Mexicans eat a grape (preferably seedless) with each of the 12 clock chimes at the stroke of midnight, while making a wish with each grape.

To start the year with a clean slate, another tradition involves writing a list of all the bad and unhappy events that happened over the year, then before midnight the list is thrown into a fire and the negative feelings of the past year are gone.

In keeping with the country's Catholic traditions, Mexican sweet bread (Rosca de Reyes) is baked with a coin or charm hidden in the dough. When the bread is served, whoever gets the slice with the coin or charm is said to be blessed with good luck for the New Year.

3. Wales

Calennig, the Welsh name for New Year, means New Year celebration or gift and since ancient times the tradition in Wales has been to give gifts and money to friends, family and neighbours. Today, it is customary to give bread and cheese on New Year's morning, with children receiving skewered apples covered with raisins and fruit. In some parts of Wales, people must visit all their relatives by midday to collect their Calennig. That's a lot of bread and cheese!

4. Japan

The Japanese New Year (Oshogatsu) is marked with a range of cultural and religious traditions from eating special family meals and making temple visits to sending postcards. Since 1873 Oshogatsu has been celebrated on January 1, but traditionally it followed the Chinese lunar calendar. O-misoka (New Year's Eve) welcomes Toshigami, the New Year's god, and across the country people celebrate with concerts, countdowns and fireworks as well as more traditional activities.

It is customary to send handwritten New Year's Day postcards (nengajo) to friends and family and the post office guarantees any cards sent in time will arrive on January 1.

Food plays a big part in New Year's celebrations. People eat a special selection of dishes called osechi-ryori, including of boiled seaweed (konbu), fish cakes (kamaboko), mashed sweet potato with chestnut (kurikinton), simmered burdock root (kinpira gobo), and sweetened black soybeans (kuromame).

Around 11 pm, people gather at home for one last time in the old year and eat a bowl of noodles-long noodles are associated with crossing over from one year to the next.

On the stroke of midnight, Buddhist Temples across the country ring their bells exactly 108 times. One of the most breathtaking celebrations takes place at the Zojoji Temple in Tokyo where thousands of people gather to release silver helium balloons carrying New Year's wishes into the midnight sky.

After the clocks strike 12, many families visit a shrine or temple for Hatsumode (first shrine visit of the year).

On New Year's Day, the Japanese give money to children in a tradition known as otoshidama. Money is handed in small decorated envelopes called pochibukuro. The amount of money given depends on the age of the child, but it is not uncommon for kids to get more than ¥10,000 (US$120).

5. Philippines

In the Philippines, New Year's Eve (Bisperas ng Bagong Taon) is a public holiday and people usually celebrate in the company of family and close friends. Traditionally, most households host or attend a Media Noche (dinner party).

Most Filipinos follow a set of traditions that includes wearing clothes with dots (in the belief that circles attract money and fortune) and bright colours to show enthusiasm for the coming year.

Throwing coins at the stroke of midnight is said to increase wealth as does serving circular shaped fruits and shaking of coins inside a metal can while walking around the house.

Things really get loud as people make noises by blowing on cardboard or plastic horns (torotot) banging pots and pans, playing music, or lighting fireworks to scare away bad spirits.

6. Scotland

Hogmanay is the Scots word for the last day of the year and has become one of the world's most recognized New Year's celebrations.

The roots of Hogmanay date back to the celebration of the winter solstice, incorporating elements of the Gaelic celebration of Samhain.

There are many customs, local and national, linked with Hogmanay. The most widespread is the practice of 'first-footing' which starts immediately after midnight. First-footing involves being the first person to cross the threshold of a friend or neighbour's home and giving symbolic gifts such as salt, coal, shortbread, whisky, and black bun (a rich fruit cake) to bring luck to the householder. This goes on throughout the early hours of the morning and into the next day, and can last well into mid-January.

But it's not just about ancient traditions in Scotland. On New Year's Day a new custom has begun to take hold - the Loony Dook. Since 1987, the brave (and the mad) have taken the plunge into the icy cold River Forth in Queensferry, Edinburgh for a refreshing start to the year. A sure fire way to get rid of a hangover, the event attracts thousands of Loonies, spectators and swimmers alike.

7. Ecuador

One of Ecuador's quirkiest traditions sees men putting on their finest frocks and dressing up as women to represent the "widow" of the year that has passed.

However, the focus of the country's celebrations comes in a much more fiery form.

At midnight, families and communities come together to light fireworks and burn Monigotes - papier-mâché effigies - of politicians, public figures and popular culture icons.

The puppets range from small, simple, homemade offerings to giant, detailed, professionally made creations.

The puppets are filled with sawdust or newspaper and, in some cases, firecrackers. Burning the Monigotes represents getting rid of the bad feelings, events and spirits of the past year.

8. Greece

While Christmas in Greece is a relatively solemn occasion, New Year's Day is filled with celebrations and gift giving. January 1 is the name day of Aghios Vassilis (St. Basil), the Greek Santa Claus, and many customs are based upon his arrival.

On the morning of New Year's Eve, children go door to door and ask permission to sing kalanta (carols) to bring good wishes to their neighbours, announce the coming of Aghios Vassilis and bless the house.

Later in the evening, families gather for a meal of roast lamb or pork and an extra place is set at the table for Aghios Vassilis.

An onion is hung on the front door (alongside a pomegranate that has been hanging since Christmas) as a symbol of rebirth and growth.

Around midnight the household lights are switched off and the family goes outside. One lucky person is given the pomegranate and smashes it against the door as the clock strikes midnight.

As the New Year rolls over, Greek families all over the world cut into a cake - the Vassilopita - bearing the name of Aghios Vassilis. Each Vassilopita is baked with a coin or medallion hidden inside and whoever gets it will be rewarded with good fortune in the New Year.

9. Italy

As you might expect, New Year's celebrations in Italy start with eating a whole heap of delicious foods.

The evening begins with the traditional dish, "cotechino e lenticchie." Cotechino is a savoury pork sausage that contains "lo zampone," the actual hoof of the pig, and is a symbol of abundance. Lenticchie (lentils) are believed to bring good luck and prosperity in the coming year to those who eat them on New Year's Eve and represent the money that you will earn in the coming year. So the more you eat, the more you!

If you're looking for love, or a bit of help in the fertility department, red underwear is the way to go on New Year's Eve. To complete the ritual, these red delicates must be thrown out on January 1.

Sadly, several of Italy's more wild New Year traditions are rarely seen today.

In the past, people would throw old personal effects out their windows (it doesn't hurt to be wary of open windows on New Year's just in case) and smash plates, glasses, vases and other pottery against the ground to drive away bad spirits.

10. Chile

The citizens of Chile have developed a range of traditions to bring them luck and help make their wishes come true in the New Year.

Several sure-fire ways of scoring yourself some good fortune involve food and drink. Eating lentils and downing a dozen grapes - one for each month of the year - on New Year's Eve will ensure prosperity in the coming year as will drinking a glass of champagne with a gold ring inside.

Sticking a "luca" (1,000 Chilean peso bill) in your shoe before midnight will see it multiply in the coming year and, if you're feeling generous and want to spread the good will around, give your friends, family and neighbours ribbon-wrapped sprigs of wheat at midnight.

But it's not all about money.

Wear yellow undies for romance, wear them inside out for a well-stocked closet and wheel your luggage around the block if you're dreaming of travel.

- © Fairfax NZ News

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A Tokyo New Year's

Tokyo is one of the world's most crowded and bustling cities, but anyone who travels there around New Year's will be able to see a far different face as workaholic Japan takes its longest holiday of the year.

Christmas, which is a normal work day, is mainly a retail event, with Japan devoting all its energy to "Oshogatsu," the New Year period extending roughly from December 29 to January 3 - the first part in frantic preparation, the second in enjoyment.

Days of dry, crisp cold bring clear air and sharp views of Mount Fuji from many parts of the city, and with most Japanese companies closed and many people back in their hometowns, trains and streets empty out and the capital takes on a laid-back and leisurely air for those who choose to stay.

DAY 1

5pm: Head to "Ameyokocho," one of Tokyo's oldest market streets. Bracketing the raised tracks of the Yamanote Line and running south from Ueno Station on Tokyo's northern side, the area is boisterous on regular weekends but really cranks it up at this time of year as people come shopping for New Year feasting. Just about anything imaginable is for sale here - fish on trays of ice, piled vegetables and fruits. Vendors shout to attract business under bright lights, and pots of food at nearby open-air restaurant stalls steam in the cold.

New Year food is called "Osechi," and housewives prepare enough for the three days from New Year's day so they don't have to do any cooking then. Most foods have symbolic meanings, like simmered black soybeans for good health, and herring roe, which symbolizes a wish to have many children. Many people eat sea bream, whose Japanese name echoes the word "congratulations."

6pm: If you decide not to drop into one of the restaurants under the train tracks for some sticks of grilled meat and a glass or two of hot sake, hop on the Yamanote Line at Okachimachi Station and get off a few stops later at Yurakucho, on the edge of the posh Ginza shopping area.

The area under the tracks is crammed with restaurants, from Italian to Thai and Californian cuisine. But try "Andy's Shin Hinomoto," across from the Yurakucho Denki Building. Run by genial Briton Andy, Shin Hinomoto features sashimi, stir fries, tempura and daily specials in a long room with arched ceilings and a jovial, casual atmosphere. As the evening wears on, loud groups of people drift out into the street after "Bonenkai," or "Forget the Year" parties, in many cases a bit the worse for wear.

9pm: Stroll the Ginza, checking out the window decorations in stores like Cartier, or lit-up trees in front of Mikimoto, the pearl shop. Other colorful displays can be found in Roppongi Hills or the Marunouchi area near Tokyo Station.

As New Year's day nears, many stores will also sport large "kadomatsu" decorations - literally "gate pines" - consisting of pine boughs and bamboo stalk arrangements on each side of the door. This is echoed in private homes, where pine is used to welcome ancestral spirits.

Stop to admire the lit-up front of Tokyo Station, unveiled in its pre-war classical brick glory in October after an extensive exterior renovation.

DAY 2

9am: Take the Ginza Subway line to Asakusa and make your way to Sensoji, the Asakusa Kannon temple. Enter through the Kaminarimon, a bright red gate with a huge dangling lantern, and head up the Nakamise shopping street. Though many of the goods here are of the cheap souvenir variety, other stalls offer crisp, freshly made rice crackers and other tasty treats.

Sensoji is popular for "Hatsumode," or the first shrine and temple visits of the New Year, when people go to pray for good luck in the coming year. It can take hours to move the 200 metres up Nakamise, but the mood is jovial amidst incense smoke from huge metal burners near the main temple building. Millions visit Sensoji and other popular sites, such as the Meiji Shrine, during the first three days of the year - some wearing the traditional kimono.

Other people make these visits at midnight on the 31st, when temple bells all over Japan boom out 108 times for each of the sins of mankind. Trains run all night and some restaurants and pubs stay open until dawn.

Afterwards, wander around the Asakusa area, which still has an old neighbourhood flavour. About five minutes' walk from the temple is a street of open-air restaurants selling grilled meat on skewers and stewed tripe with tofu. Belly up to a counter stool and have some beer or hot sake.

1pm: Head east across the Sumida River. You'll pass the headquarters of Asahi Beer - recognisable by the "Flamme d'Or" (Golden Flame) sculpture on its roof that locals refer to as "The Golden Turd" - on your way to Tokyo's newest landmark: the Tokyo Skytree.

A futuristic broadcasting tower of dubious beauty, the Skytree is 634-metres high and has been certified by Guinness as the world's tallest tower. It anchors a shopping and pleasure complex that includes movie theatres and an aquarium, and boasts two observation decks: one at 350m and the other at 450m. 

Tickets to the observatories cost 2000 yen (NZ$28.80) for the lower one and 1000 yen for the higher one, and can be bought on the day. But check the website for special periods, such as New Year's, when other arrangements may have to be made.

6pm: Feel daring? Then eat at Torafugu Tei Monzen Naka-cho, which features fugu, the blowfish that can be fatal if improperly prepared. Torafugu Tei has reasonably priced courses that start with delicate slices of raw fugu fanned across a plate and ends with a thick rice porridge in fugu-flavoured soup. To drink, try hot sake with a lightly grilled fugu fin in it for flavor.

DAY 3

8am: If it's the first or fourth Sunday of the month, check out the flea market at the Togo Shrine, at Harajuku Station on the Yamanote Line. The shrine is crowded with vendors selling everything from junk to elaborate wedding kimonos and antiques. Also on the first Sunday is a flea market at Arai Yakushi Shrine at Arai Yakushi-mae on the Seibu Shinjuku Line. Hope for good weather as it's cancelled in the event of rain.

11am: Brunch at Suji's, a restaurant in the Roppongi entertainment district with all the traditional options, including Eggs Benedict or even just two eggs with home fries and toast. Large portions and good prices.

1pm: With the construction of several new museums in recent years, Roppongi is now billing itself as "Art Triangle Roppongi." Within a short walking distance are the Mori Art Museum, the Suntory Museum of Art, and The National Art Center, Tokyo. Notable is the Mori Art Museum, on the 53rd floor of the Mori Tower in the Roppongi Hills complex, which offers good views along with the art. Both Roppongi Hills and the Tokyo Midtown, near the National Art Center, have seasonal light displays.

3pm: Take the Hibiya Subway line up to Akihabara, Tokyo's electronics Mecca. Year-end bargains are likely to abound, and many stores - like stores all over Japan - offer "fukubukuro," or lucky bags, on January 1. Each bag is sold for a set price, but the contents are unknown. Take a chance!

- Reuters

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Southeast Asia on a Shoestring, 20 years (and a child) later

When we bought our 1992 edition of Southeast Asia on a Shoestring to start making travel plans, there was no Internet. No social media, no hostel booking sites, no Thorn Tree, no TripAdvisor. Not even Hotmail.

When we saved enough and packed up that guidebook, my girlfriend and I put everything in storage and hit the road for a year. For that first trip, both our planning and our travels depended heavily on a book that many travellers referred to as ‘the bible’. Travelling through multiple countries without it was extremely difficult.

Southeast Asia on a Shoestring then and now, 1992 and 2012

That original guidebook still included Hong Kong and Macau, but Vang Vieng wasn’t even listed for Laos. The cover was amateurish and inside there’s not a top-10 or ‘best of’ list in sight. A prominent request at the front of the book asks for letters of clarification from travellers, promising a free guidebook for the most helpful ones.

We carried travelers’ checks and lots of $100 bills stashed in hidden places. ATMs were a novelty still in much of Southeast Asia. Our guidebook said, ‘Money sent by telegraphic transfer should reach you in a couple of days.’

Sometimes we scored a terrific deal thanks to our guidebook’s advice. Other times the recommended guesthouse had gone downhill or our shoestring budget led us to a real hovel. With no online feedback, reputations good and bad took time to spread.

After getting warmed up all over Thailand, we traveled by train to eastern Malaysia. After Kota Bharu, we chilled on the blissfully rustic Perhentian Islands back before the word was out, checking in at Abdul’s Chalets, the place our guidebook listed as ‘the quietest and one of the best places to stay.’ We paid $4.80 a night double, with an oceanfront view from our verandah.

We made our way through Malaysia to Singapore and across Indonesia to Lombok before circling back to Thailand and flying west to Nepal. Along the way, our trusty book led us to $3 motorbike rentals, great $1.50 meals, and the occasional travel agency that could be trusted. It also clued us in on how to get a driver for the day for $5 without also getting caught in a gem scam.

The author and then-girlfriend Donna at the top of Mt Merapi, Java (top), and after a batik class, Yogyakarta (bottom), 1994. Photo: Tim Leffel.

In the summer of 2012 we went back to Asia—that girlfriend turned wife and I—but taking along the daughter born 11 years ago. This time we had a vacation budget and a youngster’s attention span to factor in. Twenty years ago our budget was $20 a day for two after flights. This time we were aiming for $150 a day for three. We’d gotten older and a litter wiser. Had we also gotten a bit, well, softer? We would see: for old time’s sake we packed the latest edition of the old standby, Southeast Asia on a Shoestring.

Comparing the old book to the new, many things were cheaper then, but not all of them. Back then, it cost a staggering $120 to visit Angkor Wat – if you could manage to make it there. With almost no hotels to choose from in the midst of a civil war, the few budget doubles in Siem Reap were listed from $12 to $30.

Fast forward to 2012 and the world has changed as much as we have. We headed out for a three week trip to Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam packing tools and information that were unthinkable back then. We had apps with maps, booking services in the palm of our hand, and the ability to see what other travelers we’d never met experienced at any hotel we’d want to visit. We could log in from any computer and find train schedules. Now we could, with a few taps and a credit card, book a double room at one of 50 hotels in Siem Reap, Cambodia listed for under $30 a night.

Part of the fun of looking back at that original trip is the differences of course, but it’s kind of comforting to return and recognize the essential elements that haven’t changed. The street food is still as varied, the markets are just as frantic, and the bargains are still as prevalent no matter what your budget may be. And here’s a journal entry from Chiang Mai in 1994 that could have been written yesterday:

‘Sidewalks are not meant for pedestrians. Sidewalks are a place to park your car, leave your motorbike, sell vegetables, set up a food stall, store your merchandise—anything more productive than walking from place to place.’

We appreciated our guidebook’s background info on the Grand Palace of Bangkok, the best parts of Angkor, the royal tombs of Hue, and the old city of Hanoi. We had apps for that, but they always felt more like a brochure than a resource: too brief, too fragmented, with no narrative flow. Like us though, LP guidebooks have changed and grown up too. They have gotten wise to feeding readers what they want (like itineraries and highlights) and have figured out how to appeal to a wider audience, including families.

We used our book daily, especially for maps, but things were different now for us vacationing parents and their child. Looking at accommodation recommendations 20 years later, we felt…old. We’ll pass on that fan-cooled room with a shared cold-water shower for $7 a night, thank you. We’ll take the hotel with air-con and a private bath with nice towels.

Like Lonely Planet, two decades later we’ve grown up, gotten wiser, and yes, perhaps gotten a little softer.

Alina, Donna and Tim Leffel at the Silom Thai Cooking School, 2012. Photo: Tim Leffel.

Tim Leffel is author of ‘The World’s Cheapest Destinations‘ and editor of PerceptiveTravel.com, home to monthly travel stories from book authors on the move.

Lonely Planet’s Southeast Asia on a shoestring – all grown up but still the definitive guide to budget travel in Southeast Asia.

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