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When it’s cold at home, where are the best places to go to find sunny weather and rid yourself of your hat and gloves? If you’re looking for ideas for where to go on your 2012 holidays to ensure you get some warm weather in January, we take a look at some of the sunniest places to go during the month of January.

From Asia to Africa and all around the globe, while we are in our winter doldrums, others are sunning themselves and drinking mojitos. Here’s a look at five of the best places to go to find fantastic January weather.

When it’s cold at home, there’s somewhere you can guarantee it will be warm and that’s down under. The island continent of Australia enjoys its hot summers during December, January and February. Average high temperatures in Sydney are around 78F in January.

When it’s hot, many Australians head to the beach to cool down. The Bondi Beach area in New South Wales has long been considered one of the world’s best surfing spots. Visitors can enjoy the surf or just watch from the comfort of a sun lounger.

Mexico is a popular place for January holidays. Great places for beach holidays include the Baja California peninsula, home to the famous Cabo San Lucas resort. Average highs in January are around 76 degrees Fahrenheit.

If you want sun with a bit of culture thrown in, then Mexico offers many archaeological treats. The famous Mexican ruins of Teotihuacan, dating from over 2000 years ago, are located close to Mexico City and are considered by some to be the best ruins in Mexcio.

Although it’s their cool season, January is the ideal time to visit Thailand. The weather is warm and they get the most hours of sunshine and least rainfall during January.

If its beach life you’re after, then the party islands of Koh Samui and Koh Phangnan are popular destinations. Koh Phangnan is home to the famous Full Moon party held each month.

For a more laidback Thai holiday, then Chiang Mai on the mainland is a wonderful place to enjoy the wildlife and taste the very best of Thai cuisine. Cookery classes and elephant rides are some of the popular activities at Chiang Mai.

During January, South Africa has average high temperatures of around 79F. It’s hard to decide the best place to go in South Africa, but the Western Cape area, with its Table Mountain and great beaches, has become increasingly popular with holiday makers.

Over the New Year period, Cape Town celebrates New Year like nowhere else on earth, with a huge carnival. Other South African highlights are the many safari experiences, most famously in the Kruger National Park.

For a perfect blend of culture, good weather and great activities, then the ever popular country of Egypt has it all. Attractions such as the Pyramids of Giza, the Temple of Luxor and the Abu-Simbel Temples are all big pulls for history lovers.

Nile cruises are a fantastic way to appreciate the beauties of Egypt. With average temperatures in January around 78 degrees Fahrenheit, where better place to be than on the deck of a boat?

If you’re after cheap holidays, then Egypt is an ideal location. Beach culture in the Red Sea resorts such as Sharm el Sheik is alive and kicking during January. The Red Sea is famous as an excellent deep sea diving destination. By night, the bars and clubs of Sharm El Sheik keep going till the early hours.

When New Year has been celebrated and Christmas is a memory for another 12 months, if you live somewhere chilly, January can be a miserable time. Finding sunshine during January is a guaranteed way to lighten the winter doldrums.

With warm places a plenty in January from Asia to Africa, Australia to South America, you may end up wishing Christmas away so that you can start your holidays in the sun.

The war started a couple of weeks ago and orders are to quit for the Olympics on today’s full moon. Firecrackers for New Year, Beijing style I mean. The first day they were exploding against my 12th floor windows and everywhere else right across the city. The sweepers were out early next morn and picked up 50 tons of red paper but I didn’t notice much firecracker waste cleaned on the 1925 sidewalks around town. Casualties were a few. At least one killed by a direct hit, but being mid winter apartment windows were well closed so burn outs only happened in the few where they were so impatient they never got outside in time to light up. Hence the demons are chased away for the Year of the Rat along with most other domestic and the few wild animals left around here.

Too, things look kinder with the temperatures already well above zero and the long Johns off. Still it hasn’t snowed in 2008 and most days have been clear and sunny with the north wind blowing the pollution back down to Canton where it mostly belongs. Its back in vengeance today though with visibly within 100 yards and impaired, minus the firecracker smoke, and the Gobi spring sandstorms are looming to make things worse. So its all forwards to that auspicious 08/8/8 day, 6 months away when things will be more clement and the Olympics start.

So I am guiding it in the style of old China. There is no point being really civilized as this is where the locals will profit most and buy another car to cram these jammed city streets. Communism forget it, pinch pennies, get that new car and go forwards in life. A sad tale given the picturesque big streets crowded with the tinkle of bicycle bells just some 15 years ago.

But the Peking duck restaurants are all still somewhere as is a cheap cold bottle of beer for 50 cents. One could hang around the restaurants next to the foreigner compounds with their western menus and prices and feel like one never left home as most do. The “Wall” will be crowded, but then there are all those other unique places that I have found to get local. Tickets for the Olympics have gone crazy as expected and it takes a professional to work the black-markets and find non-photocopies at a tenth the cost marketed overseas. Better to enjoy other sights along with lamb kebabs on a side street and buy dollar DVDs.

So with the madness of a full fireworks display everywhere just in front of my window its time to sign off. Normality might reign again for the first time in a couple of weeks tomorrow. I am off to see if this Olympic crowd will pay me more than you in the morn. You know they love volunteers.

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