Can you tell we're behind in our posting? :)
We felt lucky to ring in the new year in a big city like Bangkok. We headed to CentralWorld Square for the biggest countdown in the city. The closer we walked, the thicker the crowds became. The major roads had been closed off to cars and were instead filled with people and rows upon rows of street food vendors. Pretty soon, we were sandwiched between sweaty strangers, hardly able to move, but still pushing forward to get a better spot. The atmosphere was electric. So many people had blinking bows and bunny ears on their heads and glow sticks around their bodies. In the middle of the square was a concert stage with music blasting in the middle of the night. As midnight approached, we counted down with the crowd (in English, surprisingly) and bent our heads back to watch a crazy fire work show above the palm trees and mall buildings. We were sprayed with water (hopefully that’s what it was) from someone in the crowd and were herded right out as soon as the fireworks ended.
For years, I’ve celebrated New Years at small parties with friends from church. I always wanted to be in a massive crowd in a big city with a wild countdown to ring in the new year. Well that’s exactly what we experienced in Bangkok, but it wasn’t as satisfying as I imagined. As soon as the fireworks ended, we didn’t have much to do and I would have traded it all for a small house party with our closest friends in a heartbeat.
Yuriy and I headed to the red light district and had a yummy later dinner/drinks/our first meal of 2011. We headed back to our hotel and hit the hay earlier than usual for a new years night. We missed our friends and family, but we felt fortunate to have such a memorable New Years that I’m sure we’ll remember forever.
- Julia
I wonder if any of these people actually enjoyed the fireworks behind their cameras.
"Long live the king." This guy has his photo ALL over the city and in almost every building.
Cotton candy to celebrate!
