The prospect of hanging out with all those weird and annoying relatives so soon after the lame office party is not always compelling. 'Hell is other people,' as the French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre puts it, and he probably penned these words during the festive season. Anyway, last year you stuck around over Christmas and regretted it, but this time round you have just enough time to plan an escape, right? Carl Sutherland suggests some terrific Christmas destinations, all only a few hours of flying time away - but every one a great distance from your extended family, irksome colleagues, thoughts of work and glittery seasonal overkill Heavenly hilltop retreat High in the forested hills of northern Thailand, festive season fun awaits guests at Veranda Chiang Mai - The High Resort (below ), a luxury spa retreat. The Festive Season Special, for arrivals from December 22 to 24 at the popular getaway for Bangkok's smart set, offers three nights in a valley deluxe room including a traditional Christmas party with live entertainment, priced at 32,000 baht (HK$7,170). Also included is a spa massage for two, airport transfers to and from Chiang Mai International Airport, daily breakfast for two and welcome drinks. For arrivals from December 29 to 31, the New Year's Eve High Party package also offers three nights in a valley deluxe room with a grand buffet dinner and live entertainment counting down to the New Year, and a fireworks display welcoming 2009, priced at 36,900 baht. rsvn-chiangmai@verandaresortandspa.com , +66 2 5133003 (Bangkok) or +66 53 365362 (Chiang Mai), www.verandaresortandspa.com/chiangmai/ Take to the high seas If taking a leisurely cruise is your thing, the Royal Caribbean International, Legend of the Seas, is set to sail around the region with stop-offs at Penang, Phuket and other sunshine destinations. Apart from endless buffets and the usual games and shows to keep you entertained as you drift along, this magnificent vessel also offers such non-nautical activities as rock climbing and golfing. Your seven days of heaven on the ocean waves departs on December 22 and 31 - another great way to end the year. From HK$6,890. Swire Travel 31518855, www.swiretravel.com Bali Bliss Balinese spa and yoga retreat Uma Ubud (below) is offering Christmas and New Year packages that combine pampering and party celebrations on Indonesia's most paradisiacal island. Prices start from US$1,135 (HK$8,797). A three-night getaway, including Christmas Eve dinner, Christmas Day lunch and a 60-minute Indonesian massage per person with daily breakfast and return airport transfers, starts at US$1,135 for a terrace room. The five-night package over New Year is priced from US$1,590 to US$2,690. And the package for eight nights over both Christmas and New Year includes all festive celebrations and is priced from US$2,450 to US$4,115. res.ubud@uma.como.bz Tranquil Thai If it's tranquility and natural surroundings you are after, the Six Senses Hideaway (left and left below), located near Hua Hin, Thailand, a royal resort popular with Thais needing an escape from the big city, is offering a free night on each booking of two nights. Accommodation at this understated yet luxurious resort consists of spacious, light-filled villas with private pools and lush tropical gardens. A must-do is a trip to the resort's magical Earth Spa, a series of mud beehive-shaped treatment rooms surrounded by lily ponds and connected by wooden walkways. There is a vast range of treatments including massages, facials, yoga classes, Tibetan singing bowl meditation and more. The offer, available through most Hong Kong travel agencies, runs until March 31 next year (not available for arrivals between December 28 and January 5). www.sixsenses.com Back to basics If you seek the real Bangkok without tacked-on western glamour, there is a five-day, four-night package priced at HK$3,190, provided you depart on December 22 or 25. The airline is Thai Airways and the hotel is the three-star Ibis Siam Bangkok. This is a great opportunity to do some shopping or sightseeing and general drifting around in a fascinating metropolis with nothing more than a guidebook in your hand and a little curiosity. Five days is just long enough to take in a trip to Pattaya (still gratuitously seedy despite efforts to gentrify this sin city) or the ancient capital of Ayutthaya, 80 kilometres north of Bangkok. Swire Travel at 31518855, www.swiretravel.com Big in Bangkok The Metropolitan Bangkok hotel (above) promises the jaded Hongkonger a fabulous time, with yuletide feasts at its award-winning Cy'an restaurant and one of the city's hottest New Year countdowns. Over Christmas, a menu of traditional and modern festive dishes will be served, from unique recipes handed down through the generations and from some created just for fun. Christmas Eve dinner consists of a seven-course extravaganza, while on Christmas Day a luxury six-course course blow-out is offered. Following on from a fabulous New Year's Eve dinner, the hotel's New Year celebrations promise a euphoric blend of cool music and good vibes into 2009. Prices from HK$2,300 for a double room per night. +66 2 625 3322 or +66 2 625 3323, res.bkk@metropolitan.como.bz Happy on Hainan Sanya, the hub of Hainan Island that is fast developing as a tourist resort, is just an hour away by air. It offers excellent water sports, wonderful seafood, clean beaches and one of China's smallest provincial capitals - which gets rather exciting after the sun goes down. One can also visit the nearby tropical rainforest on a tour and learn about the remarkable ecology of China's second-largest island. A package will take you there for four days and three nights, departing on Christmas Day, at the absurdly modest price of HK$2,990. Accommodation is at the four-star Days Hotel & Suites Sanya Resort. Swire Travel 31518855, www.swiretravel.com Above the clouds For a truly awesome Christmas and New Year, escaping to the snowcapped peaks of the Himalayas is as thrilling as it gets. Located in rarely visited Bhutan, the resort of Uma Paro (above) is a portal into another world. The resort has also put together a remarkable seven-night programme over the festive season, which culminates in memorable events on both Christmas Day and New Year's Eve, including a menu created by world-renowned chef Jillene Slui, a traditional archery tournament and folk music and dance performances. The programme, which can begin on any day between December 20 and 29, incorporates the region's most inspiring sights. These include visits to Paro town, the Haa Valley and Bhutan's capital Thimphu. The highlight will be a visit to the magnificent Taktshang Goemba (the Tiger's Nest) Monastery. The Christmas and New Year package is available from US$3,419 (HK$26,500) per person (based on two people sharing), and it includes all of the taxes, government fees, full board, guide and airport transfers. www.uma.como.bz/index.asp Breathtaking Borneo If you don't mind heading due south on Christmas Day, four days of fun await at Kota Kinabalu. Priced from HK$6,490, the flight-and-accommodation package includes three nights at the five-star Nexus Resort Karambunai, located in Kota Kinabalu, the state capital of Sabah, Malaysia. The proximity of Borneo National Park and the imposing Mount Kinabalu, Southeast Asia's tallest peak, offers plenty of adventure possibilities, such as trekking and mountain biking, which the concierge will happily help you with. Swire Travel 31518855, www.swiretravel.com Terrific Tokyo Five days at Tokyo's four-star Grand Plaza Metropolitan could be just the thing to say sayonara to the winter blues. The only mondai (problem) is that departure is on Christmas Eve, but if you can take that in your stride then all the attractions of the planet's largest city await. Be sure to visit the legendary Tsukiji Market, especially if you are an early riser - the place is at its most frenetic and fun at 5am. For a taste of leisurely cafe society, just like we don't have in Hong Kong, while away a few hours on the city's loveliest and most elegant boulevard, Omotesando. This fly-and-stay package (Cathay) costs from HK$7,590. Swire Travel 31518855, www.swiretravel.com The beach less travelled Central Vietnam's five-star spa resort, the Nam Hai (below), overlooks the famous but still relatively undeveloped China Beach, voted by Forbes magazine as one of the world's 10 most beautiful beaches. It is an excellent place for a festive season getaway, offering superb Christmas programmes and a lovely change of scenery. The season will start on Christmas Eve, with mulled wine and mince pies, and with carols performed by The Da Nang Church Choir in The Bar, and a surprise appearance by Santa Claus to delight youngsters. And from there it just gets better and better, with the proceedings culminating in a New Year's Eve party with live music and more surprises from Vietnam's premier oceanside luxury resort. One-bedroom villas cost from HK$5,820 per night. www.ghmhotels.com Shanghainese decadence The designer boutique hotel JIA Shanghai, centrally located at number 931 on the city's buzzing West Nanjing Road, is celebrating Christmas and New Year in style, culminating in a New Year's Eve countdown party with free-flowing bubbly. There are also festivities on Christmas Eve, with the hotel's signature Italian restaurant Issimo serving a six-course menu priced at ... well just put it on your plastic. The multicourse Christmas Day lunch and New Year's Eve dinner are ever more awesome. The New Year's countdown package price is 288 yuan (HK$327) per person - both for dinner guests and for those who want to join the New Year's Eve party without dinner. The price includes a traditional Italian treat at midnight, cotechino (pork sausage) with lentils, a dish said to bring luck, warmth, peace and happiness. JIA Shanghai is also offering a special overnight rooms package on New Year's Eve, priced at 1,988 yuan for a chic Studio Plus room, with the rate including free-flowing prosecco for two at the countdown party, or 2,988 yuan additionally including dinner-for-two. To help guests recover from the previous night's party's excesses, on New Year's Day, Issimo will be serving a massive brunch of assorted eggs, meats and carbs, and a cocktail 'hangover cure'. +862162179000, rez@jiashanghai.com Groovy Korea Four days and three nights is just about enough time to take in Seoul, but you'll leave wanting to come back. The South Korean capital is packed with outstanding museums and palaces, funky bars and night clubs, and even a mountainous parkland in the centre of the city. And if you are a fan of fiery Korean food, there's really no better place to experience it as Seoul is also home to countless restaurants offering the distinctly different fare of every province south of the Demilitarised Zone. You might even want to take in some skiing at the nearby Yongpyong ski resort (above). This package costs from HK$5,090, with accommodation at the four-star Novotel Ambassador Gangnam. 3151 8855, www.swiretravel.com Hilton hideaways Hilton Hotels has a 25 per cent discount on the entire hotel bill for guests who book and pay before January31, 2009. The discount is applicable on hotel Best Available Rates, standard prices on hotel restaurants, spas, laundry and other hotel managed services and facilities. It applies to stays of two nights or more until December31, 2009. The discount is available at the following Hilton Hotels in Southeast Asia: Malaysia Hilton Kuala Lumpur; Hilton Petaling Jaya; Hilton Kuching; Hilton Batang Ai Longhouse Resort. Philippines Hilton Cebu Resort & Spa. Singapore Hilton Singapore. Thailand Millennium Hilton Bangkok, Hilton Hua Hin Resort & Spa, Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort & Spa. Vietnam Hilton Hanoi Opera. www.hilton.com/asia Macau magic Escape and absorb the rich culture and heritage of this charming city. Four Seasons Hotel Macao, on the Cotai Strip, is an oasis of tranquility that oozes comfort and style. Until December20, there will be a special rate HK$2,400 per night for a deluxe room with complimentary scheduled shuttle service from Pac On Ferry Terminal in Macau between 10.30am and 11.30pm. +85328818881, reservations.mac @fourseasons.com