Countdown to 2019: Asia’s Best Destinations to Ring in the New Year

Say goodbye to 2018 and hello to 2019 by traveling to the best places in Asia to celebrate New Year’s Eve. Watch fireworks from a rooftop in Taipei, participate in traditional Japanese traditions in Tokyo, soak up Halong Bay’s spectacular limestone karsts, indulge champagne sorbet and lobster on Koh Samui, or stroll through an open-air art studio on Vietnam’s Cam Ranh peninsula.

Usher in the New Year with a firework extravaganza in Taipei

Grand Hyatt Taipei Exterior Night

 

Grand Hyatt Taipei Firework

Named by CNN as one of the world’s top ten spots for ringing in the New Year, Taipei is annually flooded with visitors who come to view the breathtaking fireworks show at Taipei 101. Revellers looking to kick off 2019 with a bang should look no further than the iconic Grand Hyatt Taipei. Located right next door to Taipei 101, the city’s largest five-star hotel guarantees a night of fun and excitement with a countdown party at The Residence — featuring live entertainment, a decadent buffet, free-flowing drinks as well as exclusive access to the hotel’s outdoor terrace to witness the spectacular fireworks up close and personal. For more information, please visit: https://taipei.grand.hyatt.com

Slurp soba, jive to jazz, make mochi and wave to the emperor in Tokyo

Palace Hotel Tokyo at Dusk

With Japan’s Heisei era on the verge of coming to a historic end in the new year, Palace Hotel Tokyo is presenting a suite of activities over its traditional three days of celebrations.

Palace Hotel Tokyo, New Year’s Osechi Ryori by Wadakura

At the iconic moatside property, you can eat soba noodles, feast from a lacquered box of traditional foods, and witness the first Japanese tea ceremony of the year, all to a soundtrack of koto music on Jan. 1 and 2. Lion dancers will also shimmy before audiences on the second day of the new year. The planned abdication of the current monarch in April 2019 makes this New Year the last with the current head of state — Japan’s 125th monarch to occupy the Chrysanthemum Throne (and the world’s oldest hereditary monarchy) — and Jan. 2 one of only two days in the Japanese calendar where parts of the Imperial Palace’s private grounds are opened to the public. See more details here.

Palace Hotel Tokyo, Lounge Bar Prive

Countdown to the New Year amid Halong Bay’s limestone karsts

Balconies on the Paradise Luxury

Revelers would be hard-pressed to find a more compelling destination to celebrate the new year than Vietnam’s famed Halong Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage site. To mark the occasion, Halong Bay’s leading luxury cruise provider Paradise Cruises will host special menus including delectable fresh seafood before the countdown on its Paradise Luxury, Paradise Elegance and Paradise Peak cruises.

Piano Bar Corner on Paradise Elegance

A live Filipino band will entertain with an eclectic mix of tunes ranging from jazz and pop to Vietnamese classics on Paradise Elegance. When the sun appears on New Year’s Day, guests will again be greeted by awe-inspiring vistas of the bay’s limestone karst formations rising up from turquoise waters.

Paradise Elegance Overview

Wine n’ dine on Coconut Island

Banyan Tree Samui

Those lucky enough to be spending New Year’s Eve at Banyan Tree Samui can savour a splendid six-course meal including Alaska king crab, coconut soup, champagne sorbets, succulent Boston lobster and sizzling Wagyu beef, all complemented with aromatic Thai herbs and spices. Then, it’s a slow mosey on down to the resort’s private beach where the fun n’ games begin at 10pm with traditional Thai dancing, live music and, of course, fireworks and cocktails to bring in the chimes of 2019.

Banyan Tree Samui

Soak up an open-air art studio on Cam Ranh Bay

The Anam Villas
The Anam Beach Club Pool

Taking prime advantage of its beachfront digs on Vietnam’s up and coming Cam Ranh peninsula, the Anam’s lush gardens will transform into a sprawling open-air art studio in the lead up to the New Year. The resort will hold its annual ‘Garden and Sun Artist in Residence’ from Dec. 26-31, during which guests will be encouraged to watch and talk with talented local artists as they create artwork from Dec. 26-29. The artwork will be showcased at an exhibition nightly from Dec. 29 until Dec. 31 between 5pm-7pm at Au Lac Ballroom to a backdrop of traditional Vietnamese music with complimentary drinks and canapes. The resort will also host an exquisite gala dinner, buffet and degustation menu on New Year’s Eve before the countdown at a party where DJs will spin the decks.

Garden and Sun Artist in Residence
Garden and Sun Artist in Residence

Relax in rustic Myanmar

Keinnara Resort Swimming Pool

The ethnic areas of eastern Myanmar are about as far from commercial tourism as you can get these days. But that doesn’t mean there’s no fun and games to be had in the Burmese backwaters. The Memories Group is expanding into the nether regions, and two of its new boutique eco-lodges are hosting New Year’s parties this year that might be more apace with those who prefer to celebrate in rural repose.

Keinnara Resort

Keinnara Hpa-an Lodge is beautifully nestled among a sea of limestone outcrops, rice paddies and nut plantations. This December 31, guests can kick back and savor champagne and canapés while a local Karen dance troupe entertain in the garden.

Kayah Resort

A little further north in lovely Loikaw, home to the enchanting lock-neck Karen ladies, Kayah Lodge will feature a similarly serene program, but with song and dance performed by members of their own local indigenous community.

 

Kayah Resort

 

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