I've been sloppy with my blog in the past months, but I had to share this New Year's Eve with you, and since I took no pictures, I figured I would share it this way. We arrived in Phuket around 4:00 and experienced the worst airport taxi system ever. I've been pretty impressed with most Asian airport taxi queues, but the one in Phuket took forever and didn't seem to really have any system. It was a true representation of the idea that the Asian culture doesn't line up like the Western culture. But you just go with it!
Finally we got to our hotel, and because we were running late, we had to get ready pretty quickly for the hotel NYE gala. So we were supposed to stay for the whole countdown with all our fellow hotel-mates, but by 10pm, we peaced out because it was definitely more intended for families and couples. It was calm and well done, but not for us. It was complete with Shania Twain covers, a man dressed as a woman belly dancing, and some kind of strange life size puppet show. I can't even explain it properly, but yeah, not for us.
So we googled where to go for NYE in Phuket, and there are a million places to go - the most popular being Patong Beach, which would be a huge celebration. We thought, Nah, we don't want too crazy. So we chose to go to something in Old Phuket Town. We got dropped off there around 10:30, and started to walk, only to realize that we were the only tourists at all and were getting a lot of strange looks because we were a little dressed up. It's New Year's Eve right?! The locals celebrate in a cheerful, but very casual way.
And sooooo, we negotiated for a long time with taxis to get a halfway decent fare (it still ended up being $50 - ugh). We tried many taxis before we finally got one. Most of the taxi drivers don't work on New Year's Eve, and the tuk-tuk drivers could possibly be drunk. Our taxi driver was a very kind man who had his wife and son with him, and so we got to chat with them about some of the Phuket traditions for New Year's. I wanted to know the tradition of the lanterns; he explained that you make wishes for your upcoming year and let go of your old year as you release the lantern. Finally, we got to Patong Beach at 11:30pm.
It. Was. Crazy. A sea of people, very happy people. We found out the direction of the beach and started running as we shouted, "Sorry, oops, excuse me. Oh, Happy New Year!" with frequent pauses as people would shove a camera or phone in front of your face as they shouted Happy New Year in their own language. We were attacked at least a dozen times by silly string, silly snow, and whatever else came shooting out of people's aerosol cans. Fireworks were already going off all around us as we quickly dodged and wove our way down the main street.
We got to the edge of beach where we were wedged in tightly with shoulder buddies and could no longer weave or dodge. It was 11:55pm. Just in time! We shouted Happy New Year for about 10 minutes because there wasn't a real countdown; that one moment when the year changes over stretched on a little longer in Phuket. It was chaotic for those ten minutes of people cheering, hugging, yelling Happy New Year, smiling into cameras of complete strangers. Thousands of lanterns were floated off above our heads to celebrate new beginnings, fireworks went on for ages all around us; it was one of the coolest ten minutes of my life, I think.
Melanie and I planned on not staying out super late, but our plans changed when we were asked to take a picture of these girls from Chile, Germany, Korea, and Vietnam. We got chatting and sharing our stories leading up to NYE, and suddenly we were roped into celebrating the rest of New Year's Eve with them. We gained a group of American guys a little bit later (we really had the globe well-covered), and soon we had a chain of 13 people weaving our way back through the never-ending crowds. Don't worry, Mom, we were all counting constantly to make sure we didn't lose anyone.
We danced and laughed the rest of the night, learned a little about each other's cultures and lives, and shared in this special New Year's Eve away from our friends and families, which is totally bittersweet. Even though I couldn't keep track of everyone's names and didn't get anyone's information at the end of the night, I think that is sometimes the best way when you travel (of course, there are exceptions). You make these cool connections, appreciate each other for that little bit of time, and then go on to do it again with the next people you meet and form bonds with. Someday when we run into each other haphazardly again in some foreign country, we'll reminisce about that New Year's Eve in the craziest place on Earth.
For me, someone who is more introverted, I am always grateful to get back to the people I know and love dearly and who know me. However, this is one New Year's Eve that was different, exhilarating, unexpected, and one that I'll never forget!
