Day 30: A New Year's Eve to Remember

Day 30: December 31. A New Year's Eve to Remember

New Year’s Eve began under a brilliant blue, cloudless sky—a strange feeling in December, knowing our friends and neighbours back home were battling wind, cold, and storms. School in the morning, pool and beach for the rest of the day. We've been away from home for a full month now.

A new culinary low for make-do budget lunch today. Unlike those on a two-week holiday, we can’t eat out every meal. But with just a fridge and a kettle and no kitchen facility, creativity often feels out of reach. Today, it was more food of necessity and resignation than ingenuity. Here’s what we had left in the fridge, and nobody had the appetite for any more pot noodles: half a loaf of brown bread (now several days old), some butter, something I bought that initially looked like a cucumber - turned out to be a dehydrated courgette - should have chucked that upon discovery, but it is still lurking in the fridge (we may get desperate, but that day was not today!), a fresh mango, some cereal (that I have to convince the kids to eat each morning), a couple of packs of crisps, a chinese pear (an uninspirational fruit that is bland with a faint taste of apple and texture of a pear, but is not as good as either fruit), and a small pepper. So, crisp sandwiches all round with some slices of pepper and chinese pear, followed by fresh mango, the undisputed highlight. The children swerved the bread option so they essentially had a plate of crisps, followed by mango. Sienna swerved all of it, looked at us in disgust and spent her own money on a huge plate of fries on the beach accompanied by her book, Anne of Green Gables. It was a strong move, to be fair, given the alternative that the rest of us determinedly choked down. It would make us all more grateful and appreciative of the feast to come later.

The afternoon passed with the girls playing in the pool with their Norwegian friends, while Lorne and I alternated between the pool and the sea, reading and playing with the children. Francesca, buzzing with excitement, asked every 10 minutes, “What time is it? Is it time to get ready yet?” She wasn’t the only one—we were all looking forward to our New Year’s Eve plan, especially the children.

One of their Christmas presents was the promise of a relaxing family massage on the beach at sunset, and what better time for it than the final hours of the year? After showers, we headed to our chosen massage platform, stopping for fruit shakes at a beachfront bar to watch the sun sink below the horizon. The sunsets here are magnificent every night, yet we never tire of exclaiming over the splendour of a painted sky.

The simultaneous family massages were a resounding success. Mine was easily the best I’ve had in Thailand so far, and even Lorne—who is not a massage fan—succumbed to the relaxing rhythm of it, backed by the gentle exhale of the sea breathing onto the sand. The girls loved their oil massages, and with our now deeply tanned bodies, we all seemed to glow with health and relaxation.

Dinner followed in Saladan at our favourite local restaurant, where the family owners welcomed us back with big smiles. We enjoyed a splendid Thai feast. The children, to our delight, happily devoured curries. A leisurely walk back to the hotel eased our stuffed bellies, and by the time we reached the beach, it was already buzzing with excitement and anticipation.

The usually quiet Klong Dao Beach had transformed into a vibrant gathering place, filled with locals, tourists, and expats alike. Local Thai family groups had set up tables and mats, bringing their own food and drinks, their children running around excitedly with neon glowing toys, while restaurants and bars were busily serving their gala dinners. The tide was by now exceptionally high, and we watched as some tables and chairs had to be rescued from the encroaching waves.

The atmosphere was electric, the beach alive with lights, early fireworks, and a sense of celebration. A spectacular fire show unfolded before one of the restaurants, with fire-eaters spinning and twirling their flames into the night sky and creating shapes with flames in the sand. Sparks rained down like millions of fireflies, and the show ended with a flaming sign that read, “Happy New Year 2025”—a magical moment that left the crowd in awe.

By 11:15pm, fire lanterns floated into the sky, and locals began setting off their own fireworks. We decided to retreat to our air-conditioned room for a quick break, some drinks, and a bit of TV, before returning to the beach just before midnight.

As a family, we loudly counted down the final seconds of 2024 together, and then 3-2-1, it began. At exactly midnight, the entire length of the beach erupted in an explosion of fireworks. Every bar, hotel, and restaurant had its own display, and they all launched at once.

The sky exploded in a kaleidoscope of pinks, greens, silvers, golds, blues, and purples. The sheer noise and light were overwhelming—cracks, bangs, hisses, whistles and whooshes echoed across the beach as fireworks burst and rained down in dazzling displays. The combination of every establishment’s fireworks was louder and more spectacular than anything we could have imagined, up and down the beach for as far as the eyes could see. This was a New Year’s Eve celebration that felt truly unmatched, certainly in our experience.

Eventually, we retreated to the quieter poolside, where the four of us sat together on beanbags, cuddled up, and with wide eyes watched the fireworks light up the night sky in a blaze of colour. It was a brilliant show, and we couldn’t believe we were here to witness it.

There was nowhere else I would have wanted to be to see in the new year. Thailand had delivered again, far exceeding our expectations, and I already know we’ll be back to experience this magic again on Koh Lanta someday. Happy New Year to you all!

Gallery

Kicking the new year off in style!