And some sentimental types will be traveling for love. Some will get married in Vegas, some plan to propose in Paris. Of course, many people are taking pains to avoid traveling altogether over the New Year's week, for fear that everything from traffic lights to air traffic control systems will be on the fritz because of the super-hyped Y2K computer problem. And then there are the people who claim that they'll be staying home on principle. That is not an opinion, it is a fact.
People simply are.
Lots of Westerners, in fact, will be traveling to other countries where years are counted altogether differently. Mark Campbell of Mountain Travel Sobek points out that in Nepal, it's the year 2057. Thailand's living in 2542. The Chinese are enjoying 4697. And the Jewish calendar currently reads 5759.