Four Reasons to Spend Christmas or New Years on an Island

Reinventing “white Christmas” by traveling to the white sands of Bali   

"Everybody be glad because the sun is shining just for us!" image credit Pexels.com/Fernanda da Silva Lopes 

When I lived in Shanghai, China, I started my own little winter tradition. Each December, I’d spend a week or two in Bali, Indonesia. That time of year, the temperature in the Chinese southern city would drop to 40 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Not as cold as the northern capital of Beijing or Rockefeller Center in New York, but cold enough to warrant a break. For three consecutive winter holidays, I looked forward to my annual retreat to this beautiful island. I took for granted how fortunate I was to be able to hop on a plane and so easily exit big, cold city life for the warm tranquility of an island. 

Here’s why I think you should replicate my winter tradition by ending the year on an island, preferably Bali! 

1. Being Half Naked in December Is a Splendid Way to Revolt Against Winter  As soon as you step out of the airport, you’ll peel that coat off like it’s that last layer of icy cold frigidity you left back home. It will feel so freeing that it’ll take you a few minutes to process “I made it alllll the way to Bali!” Once you do, you’ll want to throw that damn coat in the trash and do a strip tease: taking off the long sleeve T-shirt next and then those jeans, as you make your way to one of the hordes of cab drivers offering to take you anywhere you need to go. Each day of your trip, you’ll stroll around randomly exclaiming: “It’s December 22nd and I’m wearing a tank top and Daisy Dukes!” Whether you’re coming from the mildly chilly temperatures of the south or the sub-zero climates of the northeast or Midwest, this alone will motivate you to repeat this new tradition the very next year. 

2. It’s Hard to Be Mad on an Island  You’ll try hard to get plussed. I mean, island life brings with it island customer service. The restaurant won’t immediately seat you because the hostess may not be at her post when you walk in. The waiter’s approach to serving you food will follow in similar fashion. The rideshare may or may not arrive at the spot you indicated on the app or within the three minutes Uber led you to believe the driver would be pulling up. When this happens, that American obsession with efficiency will whisper in your ear: “But I paid my money. This is unprofessional.” But then you’ll catch a glimpse of yourself in a nearby store window. You’ll marvel at your succulent skin, moisturized by the dewy mist from the nearby ocean. You’ll stand there waiting for the uber that’s now seven minutes late, delighting in the sun beating down on your flesh that’s browning at a perfect pace and begin to wonder how it could be so hot, yet so comfortably cool at the same time. “Oh yes, I’m on an island” you’ll remember. 

3. Eating Good For Cheap-Cheap Makes Up for Missing the Christmas Feast  There’s a chance you’ll take full advantage of being halfway around the world in December and just skip the more conventional winter holiday: Christmas time spent with family. This will make you a bit sad because, after all, gathering at your auntie’s to commune with family members you haven’t seen all year is a tradition you’ve treasured most of your life. You’ll be thinking about your family back home when you’re on one of the many half-day tours that vendors offer on almost every street corner throughout Bali. You’ll be getting off the bus to tour yet another Buddhist temple when the whiff of grilled meat seduces you away from the group and you find yourself in the park next to the temple. A brown man with a kind face will tell you if you give him $1, he will take this most delectable-looking beef off of his grill after pouring his specially made sauce on it. If you give him $3, he will give you four skewers out of the kindness of his island heart. When you give that man $5 and bite into that first skewer, you’ll wonder if the secret ingredient to this man’s special sauce is crack because you’ll reach in your pocket for all the cash you have left, begging your new uncle to cut you off some more of the Christmas roast. 

4. Island Life Itself Could Elevate Your Wellness Journey    If you’re a spa girlie by nature, you’ve probably been to every wellness space in your home city and have experimented with every massage technique from every culture around the world. Bali will not, in and of itself, offer you radical new ways to explore wellness. It will, however, allow you a level of rest and calmness that will make any wellness treatment itself feel elevated. Again, you’ll be on an island. Being surrounded by water means even as you wait in the spa’s reception room for your treatment, the soft sounds of cascading waves will naturally fill your ears. Plant life in full bloom, well nourished by the temperate climate, will offer gifts to your eyes, nose and hands. These are all just natural parts of the island’s aesthetics. The wellness space doesn’t have to do much to fancify its facilities. Bali itself has already done the heavy lifting. So when you’re finally on the therapist’s massage table or soaking in the rose petal bath, even the most insignificant rise of your blood pressure has already lowered. You started on the path to wellness the moment you stepped onto the island.