2020 Fireworks Selfie

Happy Lunar New Year! So per tradition, I ran to Hoàn Kiếm lake and took a selfie against the fireworks (again). This is the 8th time in a row I’ve done this. Original post explaining this tradition.

This is the selfie for 2020, year of the mouse:

This year, somehow it started pouring in the late afternoon. This (rain on New Year’s Eve) has never happened before as far as I can remember. I was so worried that they’d cancel the fireworks. Luckily the rain stopped a bit past 11pm, and so it was greenlight for me to commence the run!

Normally I’d leave the house at 11pm to get to the lake by 11.15 to secure a good viewing spot in the crowd. This year, I got to the lake at 11.50pm and it was almost empty!

The run was pretty okay. I’ve gained some mass in preparation for the upcoming arm wrestling tournament so my running is definitely affected a bit. Still, I managed a 5:00/km pace for the entire run and was still breathing fine. My left knee hurt a bit from that intense trail run in Hàm Lợn last month. Hopefully the injury will go away soon.

This year I decided to run barefoot again. This turns out to be a pretty… bad decision as my feet quickly got cold from the wet ground.

The Fireworks

Spectacular! I was worried the rain and clouds would obscure the view, but after all we still got a clear view of the fireworks. They managed to put on a much, much more impressive pyrotechnics show this year. The sound of the explosions reverberating off the surrounding buildings was unreal —  you really have to be there to appreciate it.

The only complaint I have is, again, the whole fake money burning thing. This year it was especially bad — I had to hold my nose multiple times as I ran past all these massive bucket fires in front of people’s houses. Guess I’ll just have to live with this…

Well, so that’s it! Another year, another fireworks selfie. I’m so glad I’m still healthy, still capable of running a decent pace, and can still be at home to make it to see the fireworks. Here’s to the 9th picture next year!