Wishing a Merry Christmas to all our readers (mum) from Xian, China. This post has been scheduled weeks in advance, while I would love to be in contact over Christmas we cannot guarantee it. Times, schedules, blocked websites in China, will we have internet? There are too many uncertainties. For the first time we will be celebrating Christmas while travelling. My previous 3 to 4 Christmases celebrated away from home were all in Bangkok which for me is a second home. All comfortable and all surrounded with Christmas decorations, festive food, comforts and loved ones. Will we be missing the comforts we are still to find out. Many celebrating Christmas while travelling find the separation from family hard but with Fanfan I am always with family. That being said we will be missing our cat Moo Ping this Christmas. This will be her first alone 🙁 Hope you’re safe Moo Ping and keep away from the balcony.
A White Christmas?
Our travel plans include Christmas in Xi’an, New Year in Beijing then skiing and thermal spas near the Great Wall of China. We are almost guaranteed snowfall while travelling this Christmas. For me the scorching sun in Bangkok is why Christmas never feels like Christmas. As odd as it sounds I miss the cold bite of winter air. This forced us from one extreme to the other. We are swapping Bangkok temperatures of 30’c plus for temperatures as low as -10’c in China and average of around -4’c. A whole new world for both me and of course Fanfan who coming from Thailand is new(ish) to coldness. While we did find snow during our travels this year in Europe (April) the temperatures never fell below zero. We are honestly not sure what to expect… which I guess adds to the excitement. Fanfan certainly enjoys the preparation (shopping for winter clothes).
Christmas in the UK
Of course I will miss family but this is now the norm while living in Asia. I am used to it but always know Christmas back home would be a whole lot better. I am a sucker for tradition and all that comes with Christmas in the UK. Hopefully next year we will be back but for now Skype will have to do (or this blog at the least). I have scheduled this post for publishing 30 minutes before the Christmas morning church service (09.30). The start of the family Christmas. Hopefully we will be there in thoughts if we can’t be there in person. Hope you all have the perfect Christmas 🙂 Allan and Fanfan. To see our traditional family Christmas check out my video (below) from Christmas 2006. Seven years later and very little has changed (other than my movie editing skills). Great singing Dad.
Christmas in Xian
Quick update. We found Christmassy stuff, ate turkey, drank mulled wine and now have internet. After a quick Christmas Eve feast at our hotel we escape to the room for beers and a Skype call to dad for the traditional read of the night before Christmas. Yet to miss this tradition since the year I was born.
