World's Best New Year's Eve Parties

It's Every City's Favorite Excuse For a Party. Here Are Ten Of The Most Spectacular Ways to Ring in 2010.

Bangkok: A fresh tradition

If Times Square's light show doesn't cut it for you, head to the capital of Thailand, where a 52-foot-high Greeting Ball Tower signals the arrival of midnight.

Outside of the giant CentralWorld shopping mall, about 500,000 revelers join hands to count down to the New Year.

Earlier in the evening, events include seven concert performances by Thai stars.

Punta del Leste : One Of the hottest
Punta Del Este, Uruguay. 
You may be asking, Uruguay…exactly where is that? Basically it is the white creamy center between the Oreo cookies of Argentina and Brazil! Now that you know where it is, you may be asking, why would I want to go there? I’ll tell you why. Punta del Este is the jewel of South America. It’s to South America what St. Tropez is to Europe. It’s glamorous, glitzy and yet somehow reminds me of Southern California! You only have a short season, really just the New Year’s Eve period to enjoy this sexy hot-spot.




Cape Town: Where the Second is best
A slave's only day off in 18th-century South Africa was on January 2, 
and so it's on Tweede Nuwe Jaar (Second New Year) that Cape Town parties the hardest.

Up to 2,800 minstrels paint their faces white and storm the streets for the Cape Town Minstrel Carnival.

Expect crowds of more than 80,000. Clad in bright colors, participants carry instruments (such as whistles) and umbrellas while parading from Keizersgracht Street past City Hall and into Rose Street.

South African wares and local delicacies are hawked along the route, and troupes compete for titles like Best Dressed.

Edinburgh: Scottish night lights

The Scottish capital toasts every New Year with a four-day festival called Hogmanay (pronounced hog-muh-NAY).

On the Monday before New Years 2009, a torchlight procession along Princes Street whisks a giant wicker lion to Calton Hill, where it's torched.

Then on New Year's Eve, indie rockers like Glasvegas blast away in the streets, while more mainstream rockers like Paolo Nutini perform at the Princes Street Gardens.

Nearby, there's a ceilidh, a traditional Scottish party where locals dance gigs and reels to a piper's beat.

Hong Kong: Reaching for the stars

The waterfront promenade Tsim Sha Tsui is a fine vantage point to take in the midnight pyrotechnics above the city's tallest building, 2 IFC.

For an even more memorable view, jump aboard the Shining Star Ferry for a two-hour cruise of Victoria Harbour.

It departs from the Tsim Sha Tsui pier; price has still not been set but will probably be around $20 per adult.

Las Vegas: The glittering Strip

Vegas lives up to its rep as a party town on December 31, with lunatic stunts, a massive light display, and performances by well known entertainers.

The Strip hosts the free portion of America's Party, an extravaganza with a fireworks display launching from various spots.

On Fremont Street, folks pay $20 a head to see Tribute-Palooza, a set of eight bands that imitate major acts like U2, Kiss, and Elton John.

New Orleans: Gumbo and pigskin

As in years past, New Orleans puts its own twist on New York City's ball drop.

Its spotlit gumbo pot drops from the Jax Brewery at midnight. Its fall prompts a nightlong bar crawl in the historic French Quarter.

This year, is the 75th anniversary of the Sugar Bowl, and the football matchup takes place on January 2.

Expect a football theme for most of the weekend's events. For example, in Jackson Square after the gumbo pot drop, a light-and-sound display will synchronize the fight song of each team playing in the Bowl this year with the appearance of each team's colors in the sky.

Reykjavík: Fantasy and flames

Icelandic law allows a firework free-for-all on New Year's Eve, making for a raucous night in the capital city.

Friends and neighbors sing folk songs at roughly half-a-dozen bonfires scattered across Reykjavík.

Note that on this holiday, local bars and clubs open a little after midnight.

Rio de Janeiro: Beach party

The two-and-a-half mile stretch of Praia de Copacabana plays host to more than two million partygoers decked out in traditional white.

Cariocas make offerings of red roses and white gladioli to Iemanjá, the goddess of the waters, before an all-night whirlwind of dancing and live concerts.

Head to majestic Sugarloaf Mountain for a somewhat quieter vantage point for taking in the fireworks display.

Sydney: First to cheer

Because of its location, Sydney is among the first major cities to greet the new year.

The city will synch up its pyrotechnics with colorful lighting effects on the arches of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Revelers gear up earlier in the day. Waterfront events attract crowds of Sydneysiders in T-shirts and shorts -- plus indigenous people in traditional garb.

Between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m., aircraft will run hourly flyovers above Sydney Harbour Bridge.

After 9 p.m., 55 illuminated ships circuit Sydney Harbour, foreshadowing the barrage of light and sound to come.


E é isto...
Aqui têm os 10 locais mais cobiçados como destino para entrarem em 2010.
Por todo o planeta...
Cada um com o seu toque especial.
Eu ja escolhi o meu destino. 
Bangkok - Thailand.
A embarcar dia 28 de Dezembro 'til January 4th 2010.
Christmas Eve? Luanda - Angola.
Porque quero que 2010 seja muito especial.
December 18th : Left Lisboa
December 18th : Arrived at Luanda
E é desta peculiar cidadezinha que é Luanda que vos escrevo. Um desfile de contrastes.
Onde alguns restaurantes nos servem água de VOSS à mesa, sim, é uma das tendências desta temporada, mas onde o fornecimento de energia eléctrica e de água potável ainda é percário.
Onde as pessoas não só se acham mais especiais como também mais trendy que os restantes comuns mortais, mas não o são. Not Al All. Onde o less é interpretado como menos e não como mais.
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh Please God, dê a esta gente algum discernimento e alguma humildade.
Less Is Always More.
E neste tom começo o "My Travel's Diary" ou como vou intitular "Mon Carnet de Route" onde vos irei relatar diariamente alguns momentos desta minha viagem de 15 dias por dois dos mais incríveis continentes : África e Ásia.
Stay Tuned...
x o x o