Travel Tales #5: The Biggest 2014 Countdown Fail (Vid)

New Year’s Day is one of the few holidays where I make a big deal. I always wonder where I will spend the countdown and am sure not to be late. Last year, I recorded the countdown in Taipei, Taiwan in front of the Taipei 101 building, which was quite a fantastic experience. Unfortunately though, being 20 minutes early was not good enough and we got a pretty crummy spots. Nevertheless, it was still amazing to see fireworks shoot out of the second tallest building in the world.

This year, I was determined not to repeat the same mistake. Given that it was my last year in Korea, we wanted to watch the ringing of the Bosingak Bell in downtown Seoul. In ancient times, this was the bell that signified the opening and closing of the Seoul Wall, and in modern times, it is used solely to ring in the New Year. You can think of it like the crystal ball falling in New York City. Sidney and I scouted the area the day before and I even showed up 6 hours early the day of. It was completely unnecessary and it was cold, but we were still in good spirits. An hour before midnight, they let us get a little closer, and we actually got a pretty good view. Everything was set, and I hit record exactly one minute before 2014. THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED!!!! Countdown Fail…