Go Goa? Maybe, maybe not

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Go Goa? Naah... We say no Goa, at least this year. It's that time of the year when people ask you, "So where you going for New Year's Eve"? While people like me shrug their shoulders and say, "No clue," and for the sake of courtesy ask, "What about you?", chances are the most likely answer you would get is: "Oh, I will be partying in Goa!"

Okay, we understand that Goa is the place to be and it's all about being on the beach and it's where all the bigwigs head off to. But it's reached the point when you actually question whether there aren't enough places to spend New Year's Eve apart from Goa.

Well, there are. Even though they might not be off-beat or wacky travel destinations, they continue to be ideal getaways for the New Year. For instance, people flock to places like Udaipur and Jaipur in Rajasthan during this time.

Places in the Himalayan foothills too are a preferred choice around the New Year, according to travel industry experts. Places like the spa Ananda in the Himalayas in Rishikesh also expect to see a lot of visitors around the New Year.

Overseas destinations like Thailand and Malaysia in South-east Asia continue to be the most-booked places. So if you want to avoid crowds and the chance of running into somebody from your neighbourhood even in Thailand, then look somewhere else. Fortunately, there are choices in that neighbourhood that won't pinch your pocket too much.

Europe, surprisingly, is becoming quite a hot place to celebrate New Year's Eve. According to a few tour operators, there have been a lot of bookings and even more queries for Europe.

Sydney is another overseas destination that sees a lot of people travelling to celebrate the New Year. The cost of packages starts at about Rs 70,000 and goes upto Rs 1.5 lakh for Sydney. Of course, packages vary from three days to a week-long Christmas-New Year.

But despite all this, just like last year and the year before and the one before that, Goa will continue to be the hottest destination. So if you don't find other options suitable, then go ahead and give in: join the crowd and party in Goa!