Best New Year’s Eve EVER*
*By “Best Ever” I mean the best I have ever been to. (Feel like the headline had to be dislaimed there.)
I meant to post this last week, but I was enjoying my much needed holiday break. I had a super busy last couple of months to end 2014, so I opted for a quiet, low-key NYE this year (read: jammies, movie, hot cocoa) but I’m a sucker for fireworks and I couldn’t help but reminisce about my visit to Sydney, Australia, a couple of years ago, timed perfectly to greet the new year there.
Sydney has a ridiculous amount of shoreline, so almost anywhere you go there are spectacular waterfront views (will talk more about this in another post.) My friend Alfie had suggested we do a cruise for New Year’s Eve, but everything was booked by the time we decided on anything, and settled for a party at the Opera House Bar, where tickets ran for a few hundred dollars.
Despite the warning that I will come down with a case of sticker shock upon arriving in Oz, I was still shocked to learn how expensive everything was. One party ticket, costing somewhere between $300 – $500 (I don’t remember exactly, I only remember that I was surprised by how much), covered admission and all the hors d’oeuvres you can eat but excluded cocktails. There was music and a dance floor, a photo booth, and colorful “miscellaneous entertainment.”
Perhaps we’re spoiled in America, L.A. especially, where one can access plenty of “cool” events for a fraction of that cost (free, if you play your cards right), but there’s nothing like traveling the world to be reminded that, in many parts of the world (most of it, methinks), anything that’s worth something actually costs something.
And we didn’t actually get to go inside the Opera House, as that was another party priced a few hundred dollars more. But the waterfront bar in the Opera House’s shadow (well, depends on the time of day) hugs Sydney Cove/Circular Quay (where one boards ferries to take them to Manly Beach, Darling Harbour and a plethora of destinations in the spread-out city) and stares right at the magnificent Darling Harbour Bridge.
We had to arrive at the venue no later than 3 p.m., otherwise we’d be out of luck finding somewhere to sit. We got there at just the right time to find the last available table, where we camped for the rest of the day, taking turns on the dance floor as we couldn’t leave our spot unguarded. I wondered what we could possibly do for NINE hours to pass the time but we managed to get through the marathon party without getting too tired or too drunk. (No-host cocktail bar probably had a lot to do with the controlled drinking.)
However, it was all worth it as Sydney greets the new year like no place I’ve eve been (and I spent plenty of new year’s eves in the Philippines replete with personal fireworks and scrumptious food… another post for another day).
There was a boat parade with vessels in varying shapes and sizes adorned with lights (the year I went, they were decorated with hot pink lights.)
Then the fireworks came… two big productions, actually: one at 9 pm (the family-friendly set) and then the ridiculous midnight explosion from several points all over Sydney. From our vantage point, we had a direct view of pyrotechnics over the Opera House, rockets fired off the bridge itself and more outbursts from another part of Darling Harbour. The sky lit up with a steady stream of fireworks that seemingly went for hours.
It may look impressive on TV, but nothing will do it justice apart from being there to witness it. If you’re looking for a unique way to ring in the new year, you should seriously consider heading to Sydney for NYE ’15. Be warned: everything will cost scandalously more than what you’d expect. But it’s soooo worth it.
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