Monday, January 01, 2007

New Years Eve

I went to Seoul Plaza on New Years Eve. I had been wanting to see the Luce Vista lights for quite awhile, so last night seemed like a good time to do so. The temperature was quite mild. Even without gloves, I was very comfortable. There were lots of people out - mostly families and couples. Most people seemed very relaxed and happy.




















At Seoul Plaza, they have an outdoor skating rink, and it was packed. There were far more people on the ice than I would be comfortable with, but everyone seemed to be having a good time.















Cheonggyecheon was also packed and there were more of the Luce Vista lights.


































At Cheonggyecheon, there was a tree set up and people donated money and hung little balls on it.







































I didn't stay downtown for the actual ringing in of the new year. I got back to Itaewon around 11PM and was considering going to a favourite bar, but the streets in Itaewon were also packed - mostly with loud, noisy drunks. The crowd was very different from the one downtown. The Itaewon crowd was mostly 20-30 years old, and it felt very different. More frantic, sadder (maybe it just made me feel that way) - not happy - kind of a forced jolly.

I went home and watched a little TV.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mark, Happy New Year. I hope 2007 is a very good year for you.

Anonymous said...

Sorry, that's me above. Forgot to enter "my name," so the word verification kicked in...

Mark, as always, my good wishes, blessings--for peace, long life, and happiness.

Anonymous said...

Happy New Year, Mark. Sorry I've not been in touch much; I hoped to meet you again, but things have been too hectic lately.

Great blogging entries, by the way.

The Wanderer said...

Thanks, Nathan. I know you have a lot on your plate at this time. I hope everything works out and you get a little time to rest.