DUBAI: silent countdown

same as anybody else around the world, me & my friends prepared well for the new year's eve celebration. its been weeks of discussion where to go, which restaurant is the best, where we can enjoy the view of the grand fireworks as before. the reservations were almost fully booked...

finally, after several days of inquiries... we have decided to go to the same place where we were last year (2007-2008). i can say one of the best, since we have the view of Burj Al Arab, the only 7-Star hotel in world. a perfect not so loud nor discreet crowd that was there before.

erika found the number... and reserved.

then came 31 December, all prepared. we still went to the office, yet kept our fingers crossed that it will be another half day of work, same as 24 December.

then the BA#$%^&NG!
its not yet midnight, but an explosion of news came in...

Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, ordered the cancellation of all forms of celebrations marking the New Year in Dubai emirate, as an act of solidarity with the Palestinian people.
whhooooh! what a blast!

then, my phone rang several times. my friends were asking... confirming... and thinking what else to do???

too late to prepare for a dinner at home!!! and the reservation...

then, the work continued. lunch time came... no announcement yet.
it will be a long day. since the celebration was cancelled... why do we need to leave early???

ok. fine. this is it.
6PM. ding!!! time to go and prepare.

we still went to the restaurant... nothing can break the plan...with a little hope that the countdown will still give a thrill!

then we arrived. the place was still loaded. people still gathered. long tables on the restaurants... families were together. children on their best dress... all the same new year's eve.
just dont try to ask for loud music. its a fine dining set up... alcohols were available just inside the resto... and if you wish to drink outside, starbucks coffee will do :)

we had the best, year end dinner. more than the food... we ended the year together, with the special people in our lives. 6 of us. sharing our dreams for the coming year and analyzing what went wrong for the past year... & so on.

then, its almost midnight. we were rushing for the "countdown" outside.
it was soooo cold. a foggy cold silent night.

we passed at starbucks to have some latte...
then went out at the ampitheater of madinat jumeirah...
almost all the people did the same...
for what??? maybe that's the way it should be...

outside, fog embraced us... it covered the view.
all you can see was the big christmas tree, as if floating in the air.

10. 9. 8. 7. 6. 5. 4. 3. 2...happy new year :)

instead of fireworks... people greeted each other.
hugs... kisses... love was all around us!
as if everybody knew each other.
everybody is smiling... happy... full of hope...

one night, 2 different years.
one closes and another begun.

it was different. i grew up in the fireworks capital of the Philippines (Bulacan) where really loud fire crackers were lit during the eve... it was totally a different experience.

being part of the protest againsts the war that now killed more than 500 people...
the new year celebration that we had this year was more meaningful to me.

i am thankful that i was somehow able to give my little share with what is happening in Palestine & Gaza... that night, we prayed for them... and realize that while most are celebrating... some people had just lost their homes, or even their love ones, or even their own lives.

most of us has been trying to think of ways to improve ourselves for the coming year... some spent hours regretting things that they did and didnt do on the past year... new years resolution for ourselves... plans... project... self.
all about us.

the year that was (2008) brought many tragedies. records of crime... disaster... financial downfall... a history of its own.

and the beginning of the year gives a new hope for everybody.
not just for you & for me... but everybody deserves to be happy.