5 Things to Do in Malaysia this Chinese New Year 2016

Gong Xi! Gong Xi!

It is Chinese New Year (CNY) again! It is one of the festival which is observe by almost all the Chinese around the world. It marks the beginning of the year in the Lunar Calendar and the Chinese believes everything will be brought into newness. But sometimes, we might run out of ideas to what to do during CNY especially when you are not a Chinese. Take time to read through and probably it might give you some good ideas to how to spend your time during this festive season.

Reunion

The most happening place during CNY is at Chinese homes, no doubt about that. It is a norm for the Chinese to come back from afar and being reunited with their family. Your old schoolmate who had migrated to other country or transferred to other states might be back to hometown to celebrate CNY too. Call them up or organize an schoolmate reunion, somebody got to do it, if not you, who? There is a lot of things to catch up since the last meet up though. Be reminded that the first day of CNY is their family time, so plan your time ahead.

Alternative - If you do not have anyone to visit or not being invited to any of the open house, try to pay a visit to old folks or orphanage. These are the people who are feeling most lonely during this period. While their possible family members or relatives are happily celebrating Chinese New Year with sumptuous food, they probably only having some extras Julie's biscuit from the social worker. Be there and spend sometime chatting with them, they just want someone to listen. It can be a good lesson for your children, to show them how fortunate they are and teaching them to honor the elders.

Drive to Downtown

When you got lost at downtown, what do you do? Use GPS? Ask for directions? What if network line is down and you are too shy to ask for directions? It is the most appropriate time to get familiar with all the streets at downtown during this period. It has almost zero traffic and you can drive to anywhere, ~~anyhow~~ within seconds, you thought you had entered into a ghost town. Serious. Try it to find out.

Alternative #1 - Perhaps all the roads are already at your fingertips or perhaps you do not feel like driving, you may want to bring your children on light railway train as a field trip from one end of the stations to the other. You probably would discover the empty train has the similar speed compared to the peak hours on working days.

Alternative #2 - Taking bus to downtown is another option to go around the city. The unusual empty bus brings you to the destination faster than it should be due to the light traffic but you don't expect yourself to pay one ticket for a round trip as you do with the train by refusing to get down the bus at its final stop.

Watch a Movie

Be assured that during Chinese New Year, there is no horror Chinese movie to shun. You also will not see a melodrama with its characters, trying hard to earn a pail of tears from you. The cineplexes usually offers comedy to cheer everyone up during this festive season. If you are feeling moody or about to, get a pack of popcorn and laugh through this coming CNY instead.

Alternative - Tickets are all sold out? Well, you can stay at home, get yourself a few bottles of Pringles and cans of cola before your 42" flat screen plasma. Gear up and run a movie marathon! Here are some suggestion:

The Hobbit and The Lord of The Rings. Everything must have something to begin with and you just can't stop at the first without any conclusion.
The Star Wars. The latest entry is good enough to awaken your force within you to watch all of them all over again.
James Bond. From Sean Connery to Daniel Craig. After watching the latest stunt, it is time to do some revision. ***Warning. Faint hearted are not advised to perform this due to long hours before the TV. ***
X-Men. Get prepared for the coming new entry in the middle of the year.

….and the list goes on....

Travel

CNY has at least two days of holidays, and if you take a few days of leave, you can have a long holiday and good enough for traveling. If you are too used with the way where Malaysian Chinese celebrate their CNY, try to experience the "real" Chinese CNY celebration in China and Hong Kong. There are tons of street events to entertain the locals and tourists. Oh, you might had bought air tickets to Australia, New Zealand or Europe, then don't forget to drop by Chinatown to witness their way of celebrating CNY too.

Alternative - Maybe your Chinese colleagues had taken the leave at this period and you can't take anymore because someone has to be in the office. While having a short holiday, you still can catch a breath out from your work to a serenity place. Here are some quick suggestions for you to start planning:

a) Fraser's Hill – Quiet town on a hill reach by old single lane road, should not have much traffic.

b) Sekeping Retreats – The forest resort, good for retreat and relaxation. Located in Klang Valley, Ipoh and Penang.

c) Tioman Island - the farthest you go, the quietest it is. Enjoy the tranquility.

Have a Picnic

While the Chinese having their reunion at home, it is a good season to make up the time that was lost with family due to overtime at work. Plan a family outing at the park and have a picnic there. Exchange valuable conversation with one another and enjoy the time being together once again before going back to your cubicle.

Alternative - Maybe picnic is not a so good idea because of the sunny weather. Well you can try having a barbecue at your garage instead. All you need is to get some sausages, chicken wings, fish balls, cucumbers and cold drinks. Just remember not to burn your food on the barbecue wire rack while enjoying the fireworks from the neighborhood.