5 travel ideas for Lunar New Year in Southeast Asia

Chinese New Year is around the corner, and if you want a change from the usual hustle and bustle of the festive season, why not take the weekend off?

Up Your Instagram Game in Khao Yai, Thailand

Khao Yai is home to many unique attractions such as the Hobbit Resort (Baan Suan Noi), PB Valley Winery and Primo Piazza. Expect to up your Instagram game at these picturesque locations and capture many wonderful memories with the whole family.

While you are there, check out Khao Yai’s Tuscan-themed Palio Village, a shopping paradise where tourists can expect an array of shopping choices, from eclectic clothes labels, local independent brands to gourmet food and so much more.

Foodie Haven in Penang

Chinese New year festivities are taken seriously in Penang, so don’t miss out on the light display at Kek Lok Si Temple, Malaysia’s largest Buddhist temple. Keep your eyes peeled for lion dances, cheery decorations and firecrackers.

After all the sightseeing, take a stroll around Georgetown, Penang and you will see why this place is known as a foodie paradise. From cendol to Penang laksa, ork luak, char kway teow and more, you can expect to be eating the entire long weekend.

Read more: Top 8 street foods you should try in Penang

Embrace Yourself on Beaches in Bali

Get ready for lots of sun and sea when in Bali, be it relaxing on the beach or gearing up to catch some waves.

Chinese New Year is indeed a colourful one in Bali. Drop by Vihara Dharmayana temple in Kuta to check out the lunar new year festivities and be enthralled by the lively celebrations. While you’re at it, bring home some of that good fortune with you too!

Shop Till You Drop in Bangkok

Bangkok is the hub for great shopping and eating, so get ready to shop till you drop while you stuff your face silly with all that delicious street food.

Visit night markets such as the Rot Fai 2, haggle for the best prices at JJ Market and cafe hop to explore the unique cafe culture that Bangkok has to offer.

Head on down to Yaowarat

Head on down to Yaowarat (Chinatown) to soak in all the Chinese New Year festivities such as Dragon Parades, and visit the temples such as Wat Arun and Mang Nguan Ha Shrine to check out their decorations and take in all that festive spirit.

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A quick guide to Thailand's street food

Street food is everywhere in Thailand. Vendors set up stalls where you can get something to go or you can stop to enjoy a meal at the nearby tables and chairs. If you don't know what street foods to order, it can be a little overwhelming. Don't be afraid to be adventurous though — you just might find a new favorite dish to make back home. Here are some popular Thai street food dishes to look for during your trip.

1. Grilled Pork Stick (Moo Ping)

Isn’t this just an ordinary pork skewer like satay? Why Moo Ping is must-try however, is how they flatten the marinated meat onto a skewer for very even heating. If you observe the Japanese style of yakitori, they like to leave chunks of meat on the stick.

2. Raw Oysters ( Hoi Nang Rom Song Kreung)

Thailand takes their Oysters very seriously; with a few “oyster” bars across the city picking the freshest oysters.  Much of the oysters are sourced from different countries, but there are also local breeds which you can find in street markets like Rod Fai or Chatuchak.

Read more: Thai curry, the most amazing dish from around the world

3. Grilled Prawns (Goong Yang)

Grilled prawns by the roadside in Bangkok are usually sold together with a variety of seafood like squid or fish, and you’ll spot them easily.

4. Thai Milk Tea (Cha Yen)

Cha Yen is served all around in Thailand, and because it’s such a pervasive drink they serve it in their bubble tea stores too. Thai milk tea is made with black Ceylon tea with a mix of condensed and evaporated milk.

5. Crispy Pancake (Kanom Bueang)

Kanom Bueang are essentially bite-sized Thai-style crepes. The ‘pancake’ follows more closely to a thin wafer, made from rice flour before it is stuffed with coconut cream and shreds of coconut flesh. The stuffing also varies to include egg yolks or chopped scallions.

6. Mango Sticky Rice

Glutinous rice stacked with fresh mango and coconut milk, for some reason mangoes in Bangkok are what sweet dreams are made of. In the takeaway box, it usually comes with a sachet of coconut milk to provide moisture to the sticky glutinous rice. The Thai grains are a bit rougher (as previously mentioned) so it might not sit well with some but the absurdly sweet mango is well worth it.

7. Pandan Cake

This green pandan cake follows a Kueh mixture grafted into the shape of fruits in an iron griddle. The cake is made from flour, salt, coconut sugar and of course, pandan leaves.

Read more: The 7 Best Places to Try Thai Food in Krabi, Thailand

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How to enjoy Chinese New Year with your family

Chinese New Year, also referred to as Lunar New Year, is the most important holiday on the Chinese calendar. The holiday is a two-week festival filled with reunions among family and friends, an abundance of delicious food and wishes for a new year filled with prosperity, joy and good fortune.

Reuniting with everyone you love

Hands down, the most traditional and cherished aspect of the New Year is reuniting with family. Gathering all of the generations together to celebrate the holiday is so important that many Chinese people return to their native villages for the celebration, even if it means flying in from across the world.
Those who cannot make the trip often get together with neighbors and attend local festivities in their area.

Paying respects to elders and ancestors

At its heart, Lunar New Year is a family reunion. Paying respects to elders can take many forms, from bowing to parents and grandparents to making sure they get the first piece of roast duck at dinner.
For many people, it might be the one time of year where they visit a temple to pay respects to ancestors by lighting incense sticks and making offerings, and praying to deities. It is all part of ensuring a good start to the year for everyone, and putting the old year aside for a new beginning.

Having some childish fun

Before they can sit down to eat, families gather together and spend the evening making Chinese dumplings. One of the common Chinese New Year traditions involves concealing a coin in one of the dumplings and distributing them among family members. Whoever discovers the coin in his or her dumpling will supposedly have good luck for the New Year.

In addition, older family members present children with red money packets (red represents luck in the Chinese culture), decorated with gold designs and filled with "lucky money."

Eating and being merry

What holiday is complete without a proper feast (or feasts)? The Chinese New Year is full of delicious meals, none more significant than the highly anticipated New Year's Eve dinner, which honors family ancestors.

Uncles, aunts, cousins, grandparents, grandchildren, great grandchildren and more attend these savory events, where delicious dishes of nian gao cake, steamed rice pudding, long noodles, and dumplings are commonly served. It is a little-known fact that when fish is included, the Chinese make a particular point not to finish it for superstitious reasons.

Read more: Foods to celebrate Lunar New Year in China

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