Life's a Trip: Chapter Ten - New Year's Eve in Bangkok
December 31, 2006
Happy New Years!!
During the daytime on the 31st, I switch hotels and spend the day relaxing. After all, during the past week and a half I haven't slept for more than four hours at a time. I'm living it up for every last second of this vacation.
Bangkok at sunset
During the evening I meet up with Joe and Thias at their hotel near Khao San. Our original plan is to head to a big outdoor party at Siam square, however by the time that we get our act together it's late and we probably won't make it in time, considering the insane traffic in downtown Bangkok. Instead we decide to stick around Khao San and enjoy a more relaxed party atmosphere. This turns out to be a very good decision...
As we enter Khao San we notice that the street is barracaded at either end by armed soldiers. It doesn't seem very out of the ordinary considering that there are soldiers crawling all over Bangkok, especially in highly trafficked tourist areas, so we proceed past the barracade and join the party. The night starts out pretty slow. As we hit the streets we grab a few beers and a bottle of whiskey and then mingle. Khao San is relatively quiet considering that it's New Year's Eve.
Here's what we didn't know at the time...
Between 6:00 and 7:30, six coordinated bombings occured across Bangkok, injuring 25 people and killing three. The New Year's festivities in locations were cancelled and the countdown at Siam square was held at 9:00 pm. With the city in relative chaos, everyone is scrambling to find a safe spot to ring in the New Year. Khao San is one of the only remaining parties in the city that hasn't been shut down. However, Joe, Thias and I have no idea that any of this is going on. It's amazing what you can miss if you don't flip on the news before heading out for the evening...
The party at Khao San gets jam packed at about 11 o'clock, as people from the cancelled parties pack into the street. The atmosphere is electric by the time that the countdown takes place. As you can see in the following video, everyone is extremely friendly. People are simply enjoying the company of those who surround them. It's an unforgettable experience. Despite the violence that occrued earlier in the evening, the melting pot party on Khao San goes off without any disruption.
Over the course of the evening, Joe, Thias and I meet a variety of people:
Two Italian sisters who are vacation together after being separated for a year because they attend school in different countries.
Two intense Austrian friends who love heavy metal and Heineken.
Russian twins who are absolutely bombed and struggle to keep track of one another.
Two Canadians who tell us all about their escapes in Southeast Asia.
A guy from India who has lived in Thailed for the past three years.
Two Thai guys who look like trouble but turn out to be really nice.
A guy from Paris who speaks very little English.
Two Americans from Minnesota, who stumble upon Khao San late in the night because they were at one of the cancelled parties.
Joe, one of the Italian girls, Thias and a Dutch guy
The Russian twins (front left), one of the Italian girls (between the Russian twins), the Americans (top left), the guy from India (middle), the Dutch guy (middle back), the Canadians (beside the Indian and Dutch guys), Me and Thias
It's great to meet all of these people. We drink and eat, we talk about our homes and our cultures, our travels, things that bother us and the things that we love. I take a minute to step back and watch the group as they interact and I see something truly incredible. Young people from all over the world speaking to each other in all sorts of different languages, laughing, getting along and having fun.
5 o'clock am rolls around and I decide that I should go back to my hotel and get some sleep. I'm starting to think about preparing myself mentally and physically for my trip to Cambodia now, so my previous vacation habits need to come to an end.
As I sit in the back of a cab, I catch the first sign of sunlight of the New Year. I don't recall ever having seen the first sunrise of the year. It's inspiring. Bangkok whizes by outside the taxi window and I think hard about how lucky I am to have the life that I have and to be doing everything that I want to do. Here's to another year...
Happy New Years!!
During the daytime on the 31st, I switch hotels and spend the day relaxing. After all, during the past week and a half I haven't slept for more than four hours at a time. I'm living it up for every last second of this vacation.
Bangkok at sunset
During the evening I meet up with Joe and Thias at their hotel near Khao San. Our original plan is to head to a big outdoor party at Siam square, however by the time that we get our act together it's late and we probably won't make it in time, considering the insane traffic in downtown Bangkok. Instead we decide to stick around Khao San and enjoy a more relaxed party atmosphere. This turns out to be a very good decision...
As we enter Khao San we notice that the street is barracaded at either end by armed soldiers. It doesn't seem very out of the ordinary considering that there are soldiers crawling all over Bangkok, especially in highly trafficked tourist areas, so we proceed past the barracade and join the party. The night starts out pretty slow. As we hit the streets we grab a few beers and a bottle of whiskey and then mingle. Khao San is relatively quiet considering that it's New Year's Eve.
Here's what we didn't know at the time...
Between 6:00 and 7:30, six coordinated bombings occured across Bangkok, injuring 25 people and killing three. The New Year's festivities in locations were cancelled and the countdown at Siam square was held at 9:00 pm. With the city in relative chaos, everyone is scrambling to find a safe spot to ring in the New Year. Khao San is one of the only remaining parties in the city that hasn't been shut down. However, Joe, Thias and I have no idea that any of this is going on. It's amazing what you can miss if you don't flip on the news before heading out for the evening...
The party at Khao San gets jam packed at about 11 o'clock, as people from the cancelled parties pack into the street. The atmosphere is electric by the time that the countdown takes place. As you can see in the following video, everyone is extremely friendly. People are simply enjoying the company of those who surround them. It's an unforgettable experience. Despite the violence that occrued earlier in the evening, the melting pot party on Khao San goes off without any disruption.
Over the course of the evening, Joe, Thias and I meet a variety of people:
Two Italian sisters who are vacation together after being separated for a year because they attend school in different countries.
Two intense Austrian friends who love heavy metal and Heineken.
Russian twins who are absolutely bombed and struggle to keep track of one another.
Two Canadians who tell us all about their escapes in Southeast Asia.
A guy from India who has lived in Thailed for the past three years.
Two Thai guys who look like trouble but turn out to be really nice.
A guy from Paris who speaks very little English.
Two Americans from Minnesota, who stumble upon Khao San late in the night because they were at one of the cancelled parties.
Joe, one of the Italian girls, Thias and a Dutch guy
The Russian twins (front left), one of the Italian girls (between the Russian twins), the Americans (top left), the guy from India (middle), the Dutch guy (middle back), the Canadians (beside the Indian and Dutch guys), Me and Thias
It's great to meet all of these people. We drink and eat, we talk about our homes and our cultures, our travels, things that bother us and the things that we love. I take a minute to step back and watch the group as they interact and I see something truly incredible. Young people from all over the world speaking to each other in all sorts of different languages, laughing, getting along and having fun.
5 o'clock am rolls around and I decide that I should go back to my hotel and get some sleep. I'm starting to think about preparing myself mentally and physically for my trip to Cambodia now, so my previous vacation habits need to come to an end.
As I sit in the back of a cab, I catch the first sign of sunlight of the New Year. I don't recall ever having seen the first sunrise of the year. It's inspiring. Bangkok whizes by outside the taxi window and I think hard about how lucky I am to have the life that I have and to be doing everything that I want to do. Here's to another year...
posted by Christopher Janca at 9:18 p.m.
1 Comments:
Awesome job on the video Chris. You seem to have a real knack on video editting and compilation. Good flow, good storyline. Must take after me.... ;-)
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