Plan ahead for summer and autumn travel: Festivals, experiences and how to avoid the crowds in Europe

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SINGAPORE – With flight prices around the world still trending high, the surest way to bag an affordable ticket is to book early.

 

January may have just gone by, but you can start dreaming of summer and autumn vacations – from festivals in South Korea and Ireland to whale-watching in Australia. In Europe, go beyond tourist hot spots Rome and Paris to avoid the crowds.

 

1. Catch the Andong Mask Dance Festival in South Korea

 

In the farmlands of central South Korea, 180km south-east of national capital Seoul, a 700-year-old village is flanked by forested hills and the Nakdong River.

 

This is Hahoe Folk Village, one of the oldest communities in the country and a Unesco World Heritage Site. It is home to fewer than 500 people who mostly live in thatched-roof traditional homes from the Joseon Dynasty (1392 to 1910).

 

Hahoe’s serenity evaporates each year in late September, when it welcomes thousands of visitors for the Andong Mask Dance Festival.

 

This event showcases talchum, a style of Korean masked performance which began as a shamanistic ritual more than 1,000 years ago. From those eerie roots, it has evolved into a family-friendly art form of dance, music and theatre laced with comedy. Performers use caricatures to convey social issues such as criticism of social hierarchy.

 

Hahoe was one of the first places where talchum was performed, and it has its own revered version of this mask dance.

 

A blend of ancient shamanistic ceremony and dance theatre, it originated as a way to rid Hahoe of demonic spirits, but is now a form of satire.

 

In 2022, the festival ran from Sept 29 to Oct 10 and involved more than 20 separate events, including live stage shows, mask-making lessons, dance classes and firework displays. There were also guided tours of Hahoe Mask Museum, which exhibits ancient Korean masks, some up to 900 years old.

 

Dates for this year’s festival have not yet been confirmed, but are likely to take place between late September and early October. Tickets cost around 7,000 won (S$7.30). For more information, go to str.sg/wv3s

 

2. Glasgow, Eindhoven and more alternative European cities to avoid the summer crowds

 

As appealing as the weather may be, it is best to avoid a summer visit to Europe’s most popular cities such as Paris, London, Rome or Barcelona, where crowds are thick and accommodation prices at their peak.

 

Fortunately, many fine European destinations are comparatively quiet in summer. Consider the magnificent mountains of Romania, the dreamy Dutch river city of Eindhoven, the picturesque French town of Bayeux or the lively Scottish city of Glasgow.

 

Located 250km west of Paris, Bayeux is surrounded by green fields, embellished by Gothic architecture, and houses one of France’s most important artefacts, the 11th-century Bayeux Tapestry. Almost 70m long, this ancient cloth depicts the conquest of England by the Duke of Normandy through intricate, embroidered images.

 

Scotland’s largest city, Glasgow, draws visitors with its deep history and mediaeval architecture.

 

While it is often overshadowed by the more well-known Edinburgh, located an hour away by road, tourists who make it to Glasgow can appreciate its splendid 12th-century cathedral. Also visit the University of Glasgow, with beautiful Gothic architecture resembling Hogwarts Castle in the Harry Potter movies.

 

Creativity is the drawcard in Eindhoven, a laid-back Dutch city of about 250,000 people that has become a hub of modern art. The Van Abbemuseum, MU Hybrid Art House and Cova Art Gallery, which all showcase contemporary art, are worth a visit. The city is 100km south, or a 90-minute train ride from tourist magnet Amsterdam.

 

Those seeking natural splendour can ascend the gorgeous Transylvanian mountains of Romania. From national capital Bucharest, take a scenic train ride north towards the town of Sinaia. The ride takes about 90 minutes.

 

There, amid wondrous alpine scenery, sit two commanding and fascinating castles – Peles and Pelisor.

 

Constructed in the late 1700s for Romanian King Carol I, Peles is striking with its ostentatious blend of Gothic, French Rococo and Italian Renaissance designs.

 

Or wander through Pelisor, built for the nephew and heir of the king. It is similarly ornate, embellished by intricate woodwork and colourful murals.

 

3. See Nepal’s mystical child goddesses in the flesh

 

Nepal’s child goddesses, called Kumari, spend most of the year in grand old mansions. The pre-pubescent girls, believed to be living incarnations of a goddess, are worshipped by the Newar people who live in the Kathmandu Valley.

 

See them in the flesh during Indra Jatra – a festival that celebrates Indra, known as the king of Hindu gods and associated with rains and a good harvest. The festival lasts eight days and begins on Sept 28 in 2023.

 

The highlight, of course, is catching a glimpse of the Kumari while her chariot makes a procession through the streets of Kathmandu. Bedecked in a resplendent Newari outfit with a third eye painted on her forehead, it is said that making eye contact with one will link you to deities and bring great fortune.

 

Even if you do not manage to do so, there are masked dancers known as Lakhay performing in the streets and a vibrant atmosphere in the nation’s capital. During this time, the palaces and shrines of Kathmandu become even more beautiful, lit up by thousands of glowing oil wicks.

 

4. Go whale-watching in Western Australia

 

The long, pristine coastline of Western Australia (WA) is a draw for tourists – and also for whales.

 

Seeing one of these colossal beasts emerge from the sea is something that will long remain imprinted on your memory – which is why May to December is the perfect time to visit the state.

 

That is when the state hosts the annual migrations of pods of humpback, blue and southern right whales. They make a slow, deliberate journey along WA’s long coastline, from Albany in the south to Broome in the north, in search of food.

 

You can go whale-spotting from multiple towns. From July to November, glimpse whales cruising past the southern town of Walpole, a five-hour drive from Perth. Head to Conspicuous Cliff, a coastal lookout, for a good view.

 

On the south-west coast, Flinders Bay in Augusta, a 3½-hour drive from WA capital Perth, is both a nursery for southern right whales and a migratory stopping point for humpbacks. Between June and August, join whale-watching boat tours from Augusta such as All Sea Charters, which charges $90 a person for a two-hour ocean excursion.

 

These mammals then swim north past Margaret River, Bunbury and Perth, where whale-watching tours are aplenty.

 

A 2½-hour drive north of Perth, Jurien Bay is a famed winter playground for humpbacks. View them in September and October, before the weather warms up at the end of the year.

 

5. Festivals galore in Galway, Ireland’s event capital

 

While Dublin is Ireland’s biggest and best known city, no metropolis encapsulates the Irish spirit quite like Galway.

 

Despite having a population of just 100,000 people, this university city in western Ireland throbs with energy, particularly between June and September when it hosts a torrent of events.

 

For arts buffs, soak in the Galway International Arts Festival, the Galway Fringe Festival and the Summer Drama Festival, which encompass film, comedy, theatre, literature and music.

 

In June and July, almost every street in Galway feels like it is hosting an event. For more information, go to str.sg/wv37

 

For those looking for spectacle, the Galway Races (galwayraces.com) are legendary. Horses are the focus of this racing festival, but just as compelling is the social scene where locals dress up to the nines to drink cocktails and beer, mingle trackside and enjoy live Gaelic music. The festival starts on the last Monday of July every year.

 

Come September, foodies savour the fare of the Galway Oyster and Seafood Festival (galwayoysterfestival.com). A highlight is the oyster-shucking tournament, as is gorging on oysters freshly sourced from the nearby Atlantic Ocean.

 

You can get a dozen for between $25 and $40, depending on the variety.

 

• Ronan O’Connell is an Australian travel journalist and photographer who contributes frequently to The Straits Times.

 

 

Source: The Straits Times © Singapore Press Holdings Limited. Reproduced with permission.

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