Welcoming the new year in Malaysia

I went down to KLCC (Kuala Lumpur City Center, the popular name for the Petronas Twin Towers) for new year's day celebrations. I went a bit early to have dinner with my fiancee and catch a movie, so I missed the rush there. All in all, it wasn't bad. An ultra-ostentatious display of fireworks set off the new year with a bang and a lot of smoke, which later led to a pretty mad dash leading away from the tallest buildings in the world. I call the fireworks display ostentatious because it was very impressive, and in a way, over the top. They had massive fireworks going for over 6 minutes in the same spot, most of which were overlapping so that there was no break. It finished off with an incredible high-altitude show that looked like rain made of fire (I know I sound like "little bear" or some other native Indian, but thats the best description I can think of). That was the impressive part, the part they fucked up was reduced visibility due to the single fixed position. Because of all the non-stop fireworks, a massive cloud of smoke developed - to a point where the fireworks were almost not visible from halfway onwards. It was like I was in a plane watching the lighting in the clouds. There was also no huge countdown, or a ball dropping - both of which I expected. Also absent were drunken teenagers and rioting immigrants, although standard immigrants were present, as were guys from Thailand pushing water bottles and shit that lights up (the actual shit lights up, the shit doesn't light YOU up). When I got back home, I found an outdoor rave party going on in a park not far from my condo. While I appreciated the speakers they had (I could hear the bass well over a kilometer away), I didn't appreciate the thumping much while trying to sleep. Happy new year, friends.