2010 New Year's Eve Ooohs and Aaahs

Yeah, like most people, I wanted to usher into the New Year not by sitting in front of the idiot box, but actually going somewhere happening. My pal, Shah, and me did just that.

After meeting up at the Cempaka LRT station at 9.15 p.m., we took the Ampang line LRT to the Ampang station where we then walked to a nearby bus station and alighted a Metro bus heading towards the Petronas Twin Towers (KLCC). Paid RM3.00 and the journey was initially a crawl as the local police did a road block. After that, it was smooth. We reached Nikko Hotel before 10.00 p.m. and proceeded to have Hainanese Chicken Rice at the Lotus Restaurant. Tasted great as always! The price had increased slightly, though.

Sharp 11.00 p.m., we slowly made our way to the Twin Towers, once the tallest structures in the world. Wow! It was jam-packed as thousands of people had the same idea as the both of us. Both locals and foreigners alike were there, not wanting to miss out on the festivities. We struggled to get into the center of the Twin Towers entrance facing the lake as I sweated profusely. After reaching the point, loud classical music could be heard blaring as the speakers were barely 10 meters away from our ears.

I sat down while Shah stood, observing the crowd. The music recording played on and we had like half an hour to go before New Year. Like Shah, I observed the huge crowd in front and around me and sometimes passing a remark or two. 10 minutes before the New Year countdown, a female presenter made some announcements and the crowd just went wild. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and the fireworks display started without delay. Goodbye 2009! Hello 2010! I must say that the display was great and worth our time and trouble coming here. I remembered the millennium celebrations a decade back and just could not believe myself that ten years had since passed. At that time, I was also together with Shah at KLCC. How time flies!

At the end of the fireworks display, probably costing a million Ringgit or two, the crowd gave a round of applause. We stayed on until around 1.00 a.m. and headed to Estana Curry House along Jalan P. Ramlee for a round of teh-tarik (hot tea with milk). Later on, we checked the scene at the Beach Club and just stood outside to enjoy the upbeat music and to observe the crowd passing by. Ladies were dressed to kill, the men dressed quite tastefully and, of course, some people got drunk. We did relocate our point of observation to a nearby restaurant which offered a strategic place.

Around 4.00 a.m., we walked to Bukit Bintang. Passed through Pavillion and noticed that there were a lot of confetti on the ground and there were guys dismantling a stage and some speakers. Almost half an hour later, tired and thirsty, we decided to have a drink at a mamak stall along Jalan Alor. The action had somewhat subsided, but there were still high-spirited New Year revelers here and there. I had bee hoon goreng (fried vermicelli) and a can of Coke.

When my watch had showed 5.30 a.m., we knew it was time to make our move. I walked slowly to the Hang Tuah LRT station to take the ubiquitous LRT back home, while Shah decided to take the RapidKL bus instead to Pandan Indah. Had a good bath after reaching home around 6.30 a.m. Performed my solat subuh (dawn prayers), completed my normal routine daily PTCs before going to bed at around noon. Missed Friday prayers, though.

All in all, a superb night out. Happy New Year 2010 everyone!