Sonia Sudhakar is in Uganda.

It doesn't feel like Christmas here in Kampala, aside from the odd straggly bit of tinsel and some very hot looking Santa outfits worn by nightclub bar staff.

After much agonising over where I should be and what I should do on Christmas Day, I decided to treat myself to a spot of luxury - I've booked a package break (shock, horror from the backpacker fraternity) to Murchison Falls National Park.

I'm hoping that I will be herded from place to place, and that I won't have to make any decisions or haggle for a price on anything. My Christmas present to myself, therefore, will be the gift of easy travelling.

Christmas abroad is a strange concept: people around the world are rushing to get back to their families, and then there's the travelling pack who just stand on the periphery and watch it all happen like a displaced bunch of nomads.

Christmas on your own, away from home, makes the displacement even more acute. I've become grudgingly accustomed to the pitying looks as I eat dinner alone, but I'm preparing for it to multiply - being 'Billy No Mates' at Christmas is the biggest pity card yet!

I'll miss my family and friends, I'll miss the turkey, Christmas pudding, crap telly, petty squabbles, board games and laughter, but I think that as I look out at the Nile from my safari lodge on Christmas morning and prepare to see giraffes and elephants in their natural habitat, I'll be grateful for where I am and won't wish to be anywhere else in the world.

· You can email Sonia at mailtto:sonianetjet@yahoo.co.uk

Jim Whyte is in St Petersburg

Apart from the Christmas lights along Nevsky Prospekt in St Petersburg, there are currently few signs of Christmas here in Russia. There is, however, plenty of snow, so I'll be enjoying a white Christmas without Bing Crosby's help. I expect to be in Moscow for Christmas Day but haven't made any plans yet. The Russians seem to focus more on New Year, and Russian Orthodox Christmas is celebrated on January 7, but this of course means I get two Christmases, so I'm not complaining.

I will be in Irkutsk in Siberia on the 7th, by which time I hope to discover what the Russians actually do for Christmas. With all the lakes and rivers frozen, I'm told it may involve going for a swim in the ice, but I may be able to get out of this on the grounds that the fish suffer enough and that I shouldn't add to the problem. I'm praying this feeble excuse may be sufficient, but somehow I doubt it.

· You can email Jim at jim_netjetters@hotmail.com