...merdeka!!! merdeka!!! merdeka!!! or the war of the world?...

In all my live, this is the first Merdeka countdown, I ever stood under the umbrella of the beautiful and colourful fireworks (and I guess, it was my first Merdeka countdown in public after years and years!!!).

When we arrived Komtar (bless Howard who allows me to tag along for some of his photography shoots), the crowd of thousands were already jamming the road. Instead of the usual Gurney Drive and Esplanade, this year they thronged Komtar. The turn out of the crowd was spectacular...

The were stage shows, performance by some local artistes (sorrylah...I don't know who they are ~ Jzelynn, Mahadhir and MJH), and there were stalls promoting bank schemes to handphones. The stretch of road (Jalan Ria) was closed to the traffic. The was also a very small ching gay (infact, I only saw two flags).

Howard was running everywhere to find a good spot to set up his camera to shoot the fireworks. I with my digi cam, just followed around...going up the stairs that lead to the dome, walking up the pedestrian bridge, left right up down (good exercise for me). Finally, we settled on a spot where there are many other photography enthusiasts.

Then at the stroke of midnight (I think, as I was wearing a watch with dead batteries), came the "ping ping pong pong"...the dark skies were lit up with the wonderful display of firework. With each bursting of lights, the people around me went "oooh....ahhhh...wow".

Ever stood directly under a spray of fireworks??? Even they were high up in the sky, it makes you feel like you are watching a 3-Dimension movie. After sometime, staring at the fireworks, it made me felt like I am being engulfed by the lights...something like "The War Of The World". The amusement turn scary. I would not say I was excited, but it is a feeling I never felt before. Well, these are the best photos I took from my digicam...

Happy 51st Malaysia...