For New Year's Eve, I went to watch the fireworks from the base of Taipei 101, the tallest building in Taiwan from which the fireworks are set off. In terms of New Year's celebrations, it is the Times Square Plaza of Asia. People sit in the street hours ahead of time to get the perfect view. Tons of street vendors sell food and tchotchkes. It is the one time of the year when the MRT, the Taipei metro system, is open past midnight. It runs for 48 hours straight, and it was incredibly packed the night of the fireworks. Crowds queued down the block to descend into the closest stations.
As I was deciding whether to go into the heart of Asia to watch live or not, my Taiwanese friends forewarnings ranged from describing it as uncomfortably crowded to absolutely dangerous. In fact, it was the most peaceful, manageable crowd I've ever been in. There was almost always room to walk, and no one ever pushed me in the slightest. The clouds cleared right before midnight to allow all of us up-close a perfect view of the midnight firework show.
 |
| Fake snow |
 |
| Crowds watching from Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall |
No comments:
Post a Comment