Mumbai Terrorist Attack

Hey everyone dont worry I was not near the terrorist attack yesterday in Mumbai and bombay, I am over 1,000 miles away in Jalandhar. The country is on red alert for all foreigners everywhere. I am here in India doing his will so God will protect me. I just hope that you all will keep india in your prayers right now with all the turmoil going on. Here is an article about the incident.

NBC News and news services
updated 6:23 a.m. ET Nov. 27, 2008
MUMBAI, India - Indian commandos were preparing to storm the Taj Hotel, Trident-Oberoi and a Jewish center in India's financial capital where militants had trapped or taken hostage scores of people, witnesses and TV channels said, Reuters reported on Thursday.
A short while earlier a huge explosion was heard in the Taj Hotel.
Earlier, black-clad Indian commandos liberated some hostages and recovered a few bodies in the Taj Mahal hotel, nearly a day after teams of gunmen stormed landmarks in the city, killing at least 101 people.
The attacks, which were blamed on Muslim militants, targeted two luxury hotels, a popular restaurant, a crowded train station and a Jewish center. Anees Ahmed, a top state official, had said authorities believed up to 15 foreigners were being held hostage at the Taj Mahal hotel.
Dozens of people were still trapped or held captive on Thursday, among them Americans, Britons, Italians, Swedes, Canadians, Yemenis and New Zealanders. Officials say Australian, Japanese and British nationals are among the dead.
Witnesses said the attackers had specifically targeted Britons and Americans.
Police and gunmen had been exchanging occasional gunfire at the two hotels and dozens of people were believed held hostage or trapped inside the besieged buildings. Pradeep Indulkar, a senior official at the Maharashtra state Home Ministry said that in addition to the 101 people slain, 314 had been injured.
Officials said eight militants had also been killed in the coordinated attacks on at least 10 sites that began around 9:30 p.m. Wednesday.
'Save us' A series of explosions had rocked the Taj Mahal just after midnight. Screams were heard and black smoke and flames billowed from the century-old edifice on Mumbai's waterfront. Firefighters sprayed water at the blaze and plucked people from balconies with extension ladders. By dawn, the fire was still burning.
At the nearby upscale Oberoi hotel, soldiers could be seen on the roof of neighboring buildings. A banner hung out of one window read "save us." No one could be seen inside the room from the road.
Mumbai, on the western coast of India overlooking the Arabian Sea, is home to splendid Victorian architecture built during the British Raj and is one of the most populated cities in the world with some 18 million crammed into shantytowns, high rises and crumbling mansions. The Taj Mahal hotel, filled with Oriental carpets, Indian artifacts and alabaster ceilings, overlooks the fabled Gateway of India that commemorated the visit of King George V and Queen Mary.
The motive for the onslaught was not immediately clear, but Mumbai has frequently been targeted in terrorist attacks blamed on Islamic extremists, including a series of bombings in July 2006 that killed 187 people.
Since May a militant group calling itself the Indian Mujahideen has taken credit for a string of blasts that killed more than 130 people. The most recent was in September, when explosions struck a park and crowded shopping areas in the capital, New Delhi, killing 21 people and wounding about 100.
Relations between Hindus, who make up more than 80 percent of India's 1 billion population, and Muslims, who make up about 14 percent, have sporadically erupted into bouts of sectarian violence since British-ruled India was split into independent India and Pakistan in 1947.
Officials at Bombay Hospital, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a Japanese man had died there and nine Europeans had been admitted, three of them in critical condition with gunshots. All had come from the Taj Mahal, the officials said.
The NDTV news channel reported that an explosion had been heard at the Trident hotel and that several Israelis were among hostages being held on the 19th floor. NDTV said commandos were preparing for a counterassault there.
At least three top Indian police officers — including the chief of the anti-terror squad — were among those killed, said A.N. Roy, a top police official.
Alex Chamberlain, a British citizen who was dining at the Oberoi, told Sky News television that a gunman ushered 30 to 40 people from the restaurant into a stairway and, speaking in Hindi or Urdu, ordered everyone to put up their hands.
Chamberlain said he managed to slip away as the patrons were forced to walk up stairs, but he thought much of the group was being held hostage.
"I guess they were after foreigners, because they were asking for British or American passports," said Rakesh Patel, a British witness who lives in Hong Kong and was staying at the Taj Mahal hotel on business. "They had bombs."

By ANITA CHANG, Associated Press Writer
MUMBAI, India – Black-clad Indian commandoes raided two luxury hotels to try to free hostages Thursday, and explosions and gunshots shook India's financial capital a day after attacks by suspected Muslim militants killed at least 119 people.
About 10 to 12 gunmen remain holed up inside the hotels and a Jewish center, a top Indian general said. The remaining gunmen appeared to have been killed or captured, Maj. Gen. R.K. Huda told New Delhi Television.
Authorities said 119 people died and 288 were injured when suspected Islamic militants — armed with assault rifles, hand grenades and explosives — launched a highly coordinated attack against 10 sites in the city Wednesday night.
Officials said eight militants were also killed.
Dozens of people were being held hostage at the hotels, as well as a nearby Jewish center, by the well-trained and heavily armed gunmen, authorities said.
While hostages trickled out of the hotels throughout the day, witnesses said many bodies remained inside and the two-day siege showed few signs of ending quickly. Several bodies were carried out of the five-star Taj Mahal Palace and Tower hotel.
The attackers had specifically targeted Britons and Americans inside the hotels, witnesses said.
Dozens of people were also apparently still hiding in their hotel rooms, terrified by occasional bursts of gunfire and explosions, as well as fires burning in parts of both hotels, and waiting for authorities to get them to safety.
After dusk Thursday, police brought hostages out of the Oberoi, one of the city's best-known five-star hotels.
One man, a who identified himself as a Pole but did not give his name, told reporters he had seen many bodies inside, but refused to give more details, saying he had promised police not to discuss details of the rescue operation.
The Maharashtra state home ministry said 84 people had been freed from the Oberoi — 60 of them hostages — and dozens more were still trapped inside.
Police said they were going slowly to protect the captives.
A previously unknown Islamic militant group claimed responsibility for the carnage, the latest in a series of terror attacks over the past three years that have dented India's image as an industrious nation galloping toward prosperity.
Among the dead were at least one Australian, a Japanese and a British national, said Pradeep Indulkar, a senior government official of Maharashtra state. An Italian and a German were also killed, according to their foreign ministries.
The most high-profile target was the Taj Mahal hotel, a landmark of Mumbai luxury since 1903, and a favorite watering hole of the city's elite.
Police loudspeakers declared a curfew around the hotel Thursday afternoon, and commandos ran into the building as fresh gunshots rang out from the area. Into the night, brief exchanges of gunfire and explosions could be heard coming from the building.
The attackers, dressed in black shirts and jeans, stormed into the hotel about 9:45 p.m. Wednesday and opened fire indiscriminately.

Eye Camp - Bapla

On Sunday all the eye department left at 5 AM for Bapla a village 2 ½ hrs away from our hospital for are free eye camp. Now I am not a morning person so I was not pleased about leaving so early but I got myself up because I knew there were people that really needed this. We reached the sponsors home and had breakfast of prata, curd, lessi, and homemade butter. They were a more well off family they had wheat fields, a few cows, two cars, and a house with several rooms. We than traveled to the gurudwara this is a seek temple where we were meet by a flock of hundreds of people already waiting to be seen by the doctor. We set up the OPD where the doctor diagnosis, the BP, IOP, and urine sugar stations and set to work. The doctor saw hundreds of people but could only take 230 cataract surgeries. They were than sent to get there blood pressure taken, intraocular pressure, and urine sugar. If any of these are too high than they are not a good candidate for surgery. There were still people that needed surgery but we had to cut it off at 230. We than had lunch of rice, dal (lentils), and Kayla (banana). We than went and set up the OT in a close government hospital that was sorely lacking of a good cleaning and equipment. We brought all of our own equipment and supplies just for this case. And started on the cataract surgery. It is amazing how the system they have everything flows so well because everyone knows there job. First the pt gets a local block, than we paint with bedadine and gets placed on the surgery table. There are two tables set up so one can be prepped while one is having the surgery. The first assistant gets the pt ready by opening the eye with the speculum and the doctor takes over and does the surgery with the assistant. The second assistant cleans up the pt once there finished and switches all the instruments. The circulating person makes sure to autoclave everything and if we need any other supplies he gets it for us. It’s a very well oiled machine. We operated 230 cases in 7 hrs. It was the longest I have stood in the operating room. At the end every part of my body ached. I found new parts of my body I never knew I had because I could feel the ache in them as well. We had dinner at 11 PM once we had cleaned up the OT and packed. And finally hit the road back to ruby nelson hospital. Our driver got completely lost made a complete circle back to the gurudwara so it took us 4 hrs to get back instead of 2 ½ so we reached back at 4:00 AM I was so tired from being up for 23 hrs working. I was glad to be able to help all those people but it was a long long day. Its just so amazing now 230 people can see again all from a 5-10 min operation.

Badminton Tournament

Today we had the inauguration of the new badminton court at ruby nelson hospital. They went all out for this occasion. They had a banner set up, fire crackers, music, and sweets. Ashish and Praven were the organizers of the court so they spoke a few words. And Dr. Jacob made the commencement speech. All the staff and families came out for the big event. This is something that has been long in the process for this hospital. All the doctors cut the ribbon making the court official, and the games began. I have not really ever played badminton before so I did not know the rules. People kept telling me its like tennis but its really nothing like it. So they made me play, kerry was my partner we played against Ruby and Honey. Now Honey was all over the court jumping and twirling in the air everywhere she was so funny. The badminton racket is much much smaller than a tennis racket so I could not hit the shuttle for anything. Every time it came near me I would miss horribly. Everyone was laughing but at the end of the game I was starting to get the hang of it. But I sadly lost my first game of badminton. Now the staff of Ruby Nelson is going to have a tournament we will play every night for a month. So this shall be an experience, lets just hope I get better and start jumping and twirling like Honey.

Karsog Multi Medical Camp

Karsog Multi purpose building


Me extracting teeth


assisting ashish

On my birthday November 14th I had to work half a day in the eye department and than Ashish and I left for simla to go for a multi medical camp to Karsog. Now we were suppose to leave a t 1 but this is india and nothing starts or leave at the time that is stated. We left at 3 and it’s a 7 hr drive so I was not looking forward to this drive in the dark because the roads are very curvy and narrow. We reached simla at 11 PM and than left for Karsog at 5 AM so I did not get very much sleep. Maranatha built this multi purpose building for the congregation of Karsog as a church on Saturday and than during the week to use it as a community center/medical center. Asian Aid funded the project Mr. Gareth from Nebraska was the representative from America and Mr. Ravi was the Indian representative of Asian Aid. Mr. Gareth and I got along very well he gave me all the food remaining that he brought with him from America one thing being delicious fudge. I don’t think anything has tasted so good to me before.
The inauguration of the new building was the 15th so the whole simla church and the medical team went for the inauguration and the first church service. The singing was in Hindi but thankfully there was a translator for the sermon so I was not completely lost. Now let me paint you a picture. The building is on the tippy top of a mountain and the road up is so rocky and bumpy that vehicles really cant be driven up so we have to walk. Now there are two ways up the short cut or the long long way up. The long way is a “Z” pattern all the way up twisting back and forth to make it less steep but it takes a long time its like going up the mt twice. The short cut is this little foot path almost straight up with big rocks and trees all around you. You pass a few houses along the way with cows outside, and the natives there just walk right passed you like the mt is no big deal. I took the short cut because I did not want to take any extra steps than I had to. It would take us around and hour to an hour and half to walk from our guest house to the community center, I just kept telling myself with very step I take im losing weight that is the only thing that kept me going. When everyone gets to the top we were all panting and my face was red but we made it.
The following day after the inauguration we started our free medical camp. In one corner was the eye department scanning for cataract, the opposite corner was the surgeon and anesthesiologist giving free check ups and scanning for any surgery, the dental was set up on one wall with the portable machine that Dr. John left with ashish on my first dental camp 2 months ago. And an ultrasound machine was set up in the adjoining room. When we finally reached the top of the mt everyday it was looking bigger we saw the huge crowd of people waiting. We were not expecting this huge turnout that we got because this was the first camp at this location as well as the long hike to make it up. We worked all day for two days straight seeing as many people as we could. I was assisting dr. ashish with the dental and since I have done it once before I got the hang of it much faster. He even let me extract 3 teeth to two very unexpecting pts. I had a blast on this camp and really got to help a lot of people. One girl we restored her three front teeth she was 10 yrs old and never smiled because of this, but Dr. ashish reconstructed them and now she can smile and make a great match in life. Now the accommodations were not the best part of the trip. I shared a room with another lady that did not speak English, we had to share a community bathroom that did not flush very well, there was no geizer so we had no hot water when ever we wanted to take a bath we had to go outside and ask the owner to bring us some, and than we had to walk 1 ½ hours twice a day. But it was all worth it because we got to help so many people. We brought back around 50 people to be operated on and they were all so thankful.
Dr. Ashish and I traveled back to simla with everyone on Tuesday once we reached we were there for 3 hrs and than back on the road to Jalandhar because we had work on Wednesday. I feel asleep because we left at 8:30 PM and was woken up around 1:30 by ashish saying that we had run out of gas. I could not believe it we were on the side of the road in Punjab its well known for its drinking. Thankfully we were in the city so the driver left and said it would take him about 30 min and be back with gas. 2 hours went by and he finally came back with gas. The whole time ashish was paranoid saying “don’t sit up, so people wont see you and come over here”, when I turned the light on he told me to shut it off not to bring attention to us, and one time he told me he saw a drunk driver swerving on the road thankfully driving away from us on the other side of the road. We finally made it back to Jalandhar at 4:30 AM safe and sound but after many adventures. Praise God for taking care of us and for bring the people to get free medical treatment.

22nd Birthday, November 14

On Thursday the 13th it was holiday for all the schools, hospitals, and government run places. Guru Purav birthday, he was the first guru of the seek religion so we had holiday, no work yay. Ever since I have reached India I have been craving homemade chocolate cake, and have not been able to make it because most families in India do not own ovens, baking is not done in every home. So I had to ask all the families that live on campus, some of the married older couples had but none of the bachelors, they were lucky if they had food in the house let alone an oven. I finally found Dilpreet family had an oven but when I say oven its not like what your thinking trust me. It is a stand alone circular metal container. I have never seen an oven like this before and Dilpreet says her family never uses it so be careful not get zapped, so this made me feel even more comfortable right. So I went out and bought the ingredients and this was an adventure as well trying to figure out the hindi names, all food is a little different here, and they don’t have fine sugar only the rocks so I was a little confused. Kerry and I went over to Praven’s house and started making this cake it was such a funny time not having the nice equipment that I am use to. Now Praven is a bachelor so he does not have any baking equipment not even a measuring cup, and everything is measured in grams not cups so that throws me off completely. So we finally figured everything out and we started to pre-heat the oven and all of a sudden kerry says “what is that smell and noise.” You will not believe me, bugs were being popped in the oven they came out of the cracks so we did not see it we were so scared and freaked out, so now you know how long since this oven was used. Both of us were to grossed out to get the oven roasted bugs out so I called Ashish over to be our Knight. He thankfully cleaned the 10 bugs or so out and laughed the whole time. We finally got the cake in the free bug zone oven and it took forever to bake almost and hour and half instead of 45 min it should have taken in the states. So the time it should have taken was an hour took around three. While we were making the cake the boys Denyl, Ashish, Viraj, Kevin, and Praveen were making the food. We finally ate lunch at 3:30 but we all had a great time together and they sang me happy birthday a day early. That night I went shopping with dilpreet at the market and stayed over her house for the night. She is a dentist at ruby nelson at only 22 yrs old. Her brother and sister speak English but usually they only speak Hindi, her mother and grandmother cant speak English But they all sang me happy birthday at midnight and gave me a candle to blow out onto of some ice cream, it was so funny seeing grandma sing in English. India has a tradition when it is your birthday everyone at the party feeds you a spoon of cake or ice cream. Now I thought this was very strange but I allowed dilpreet and her mother. I appreciated this so much this family has taken me in and treated me like family and I really needed that on my birthday being so far from my home and family.

KARSOG COMMUNITY CENTRE THANKSGIVING & CAMP

Dr. Yvonne


The impatient crowd wanting to be seen


This article is written by Dr. Yvonne about the last medical camp i went on.

Karsog is one of the most beautiful valleys of Himachal and for almost two years we have been planning a Community Centre in this region, with the help of Asian Aid. At long last the building is finished: the land is fenced and it is time for a Thanksgiving service. Dr. Bazliel and his team advertise widely in the community that there will be a 3-day long Out-Patient-Clinic including Dental; Eye; Surgical and Medical patients.

Mr. Gareth Reese, Treasurer of Asian Aid and Mr Ravi Dass Superintendent of Asian Aid for India, were to be our special guests for the occasion. On Friday morning, our CEO had the brilliant idea that he would invite our entire Shimla Church to join in the Thanksgiving, using our big hospital bus. After this service and lunch; the Church members would return to Simla, leaving the hospital bus free to return to Karsog. The members of the Karsog Church, who have waited so long for a place of worship, would be able to use the hall on Sabbaths if the rest of the week were devoted to the community.

These were our plans, but Satan had quite different ideas! The road to the Community Centre had been blocked for many, many months. Two ladies through whose land the road passed had blocked its entrance and put a case in court, because the Government bulldozers had carelessly damaged their houses and agricultural land. This year’s monsoon was extremely heavy and the road was practically totally blocked with landslides. But we needed that road if patients were to reach the Centre; all the hospital equipment was to be brought in, and if I and my wheelchair were to see the land and the building for which we had planned and prayed for so long.

Lekh Ram (our hospital maintenance man) who has worked tirelessly to complete the project was the only person able to persuade these ladies to open the barricade of bushes with which they had blocked the road. What joy it gave us when we heard his voice on the cell phone; “Sir, the ladies have agreed, provided we open and close the road and use it only for our vehicles. I have arranged with a bulldozer and he is already on the job.” How this bulldozer crew worked: from early morning until late night, using their lights. Carefully they avoided pushing boulders over the edges. With three hair-pin bends to traverse, they carved over the mountainside, and every 5 minutes or so, they cleared a landslide. If that were not enough, they carefully smoothed the surface removing the residual rocks. Those of us who were obliged to travel these 2 km of roads twice daily for three days can never express adequately our gratitude to this crew.

On Sunday morning, two of our vehicles traveled the road searching for the first sight of the Community Centre. Would there be any patients? Remember, this was the first time that this type of Out Patient Clinic was being tried. Suddenly Dr. Bazliel caught sight of the enormous mass of people crowded around the Centre. His previous anxiety was only realised when he said quietly, “Thank you Lord!” I turned to look at his face. Misty eyes only endorsed both his sense of gratitude and relief. I couldn’t help but join in. Most patients had come walking: a few came limping: more were being led with sticks clasped firmly in hand: one or two had come by vehicle and what appeared to be three young men on a single scooter had negotiated the road. We wondered if they needed psychiatric help!!

Soon the Clinics were established in the one large hall of the Community Centre: Patients for surgical / medical treatment, occupied one corner: for dental care were given a little more space: patients for eye care had a fourth corner. Finally in a quiet room was Dr. Sheilagh with her ultra sound machine. In one little spot, with my wheelchair, I am trying to take in all the sounds and sights, while the patients take me in!! But if there was quiet mania in the room, there was TOTAL mania outside. The reasons are not difficult to understand:

1. Most Indians have never learned to stand in a queue

2. Every patient wants to be seen first and will push and pull to obtain this privilege.

3. Our village folk have developed the idea that an ultra sound is not only a diagnostic test, but also a curative treatment. This means that almost everyone wishes to have an ultrasound, and is prepared to stand in line for it.

4 Although this was advertised as a free Out Patient Clinic, each person expected free examinations; free medicines and free surgery.

5. Parents and school children now know that teeth can be filled and it is not necessary to wait until they need extraction. This kept our Dentist continuously busy, and no matter how his team tried to hand out numbers or explain that each one would be seen, these patients found waiting almost impossible.

We had promised that any patient, who was willing to come to our Simla Sanitarium & Hospital for the needed surgery, would be picked up by our hospital bus at an easily reachable spot; and taken to Shimla at no cost. We would do surgery at the lowest possible cost and would then deliver them back to the same pick up place. What more could we do? Some of the cataract patients and the general & gynae surgical cases promised to accept our offer but would anyone come?

Monday morning greeted us with the same huge crowd, as on Sunday. The patients had gathered long before we could reach the Clinic. But the mania of the previous day was very much less, because Mr. Gareth Reese had learned how to handle the crowd. I watched him in the boiling sun separating “Eyes” from “Teeth” and these from “Surgical and Medical” and somehow he convinced them that they would be seen. I was so grateful when he re-appeared in a hat stuffed with a T-shirt draped over his shoulders. How could we have had our guest suffer from heat stroke? Meanwhile Mr Ravi Dass was doing his best to learn to be a dentist!! The boys, Rana Singh and Lekh Ram made certain that each patient sat in the right row of chairs, so there was relative peace in the hall.

Eventually our cooks arrive with lunch. The doctors barely allow themselves time for eating and soon in each section of the hall and Clinic work begins again at full speed. I sit in my little corner trying to convert the sounds and sights to my laptop. Mr Hitaksha brings a fifteen year old girl for me to see. One eye is completely filled with a malignant tumour. “”Will we be able to help her?” I asked; struggling to hold back my tears. “Oh, we could remove the eye” he replied, “but she will need a biopsy before doing that and she needs to go to the P.G.I Hospital in Chandigarh.” I think of the immense distance between their village and Chandigarh and feel sure that the journey will never be made. If only I were a millionaire!!

Suddenly I am aware of a silence broken only by Dr.Ashish’s dental machine. I seek out Dr. Bazliel’s face. His reply to my unspoken question is clear. ”We have seen 572 patients and cannot handle more.” Now I understand what he has told me so many times before; how difficult it is to close a Camp, because there are always some who simply cannot be seen. Had we stayed here for another week, there would still be a crowd awaiting us each morning! We make our last trip along the two kilometer road, which by now is a sandy, dangerous “boulevard.” The hospital Scorpio fortunately has 4 wheel drive facilities, but the Tempo Traveler has to be pushed by a combination of our staff and patient volunteers who cope with the skidding and huge clouds of thick dust.

Let us fast-forward to Tuesday morning. Will any patients come? We could have saved ourselves the anxiety! Patients and their attendants are crowded around the doctor and nurse – each one determined to find a place in the bus. Believe it or not, there are too many people for our large hospital bus. Twenty six surgical cases + twenty six attendants need to be accommodated. But they have been promised a free trip to Shimla and there is no alternative except to hire an extra small vehicle. Finally every patient and each attendant is seated and on their way. The two remaining vehicles are quickly filled and the ‘Karsog Community Centre Thanksgiving’ programme and ‘Out Patient Clinic’ are things of the past. Could we have done things better? I watch my husband’s face as he drives our ancient hospital SUV, and know that he is already planning for the next attempt at this Community Centre and how it can be improved. But I think it has been a wonderful experience and thank God that I could be a part of it.

Dr Yvonne Bazliel

bible youth camp in manali

Solang Valley - Beautiful

The youth group from the jalandhar church went to manali for four days with a guest speaker Dr. Rohini. Ashish invited me to go along i was glad i learned so much and had alot of fun. 40 of us pilled into the hospital bus for a 12 hr drive. it was a long trip with alot of people with motion sickness alot of throwing up outside the windows. During the day we would have lectures from dr. rohini the theme was "transformed by your grace." She taught us about how we go to God last so without knowing we treat God like we treat our enemies. We can not save ourselves we can not connect with God without Jesus coming down to earth becuase he was part divine as well as in the sinful nature. She really helped me look at everything in a different light. i learned alot of the basics i should have know but made them so much more clear for me. It was a good bonding experience with others from jalandhar. We went up to rohtang pass becuase half of the people on the retreat had never seen snow they went crazy. but the night we came back i got very sick throwing up everywhere stupid food poisoning.

They ganged up on me!

The bus ride

My first Yak ride - hehe

Diwali

Diwali is a major hindu festival also called the festival of lights. In the legend, the people of Ayodhya welcomed Ram by lighting rows of lamps, where the lights or lamps signify victory of good over the evil within an individual. On the day of Diwali, many wear new clothes and share sweets and snacks as well as light fireworks. Some North Indian business communities start their financial year on Diwali and new account books are opened on this day.Diwali also celebrates the return of lord Ram, King of ayodhya, with his wife sita after a 14 year exile, and a war in which he killed the evil and demonic king raven. It is believed that the people of Ayodhya lit ghee lamps along the way to light their path in the darkness.
I went to Dr. Dilpreet one of the dentist at the hospitals house to celebrate with her family. I had so much fun and it was fascinating to learn about the festival. We lit clay made lamps and placed them around the outside of the house as well as under every faucet. Around 7 pm people start lighting firecrackers and they dont stop untill after 12 its crazy i have seen nothing like it before you look around on the roof and you see firworks all aroud you 360 degrees its amazing. I enjoyed the festival. i got to light the fireworks myself becase back at home its illegal to light them yourself so this was the first time i could it was a blast. I even burnt my hand while lighting them i guess it is somthing you have to go through.