New year's eve at Times Square.

Where?
New York City, Broadway and 42nd, Times Square.

When?
New Year's eve, every year, for almost 100 years.

What?
A huge crystal ball drops down in the middle of time square when the clock strikes midnight at a speed of 80 ft in 6 seconds. Millions of confetti pieces falls on the crowd (almost 800,000 this year) from roof tops of buildings and the global tradition goes on..

What's the big deal?
I said it already. 500,000 to 800,000 ppl gather at Times Square every year to witness an event which is unparalleled in its grandiose. Nowhere else can you experience so much energy, excitement and anticipation. Being a part of it is a once-in-a-lifetime experience (you won't do it twice, unless you're crazy) and there's no new year's celebration that matches it anywhere else in the world.

What's the point?
Simple. Next time you hear people babble abt times square event, you go "been there, done that". It's like the Lord Of The Rings book. "There are two kinds of people on earth, those who've been to times square for new year's eve and those who haven't".

Why haven't you gone there yet?
1. You could be claustrophobic. Now that's a valid reason, if you're really claustrophobic, DON'T GO.
2. You fear the weather. That's valid too, but for me, it was worth seeing it in spite of a sub-zero experience. Also, it was 50F last year (2005 eve). It's not always cold, so fancy your chances. The fact that 800,000 ppl pack the streets also generates warmth, remember?
3. You think that its stupid to stand there for 5 to 10 hours to experience the ball drop for 2 mins. Well, if that's your attitude, Please watch it on television. It's not a couch-potato kinda thing.
4. You have no clue how to kill the time. Good point. Take a couple of decks of cards with you, some liquor in mountain dew/sprite bottles, board games if possible and an mp3 player if you're alone. If you can connect to the crowd around you and make pals, hours fly by.
5. You say "I'm going this year", every year. Procrastination is a loser's virtue.
6. You claim that you'd rather go to a nice, warm, cozy club where you can have fun. Trust me, the ppl you see there, in those clubs at NYC, are the ones who've already seen it.

My personal experience.

I went there for 2004 eve and had the time of my life. I stood there for 8 hrs, dehydrated, lost consciousness on my way back in the subway train and felt crappy the whole of next morning. But I swear it was worth it. Also, I was an idiot and I didn't plan for it. It was freezing out there and I hadn't eaten well, did not carry bottled water with me and I did not have good winter clothing. If you're well prepared, you can come out of times square with a smiling face. However, I had a bunch of scottish/american teens partying next to me and they gladly took me in. We sat down in the middle of the street, played cards, danced, sung and got drunk together and warmed each other up so we could stay alive for the ball drop. In spite of being a complete stranger, I was pampered with alcohol, offered gloves and a warmer jacket and a lot of support. Can you imagine squatting your ass down in the middle of times square, on the street, in the heart of new york city and partying with loads of people peering at you? I told myself that I was goddamned sure this was as crazy as it could get.

My suggestion:
Go there at around 6p.m. on new year's eve, get into a decent spot, make sure you take someone with you for company (a bunch of ppl would be awesome) and be prepared to handle the weather. Of course, you can't get out to buy food once you're in there, so pack some food, water, snacks and some bourbon ;) if possible. It won't be a let-down, I promise.