Happy happy New Year!

1.5 (Million!) people descend on Sydney every year for the New Years Eve fireworks show on Sydney Harbor.  There are spots all over both sides of the harbor, and people push and shove, wait in lines, and pay outrageous ticket prices to attempt to get the best view of the fireworks.

Or, you spend all morning at the US consulate, waltz over to the Opera House at 3PM, and get great views of the evening's fireworks with little hassle (and a lot of waiting).

We showed up at the Opera House around 3PM, and while there were throngs of people there, it wasn't as crazy as expected.  The day was spent waiting, playing with a crowd passed beach ball, playing games with my companions (and a random Canadian that we met), watching the first "Family" fireworks at 9 (a nice show, but kinda like any normal fireworks show), and finally, seeing the spectacular amazing display at midnight.

You stand there, and the entire bridge lights up with fireworks, corresponding to a cool LED display in the center of the bridge, which moves/changes with the fireworks.  Then, all of a sudden, fireworks are behind you, on the other side of the Opera House.  While trying to decide where to look, fireworks spout out of the tops of the buildings in Sydney (!), and everything is just going nuts.  You think it can't get any better, and the finale involves more fireworks coming from every side of the opera house, and vast amounts of combustible powder being shot off of every angle of the Harbor Bridge....

And to add to all of it is the spirit of the people who see it.  Every cool display, every boom is accompanied by an "ah!" from the crowd.  Everybody gets into it starting early in the day, when people try to get cheers going, the wave, and any sort of crowd activity is greeted with exuberance.  People just want to get into the spirit!

So 2010 started off with a bang, and has been going good so far.  The more astute readers will notice that I said I spent 3 hours at the US Consulate.  My passport expires in April, and you're not supposed to travel with less than 6 months until expiration.  But wait, you say, why do you need that when you're coming home in a few days?

Um.  About that.  I'm kinda extending my trip and going to Indonesia from the 18th of January through the 15th of February.  I've been meaning to do something random like that for a while, and I finally broke down when invited by Fabienne, the anthropologist I met at Christmas.  I can't resist the option of going to a developing country and spending a large amount of time traveling among indigenous peoples, learning about new cultures.

Yeah, so not gonna be very accessible, but the pictures will be great, I promise.

Have a happy new year, and see you on the flip side..

Sean