Although December is synonymous with Christmas, the Globe Guide team discover that there’s much more to this month than Santa Claus, roast turkey and midnight mass.

Mexico is an ethnically diverse country bound by its Roman Catholicism; Justine Shapiro braves the crush in Mexico City for the Virgin de Guadeloupe Festival, celebrating the beloved national patron saint. Here she mingles with the millions of devotees and visits the Basilica de Guadeloupe where masses are performed around the clock in her honour.

Like so many of the Christmas traditions, the Klausjagen Festival in Kusstnacht, Switzerland, evolved from pagan roots. Justine arrives there on 5 December – when the usually sedate town erupts in a riot of noise and colour after dark as St. Nicholas is led through the streets by people cracking whips and 150 men carrying giant, ornate ‘iffele’ (bishop hat) lanterns and followed by a brass band and thousands of men ringing giant cow bells – and leaves a little deafened.

For a winter getaway, Asia offers some of the finest beach bumming in the world. Shilpa Mehta takes a boat to the tiny Philippine island of Boracay, one of 7,000 islands the country has to offer. Ian Wright escapes the humidity of Cambodia’s mainland for the beautiful island of Ko Rom and Justine Shapiro checks out the Klausjagen, Switzerland Parenthin Islands on the east coast of Malaysia all of which are great spots for scuba diving. For something a bit different, Justine joins self-confessed eco-warrior John Gray for sea kayaking through the caves of Au Nong, near Krabi in Thailand. He shows her beautiful secret lagoons only accessible through the caves and stop overnight on a secluded beach.

After all that chilling out, there’s only one thing left to do – climb a mountain! Megan McCormick takes a guided trip up the eerie slopes of Mount Kenya to one of its six peaks past giant plants and volcanic rock formations. After three days of strenuous hiking she makes it to over 16,000 feet and is blown away by the African vistas, truly on top of the world!

Credits

NARRATOR
NINA SEBASTIANE

TRAVELLERS
JUSTINE SHAPIRO
IAN WRIGHT
MEGAN McCORMICK

TITLES
LIQUID TV

GRAPHICS
PAUL PLOWMAN

TITLE MUSIC
IAN RITCHIE

ADDITIONAL MUSIC
MARTYN SWAIN
COLIN WINSTON-FLETCHER
MALCOLM LAWS & NAINITA DESAI
AMANDA KRAMER
MICHAEL CONN
MAKO SAKAMOTO & JESPER MATTSSON

MUSICAL DIRECTOR
NEVILLE FARMER

FACILITIES
SUITE
THE VOICE & MUSIC COMPANY

ONLINE EDITOR
MATT ROBERTS

DUBBING MIXER
JOEL BALDWIN

EDITORS
NICK REED
STEVE ELLIS

PRODUCTION ACCOUNTANTS
RICHARD MILLER
HENRY BAUMER

PRODUCTION ASSISTANTS
ALEX MARSHALL-THOMSON
JULIAN MARSHALL

POS PRODUCTION MANAGER
LIZ RICHARDS

PRODUCTION MANAGER
SONIA BORGES

SOUND
ROLF BUTTIKOFER
CHRIS WALKER
ROGER WHITBY
GETHIN ALDOUS
JOHN MYERS DAVISON

CAMERA
TIM KNIGHT
LYNN MITCHELL
PAUL MUNGEAM

PRODUCERS
MELVYN GOH
JACQUELINE FRANK
BINI ADAMS
MARTHA WAILES
ANNA PARÉ

DIRECTORS
TIM KNIGHT
DOMINIC ALLAN
DAVID TIBBALLS
CARLOS BOLADO

SERIES PRODUCER
NEVILLE FARMER

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
IAN CROSS

Produced by
Pilot Film and Television Productions
© MMIII