Xin Nian Kuai Le! That’s right, for us foreigners in China we are privileged to be able to celebrate two New Years!! Here we observe the Lunar New Year! 🙂

And let me tell you something…. Although it’s a little bit of comparing pears and apples, I’ve got to say that even New York City would have trouble comparing with what goes on here for New Years. Fireworks GALORE! Yep, seeming unending amounts of exploding loud colorful pyrotechnics – it is not just a site to be seen, it is a complete experience. They’ve been going on for quite awhile already, but it began to culminate at 11:45pm – the noise and colors became constant with no breaks in between. This went on for about 45 minutes, dying down only by small amounts thereafter.

It sounded like a warzone. Really. I’m not the expert that Scott is (buddy of mine in the military) but I’ve experienced a bit when I was involved in humanitarian work in Kosovo a couple of months after the war was ‘officially’ over. The second night there a bomber blew up a shop down the block from where I was staying. Things that sounded like gunfire were just that – gunfire. For New Years Y2k, gunfire errupted everywhere and the power went off. A bunch of years later I visited some friends in Pakistan. Atleast it was Pakistan on the Pakistani maps….yeah, I was in Kashmir. Every day you could hear the artillery booming from over the mountain…

Where was I?

Oh yes, so it really did sound alot like a warzone. Different rhythm to the ‘gunfire’, and it was missing the faint ‘zing’ that the barrel makes, but all in all pretty close. And I’ve got a confession to make. It makes me really nervous and anxious. I associate sounds like those with guns being fired at people, not celebration. I think I slept between about 2am and 6am when it died down. But at 6am people were up and going again! 🙂 Should go on for about a week or so.

I haven’t posted for a week because I made a trip to Thailand – by land! It was great and I’ve got alot of photos to share too. Look for much more coming SOON!

Let me offer you a photo I took here in Kunming as a peace offering……: