MIFC
Yes folks, the MIFC -- Malaysia International Fireworks Competiton, not the F*cking Convention. Was not keen to see the thing. Didn't bother to drive all the way out to Putrajaya, park dangerously by the roadside to catch the show for free. However, through a twist of fate, I was given a free ticket, as Cho couldn't make it. So, I joined SK, Kiam, HP and her little sister (the girl calls me Uncle too! Bitch!). Having heard of the notorious jams during the preliminaries, we arrived early to get a better spot. Well, our kiasu-ness paid off as we managed to double park by the roadside (trudged up the hill to PICC) and wait in the rain for two hours before enjoying a 30 minute display of money burning in the sky. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it. :P.
In order to peddle their MYR3 bottled water and MYR6 Nasi Lemak, the organisers disallowed food and water to be brought into the convention center. The checkes were lax, so we still managed to smuggle in some contraband water and finger sandwiches. Hehe. The venue was quite a letdown. Even though you pay, you only get "free standing". And since all the space under the roof had been taken, we had to move to the open air area. We opened our umbrellas, ate and counted down the minutes. We were entertained by some sporadic clown acts, fashion shows and a deejay. Two groups of people. Photographers aplenty. All with their fancy cameras and tripods. Jostling for a better spot. Couples abound too. All hugging each other tightly in the dark and cold. If only KH was there... :P.
Though it was drizzling the whole night, the show started on time and ended on time. The Malaysian, Australian, Japanese, Italian and Canadian showcased the most salient parts of their performance in a condensed 30 minutes (quite a lot for fireworks standards, but I guess we can never get enough of it. A middle-eastern asked me at the end of it, "Finished already?!"). As expected, lotsa ohhh-ahhhhhhh-ing. The Malaysians were conventional. The Australians were different. The Japanese were showy. The Italians were impressive. And the Canadians were OK. Australia won. They had very unconventional fireworks. Mostly hugging the horizon and they had one that hung in the air for quite some time before dropping off. Never seen anything like it. Subtle. Japan was quite incoherent with to many musical genres. But it was nice as they had the most packed show. Italy has some nice night flowers that burst out in multiple colours and dimensions, giving a a very 3D, supernova-like effect. Anyway, Australia won.
Before leaving, we cam-whored a while. Partly to capture the night view and partly to let the crowd disperse. Luckily, the jam wasn't too bad at the direction we were headed. As we left, we found that the people standing in front of the PICC got a good view of the finale and could even listen to the muscial accompaniment without forking out a single cent.... oh well, can't complain-- my ticket was gratis anyway.
In order to peddle their MYR3 bottled water and MYR6 Nasi Lemak, the organisers disallowed food and water to be brought into the convention center. The checkes were lax, so we still managed to smuggle in some contraband water and finger sandwiches. Hehe. The venue was quite a letdown. Even though you pay, you only get "free standing". And since all the space under the roof had been taken, we had to move to the open air area. We opened our umbrellas, ate and counted down the minutes. We were entertained by some sporadic clown acts, fashion shows and a deejay. Two groups of people. Photographers aplenty. All with their fancy cameras and tripods. Jostling for a better spot. Couples abound too. All hugging each other tightly in the dark and cold. If only KH was there... :P.
Though it was drizzling the whole night, the show started on time and ended on time. The Malaysian, Australian, Japanese, Italian and Canadian showcased the most salient parts of their performance in a condensed 30 minutes (quite a lot for fireworks standards, but I guess we can never get enough of it. A middle-eastern asked me at the end of it, "Finished already?!"). As expected, lotsa ohhh-ahhhhhhh-ing. The Malaysians were conventional. The Australians were different. The Japanese were showy. The Italians were impressive. And the Canadians were OK. Australia won. They had very unconventional fireworks. Mostly hugging the horizon and they had one that hung in the air for quite some time before dropping off. Never seen anything like it. Subtle. Japan was quite incoherent with to many musical genres. But it was nice as they had the most packed show. Italy has some nice night flowers that burst out in multiple colours and dimensions, giving a a very 3D, supernova-like effect. Anyway, Australia won.
Before leaving, we cam-whored a while. Partly to capture the night view and partly to let the crowd disperse. Luckily, the jam wasn't too bad at the direction we were headed. As we left, we found that the people standing in front of the PICC got a good view of the finale and could even listen to the muscial accompaniment without forking out a single cent.... oh well, can't complain-- my ticket was gratis anyway.
Comments
i tot free..
A first for me too.
@Famil:
Free at the roadside.
@QueerR:
Pwetty.
@DanielH:
Sorry. :P
@Alan:
Thanks!
@Savante:
It was!