9 Reasons Why We Love Music Festivals

by Drifter Planet | Sep 14, 2016 | Festivals and Parties

If you follow us on Instagram then you would have noticed that our summer was full of music festivals. We started in Thailand’s Experience Festival, went to Manali‘s Dance of Shiva festival, flew to Germany for Freqs of Nature, went on a bus to Hungary for S.U.N. Festival, made new friends and went with them for Croatia‘s Modem festival, flew to the other side of Europe for Boom festival in Portugal, drove on a campervan to Spain’s Lost Theory festival and eventually came back to Germany for Earthquake festival. Sounds Epic right? It was.

Disclaimer: Just because we attend music festivals, doesn’t mean that we participate in intoxicants. We do it for our love of music and nothing else. Yes, we perhaps the most sober people in a festival with just a beer or two in their system.

Did you ever wonder why we love music festivals so much that we travel halfway around the world just to attend them? In fact, we have been asked this question a lot of times this summer that we eventually decided to write a post.

Here is why we love music festivals so much:

01 | Dance Like No One’s Watching

Dance Like No One’s Watching at the Experience Festival – Photo by Digital Thangka

A wise man once said, “you’ve gotta dance like there’s nobody watching”. It is definitely as fun as it sounds but it’s not something that most of us can do everywhere. Music festivals exist exactly for this purpose. Go dance your heart out at one of these and you will be hooked.

02 | Show Your True Personality and Wear Interesting Costumes

Avatar Costume At Boom Festival 2016 – Photo by Amir Weiss of Transformation Festivals Eye

Are you a fairy when it’s dark or a unicorn when it snows? Well, what better place to reveal your true personality than a music festival. Dress as per your fantasies without worrying about anything, because, hey – you’re in a music festival and everything goes!

03| Art and Performances

Beautiful Artwork at Boom Festival 2016 in Portugal

Festivals are beautiful! From décor to performing artists, festivals offer a lot of food for eyes. Many festivals hire some of the best designers to create a visually stimulating environment to boost the overall experience. Big festivals such as Boom Festival (Portugal) are famous for showcasing elaborate artwork and entertaining performances.

04 | Traveling to a new location

Modem Festival’s Mindblowing Location in Croatia

It is an added benefit if the music festival isn’t in your hometown because you can combine the experience of traveling to a new location with attending the festival. Modem Festival (Croatia) has the most beautiful location that we have seen because it’s in the middle of the mountains and next to a clear water river with waterfalls and caves nearby. Even the Experience Festival on Thailand’s turtle island, Koh Tao has a mind-blowing location.

05 | Camping

Our Shady Camping Spot at SUN Festival 2016 in Hungary

The best festivals are the ones that offer a place to camp. We all know that some of the craziest parties start at the campgrounds! It’s an amazing experience just to build a little home with a tent or just a hammock in the campground. Who knows, your neighbor may become your next best friend?

06 | Find Your Inner Child

Bring Out Your Inner Child at Boom Festival 2016 Portugal

Sounds cliché? Well, it’s true! Get yourself a bubble gun, LED toys, magic tricks, coloring book, hula hoop because it’s time to celebrate life. Most of the music festivals have areas that are specifically designed to bring out your inner child with rides, games and more. Even if such areas are non-existent, it’s time for you to get creative and make your own play space.

07 | New Friends

New Friends for Life – Why I love music festivals

Don’t have any friends that you can go to the music festival with? Go alone. At music festivals you are bound to meet new people and some of them will become your friends for life. After all, you end up spending many hours or sometimes even days with them. It’s a good place to meet people from different ages, countries, and cultures.

08 | Free State of Mind

Energy on the dance floor at Boom Festival 2016

As soon as I set my feet on a festival ground, I feel I am away from all the negativity of the world. Why? Because festivals are places where people come to escape the “real world”. Everyone is at their best self and is happy. It’s a place to celebrate life!

09 | Festivals Change You.. for Better.

Happiness is contagious. So is positive energy. All this positive energy generates a feeling of oneness and makes everyone a happier person. Ask anyone who went to a music festival – they’d swear it changed them for life.

So, what’s your favorite music festival? Which one are you attending next? We’d love to know, so let us know in the comments! We love living your life like it’s a big music festival – what about you?

: Boom Festival 2016 in Portugal – Why We Love Music Festivals – Drifter Planet

: Earthquake Festival 2016 Germany – Why We Love Music Festivals – Drifter planet

: Boom Festival 2016 – Why We Love music Festivals – Drifter Planet

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The Ultimate Packing Guide for Music Festivals

by Drifter Planet | Jul 8, 2016 | Festivals and Parties

If you have been following our blog, you must have noticed that San and I are music festival junkies. After all, we met each other in a PsyTrance music festival! Anyway, now that we’re gearing to hit a few festivals in summer, I wanted to share our packing list with you, which will come in handy if you’re also doing what we love doing.

Disclaimer: Just because we attend music festivals, doesn’t mean that we participate in intoxicants. We do it for our love of music and nothing else. Yes, we perhaps the most sober people in a festival with just a beer or two in their system.

When it comes to packing, just remember – “less is more” and carry the bare minimum. Here’s an ultimate packing list for music festivals to help you get started:

The essential items to carry for a music festival

01 | Festival ticket and your Identity Card (of course!) –

The entry tickets for most of the festivals sell out months in advance. Hence you most likely will carry an e-ticket with which you will need to show your identity card to get a festival wrist band to enter.

02 | A Small Waist-Bag / Pouch That You can Wear

A waist bag will help you keep your money and essentials so that you don’t have to carry a backpack around. Always keep this waist pouch with you. It doesn’t have to be an ugly fanny pack but you can find a good looking one that looks good with your outfit. More than how it looks, it should be comfortable to dance in. Here is what I usually carry:

My waist pouch for music festivals

03 | A tent, sleeping bag, pillow and mattress

Assuming you’re camping at the festival. Even if there are rooms nearby, I’d recommend you camp at the festival to get the most out of it. We carry Quechua Quickhiker Ultralight, which is surely more expensive than others but is super light to carry. Of course we invested in a good tent because we use it often.

04 | A flashlight

A flashlight is a must have for camping at music festivals. Carry a few spare batteries because you never know when you run out. You can carry a headlamp too!

05 | Sunscreen, moisturizer and lip balm.

No matter how the weather is, you WILL need your sunscreen if you’re staying out. Even if it is cloudy, you need to use a good sunscreen if you’re outside. Don’t be a cool dude and say no to sunscreen. Skin cancer is real and it can be prevented by just using a sunblock.

06 | Wet wipes

Wet wipes are the first things I pack when I put my stuff together for a festival. I love being clean and I believe wet wipes are always useful. You can use them in the morning to wipe your face when the queue outside the washbasin is too long or you can also use them to wipe your ass after using the toilet.

07 | Basic toiletries

You’re going to need your toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, shampoo and a deodorant. Try to carry a natural soap and shampoo so that it doesn’t interfere with the venue’s ecological balance.

08 | A towel

I carry a micro fiber quick drying towel which packs in a little ball.

09 | Condoms

You never know when you (or one of your friends) need them so it is good to be safe.

10 | Ear-plugs

Overexposure to high decibels can cause long term damage to your ears. Even if the sound system is of the highest quality, you should carry a pair of ear plugs.

11 | Water refill container

Most of the festivals have a water refilling station and you should make the most of them by carrying a water bottle or a container. It is important for you to keep yourself hydrated and avoid the use of plastic glasses or bottles.

12 | A few trash bags

Trash-bags will always come in handy to keep your campsite clean. You can also use them to put your dirty clothes so that they don’t mix with your clean clothes.

13 | Toilet paper

I don’t want to be stuck in a situation where I can’t find any! Do you?

14 | Menstrual Cup

This one is for the ladies. If you haven’t started using a menstrual cup already, you have got to get yourself one because seriously, this will change your life. Get one as soon as possible so that you’re fully prepared before you travel because it takes a while to understand how to use it. Once you get a hang of it, there is nothing else that feels as clean and is as stress-free to use as a menstrual cup. I recommend you compare menstrual cups online before you decide which one to get.

Wondering what kind of bag to carry for a festival where you can pack your things? I love my compact CabinZero bag because I can fit things really well inside it. The way it has been designed, it can be easily carried as a cabin bag on flights.

What clothes to carry for a music festival

01 | Some light clothing for you to dance in.

I usually cut up my old clothes and make new ones. I never carry new clothes for a festival because I know I will dance in the mud for hours and mess up everything. If you’re heading to a festival that’s in a cold place, then don’t forget to carry a thick wind proof jacket. We love this packing guide for Ireland, which isn’t really for music festivals but will come in handy right before a winter music festival.

02 | A basic tank top or a tee shirt

If you’re going for your first festival and aren’t sure what to wear, then you won’t go wrong with a basic tank top. It will look amazing with just about anything – skirts, shorts and even outrageously colorful festival pants.

02 | Fleece or jumper, long pants and socks

Depending on the weather. Even in warm places, it does get cold at night so it helps to be prepared.

03 | Swimwear (if your festival location has a swim area)

Most of the festivals have a swimming area and you don’t want to miss out on it just because you don’t have your swimsuit. Although skinny dipping is usually acceptable if you’re in a psychedelic festival or an experimental festival, but it is good to be prepared.

04 | Fun Costumes

C’mon, you gotta wear some funny or entertaining clothes when you’re in a music festival. Get a costume or just an accessory to reveal your true identity! Are you a pirate? Or an elf? Perhaps Borat? Look at my LED Fairy outfit at the Experience Festival in Koh Tao.

My LED Fairy Wings at the Experience PsyTrance Festival – Wings designed by Andrea Pixie and Photo by digital Thanka

05 | Flip-flops and / or shoes depending on the weather

Carry something which is easy to wiggle out of when you want to dance barefoot. I like carrying Ninja boots because they are super comfortable for dancing.

06 | Sunglasses

Sunglasses won’t just protect your eyes from the sunlight, but also from the sand from the ground that flies around when people stomp.

07 | Hat

If you like dancing in the sun, you’re gonna need a hat.

08 | A sarong or a scarf

I can never go to a festival without a sarong. Sarongs are so useful because you can use them in so many ways. You can wrap around your swimsuit and dance. Or if it gets hot, you can wet it and wrap around your head / body to cool down. I usually carry more than one sarong because these can be used as mats, bedsheets, pillows, a cute asymmetrical skirt and more. The possibilities are endless! Back in 2016, after attending back to back festivals, I ended up losing my towel and used my sarong as a towel and it worked. During sunny days, I wrapped my sarong around my waist as a skirt on top of my swimsuit and danced in it.

09 | A few sets of underwear

I don’t need to give you a reason but it is common sense to carry extra undies when you’re in a festival.

Optional things to carry for a music festival

01 | Hammock

Even though San and I always carry our hammocks, I’m putting it in the optional category for you. For me, hammocks are sometimes more comfortable than tents for a good sleep. If you don’t find a good spot to hang your hammock, you can always put it on the ground and use it as a mat.

San and I with our tent and hammock

02 | A mat

You can use it to put on ground to sit.

03 | Fun things that you can play with

There are so many fun things you can carry with you to a festival so that you can play with them. Carry a fun bag with a bubble gun, funny toys, Hula hoop, poi, etc. I usually carry a hula hoop and San carries juggling balls.

04 | Alcohol

Unless you don’t mind spending a lot at the festival bar. I normally don’t enjoy alchohol but San does. If the festival is in Germany, he carries his beloved Jagermeister and beers.

05 | Insect repellent

I swear by my mosquito repellent patches but San never uses any of them.

06 | Tent covers or parasols

Tent covers are useful when the weather is extremely hot, extremely cold or rainy. These will protect your camp from heat. It is a good idea to cover a sitting area outside your tent with a cover.

07 | A stove, cylinder, bowls, cutleries and cooking pan (if you’re cooking your own food)

There are some festivals where food is so expensive that the only way to survive is by cooking your own food. In Boom festival, we didn’t have to carry our stove because there was an outdoor community cooking area where we could use the fire and cook our own food.

08 | Band-aids

You may hurt yourself while dancing. For bigger injuries, head to the first aid area. Every festival has one.

09 | A rain poncho

Depending on the weather forecast. I have one that folds up in a super small ball and I always carry it.

10 | A power bank to charge your gadgets

Although I’d recommend you stay disconnected from the outside world during the festival, but in case you’re expecting your friends to call you because of some reason, then a power bank will save your life.

11 | A hand-fan

: My paper hand fan

: My hand fan with a water spray in Portugal

Yes, it is in the option section but after attending so many festivals I have realized that a hand-fan is the BEST festival accessory. It will keep your face cool when the weather is warm and it will increase the air circulation. I don’t know about you but at times when there are too many people on the dance-floor, I feel I need some extra breathing space. A hand-fan helps when there is less space.

Things I’d NEVER carry to a music festival

01 | Glass bottles

Firstly, many festivals have banned these glass bottles because they are fire hazards. Secondly. its risky to carry them because they can break and cut your skin. If you’re buying your own alcohol then you can transfer the contents in a flask instead of carrying a glass bottle.

02 | A selfie stick

My apologies to those who can’t live without their selfie sticks. Your stick can poke and hurt people who dance around you. Almost all of the music festivals have amazing official photographers. Ask one of them to click your photo.

03 | Bad attitude

Leave this at home. Spread good vibes and don’t forget to smile at everyone.

So, what do you think my packing list for music festivals? Is there anything that you carry and I missed it out? Let me know in the comments section. Oh and do share this list with your friends to help them pack for the music festivals.

Consider carrying Dry Bag if the festival is close to the water. Check out this list of some of the best dry bags.

You may also like:

15 Reasons to Love the Experience Festival

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Holi Festival

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The ultimate packing guide for music festivals pin small

16 Psytrance Music Festivals We Want to Attend in 2016

by Drifter Planet | Apr 23, 2016 | Festivals and Parties, Most Popular Blog Posts

It’s summer time soon! It’s that time of the year again when San and I start getting ready with our tents and hammocks to hit a few psytrance music festivals. Yes, this list is late because we started our year with the Experience psychedelic festival on Koh Tao and it took us a while to recover from the awesomeness (obviously).

We may not be able to visit every festival on this list, but even if we do half, we’re happy! Yes, this list ONLY has psytrance music festivals because that’s the genre that we feel most connected to.

May

01 | Dance of Shiva

Location: Manali, India
Schedule: May 2 – 4, 2016
Website

Dance of Shiva Festival

What better place to enjoy a psychedelic experience than the Himalayas? The location of this festival is Manali, which is one of our favorite summer destinations in the Parvati Valley. This festival is definitely not mainstream and they sell ONLY 400 tickets. It gets better – the 2016 edition is Dance of Shiva’s 10-year anniversary! Oh yes, we already have our tickets for this one. Out of all the psytrance music festivals that are scheduled for 2016 in the Himalayas, this looks the most promising one.

June

02 | Trimurti Festival

Location: Golden Ring, Russia
Schedule: June 9 – 13, 2016
Website

Trimurti Festival Russia

Trimurti is an environment friendly festival in Russia that is a completely ecological event since 2011. The organizers make an effort to reduce the use of plastic and inorganic materials. They also have a UFO center in this festival which acts as an information point and well, it also looks like a UFO!

July

03 | Freqs of Nature

Location: Niedergörsdorf (Near Berlin), Germany
Schedule: July 7 – July 12, 2016
Website

Freqs of Nature Festival (Photography Transformation Festivals Eye)

Freqs of Nature is rated really high by festival goers. Our friend Sei Ru says “They manage to strike a really good balance of intensity with the forest floor and friendly vibes at the progressive stage. There’s also good vibes at the techno stage, which wasn’t just some neglected backwater stage. There’s an open ground chill stage and a really good art gallery in an old military hanger. It also never felt overcrowded and the toilets were always spotless”

04 | Solar United Natives Festival (SUN Festival)

Location: Csobánkapuszta, Hungary
Schedule: July 18 – July 25, 2016
Website

Sun festival Hungary (Photography by: Pierre Ekman & “Shoot Your Shot”- Photography)

The best thing about this festival is that it works like a community which people can enter by buying membership. Many crucial decisions about the festival are decided after the organizers conduct a poll with the members. San and I have a lifetime membership so we can enter this festival anytime without buying a ticket. However, they now have an annual membership option because the lifetime option is no longer available. Yes, we are very excited to attend this festival this year.

05 | MoDem Festival (or Momento Demento Festival)

Location: Near Primislje, Croatia
Schedule: July 25 – July 31, 2016
Website

MoDem Festival Croatia – Photo by Transformation Festivals Eye

Modem festival is famous for its dark psy and forest psy music. The camping area is on a pretty little river island where people can feel closer to the nature. With a name like “The Springs of Mreznica” for the camp site, I just can’t stop myself from obsessing over the pictures of this festival! The best part – no cell phone connectivity in the festival area. Oh yes, you guessed it, we already have our tickets for this festival. Out of all the dark psytrance music festivals, Modem is perhaps the most famous one.

06 | Wonderland Festival (Waldfrieden)

Location: Stemwed-Wehdem, Germany
Schedule: July 28 – July 31, 2016
Website

Wonderland Festival Germany

Waldfrieden means “forest peace” and true to its name, the location is a slightly slanted empty patch with forest around it. There is a little pond and it’s possible to put the tents around it if you get in early. There is an indoor area as well with mind blowing decor. We have already attended this festival a few years back and we had a memorable experience. This is one of those rare festivals where they don’t do any publicity on Facebook to keep it low key, but the old timers never miss it. After all, this festival has been happening since 1997 (even before the overly hyped EDM festival – Tomorrowland) and is one of the oldest psytrance music festivals.

August

07 | O.Z.O.R.A. Festival

Location: Dádpuszta, Hungary
Schedule: August 1 – August 7, 2016
Website

Ozora Festival Hungary – Photo: Amit Itach Photography and Shahar Ratzenberg, body paing: Bodypaintlily

With almost 60,000 attendees in the year of 2015, Ozora is one of the biggest psytrance festivals in the world in terms of the headcount. Its lineup boasts of some of the most famous names in the psytrance community. Starting from Lord of the Rings to UV garden this festival’s décor is something that you will remember for life.

08 | Boom Festival

Location: Near Idanha-a-Nova, Portugal
Schedule: August 11 – 18, 2016
Website

Boom Festival – lovely, no?

This is the festival that we’re MOST EXCITED about. This festival takes place next to a lake once in two years. Even though this festival is extremely famous, the organizers sell a limited number of tickets. In fact, the presale tickets for 2016 edition were sold out within a few hours! We were lucky that we got ours in time. Honestly, with its popularity, the organizers can easily sell at least double than what they sell now if they wanted to, but they don’t because their goal is to provide the best possible experience and not to make profits. In fact, Boom festival is entirely funded by ticket sales without any corporate sponsors. The best part – Boom has won the title of YOUROPE Green ‘N’ Clean Festival of the Year many times because it runs on the principle of self-sustainment by not using chemical products and raising public environmental awareness. If Ozora is one of the biggest psytrance music festivals in terms of numbers, Boom is definitely known to be the grandest one!

Boom Festival 2014 by www.jakobkolar.com

09 | Lost Theory Festival

Location: Sotoserrano, Salamanca, Spain
Schedule: Aug 23 – 29, 2016
Website

Lost Theory Festival, Spain

This festival is usually held in Croatia but the location for 2016 is Spain in the middle of the mountains and surrounded by fresh water natural pools. Our friends that have attended this festival tell us about Lost Theory’s excellent festival management, affordable bar and clean toilets. The location for the Croatia editions was next to a river and looks dreamy! We’re very excited about Lost Theory because of it’s lineup that promises a very psychedelic experience.

Lost Theory Festival River Side Chill Area (2015)

We also want to share a video of the 2014 edition of Lost Theory festival because in our opinion, it’s the most amazing festival video. It’s short, interesting, beautiful and is like a story!

10 | Psy-Fi Festival

Location: Leeuwarden, Netherlands
Schedule: Aug 24 – Aug 28, 2016
Website

Psy-Fi Festival Netherlands

Psy-Fi is one of the newest psytrance music festivals in this list but it has already become extremely popular because those who attended spoke volumes of their amazing experience. They have an interesting way of naming each edition of their festival and the 2016 edition is called “Holographic Universe”. The best part – the location that has a few private beaches, an island and forest area. WOW!

11 | Burning Man

Location: Nevada, USA
Schedule: Aug 28 – Sep 5, 2016
Website

Burning Man Festival

Who hasn’t heard of Burning Man? It is definitely one of the most famous festivals. The team behind this festival work the entire year to create a temporary metropolis – Black Rock City in the middle of Nevada desert. This festival functions on its own ten principles for a more collaborative experience. This festival doesn’t run on profits and the organizers also publish their annual report and tax reports on their website. Check out this post about how to experience Burning Man year round.

September

12 | Ritual Open Air Experimental Festival

Location: Lastras de Cuellar, Segovia, Spain (Near Madrid)
Schedule: September 16 – 19, 2016
Website

Ritual Festival Flyer

Why Ritual? Because we love small festivals where we feel more connected with the people and it feels like a family. The location of this festival is just 45 minutes bus ride away from Madrid and the pre sale tickets are unbelievably affordable at 35 Euros. Also, this will be perhaps the last festival of the season for Europe before it starts getting cold. There’s not much information on the official website so this event link will come in handy.

October

13 | Indigo Festival

Location: Israel
Schedule: October 2 – 4, 2016
Website

Indigo Festival Israel – Photos by Ofir Karlstadt

Following the principle of “moksha”, this festival aims to provide the attendees a spiritual experience with oneness of body, mind and soul. This festival is organized by Moksha Project which is Israel’s biggest party organization.We like how this festival has a swimming pool and a beach area. It is organized on the shores of the Sea of Galilee – which is mentioned in my post about 50 Stunning Natural Pools from around the world.

November

14 | Earthcore Festival, Australia

Location: Victoria, Australia
Schedule: November 25 – 28, 2016
Website

Earthcore Festival Australia – Pictures by Fotobiotic

One of the most famous psytrance music festivals of Australia, Earthcore has a bit of luxurious side to it with “glamping” options with a lot of facilities. Eathcore Festival location is just one hour away from Melbourne. This festival also has an annaul theme and for 2016 it is Parallel Universe! Yes, we want to visit and get our own dose of parallel universe.

December

15 | Universo Paralello

Location: Pratigi, Brasil
Schedule: December 28, 2016 – January 4, 2017

Website

Universo Paralello Festival

If San and I end up being in South America around December, then we DEFINITELY want to head to Brasil for Universo Paralello festival because we’ve been eyeing it for years! This 8-day long festival happens on a beach with campground that’s available for 10 days and is one of the biggest psytrance music festivals of South America. This festival has a “Goa Stage” which is dedicated to playing old school psy tunes.

16 | The Experience Festival

Location: Koh Tao, Thailand
Schedule: December 30, 2016 – January 2, 2017
Website

The Experience Festival, Koh Tao – Photos by Digital Thangka

This festival may be the last on the list but it is one of the HAPPIEST psytrance music festivals in the world! This is where San and I met a few years back and we’ve been going back every year. The location is stunning with excellent décor which can turn any dark trip into a happy one. The music here is not dark and the vibe is always upbeat and energetic. This festival has surprisingly clean toilets that are airy. Showers are awesome but we prefer the nearby Freedom beach of Koh Tao for an early morning swim to revitalize ourselves. Need more convincing? Click here to read why we love this festival so much! While you’re there, don’t miss the after party on a beautiful beach bar (Ban Sabai) in Koh Phangan, If you need help planning this, scroll down and check out this cool app that will make your life simple.

Are you visiting any of the above listed festivals this year? Let us know! We’d LOVE to meet you!

You may also like:

15 Reasons We Love the Experience Festival

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Why Holi is the most AWESOME Festival EVER

by Drifter Planet | Mar 23, 2016 | Festivals and Parties, Humor, India

Why Holi is the most AWESOME Festival EVER

Holi may be an Indian and Nepalese festival but it is now popular all over the world. Why? Because it’s AWESOME! Some call it the festival of colours and others call it the festival of sharing love – I call it the festival of FUN. In my opinion, it is the most amazing and fun festival ever – let me tell you why:

01 | Perfect Weather

Holi Spring Gif Holi is a spring festival and it’s perhaps the best time to be outdoors! It is that time of the year when we say a happy BYE to winters and gear up for the warmth.

02 | Colour here, colour there, colour everywhere!

Holi Colors Gif

If you think India is super colourful, wait till you celebrate Holi here. Everything gets painted in different super bright colours that will make your eyes pop out.

03 | Everyone Turns Into A Kid

Holi games gif Well, who wouldn’t turn into a kid when they get to colour each other? It’s completely OKAY to get super messy and enjoy the messiness for many hours!

Read: Tips for celebrating Holi in India.. from an Indian

04 | Watergun fights!

Holi Watergun Fights

Forget paintball – a watergun fight on Holi is so much more fun! Oh and usually the liquid colour used in these guns takes ages to come off.

05 | Water balloon wars

Holi Water Balloons Warning: these balloons really hurt. However, nothing beats the fun of dodging them when they are thrown at you. In most cities, kids’ mafia starts these water balloon fights weeks before the actual festival in their revenge against grownups for making them study!

06 | Marijuana Drinks – Bhang Lassi or Bhang Thandai!

holi bhang gif

Oh you thought it couldn’t get better? On Holi, drinks made with marijuana leaves (Bhang) are available almost EVERYWHERE! But be careful, they are POTENT as hell.

07 | So Much Psychedelia!

Holi Color Splash Well, why not? Everyone gets painted in many different colors. It is the MOST psychedelic party in the world where everything and everyone is in technicolour.

Read: 17 Psychedelic Music Festivals You Should Attend in 2017

08 | Everyone is a Friend

It’s because you cannot recognize your real friends because they are painted in colours so it’s completely ok to corner a stranger and pretend they are your friends just to shower them with some colours.

08 | Parties EVERYWHERE

Holi Street Party As soon as you get out of your house, it’s a big fat party on the streets. And if this is not enough, there are MANY parties everywhere on Holi. Some are free and some are not. We love Rang Festival party in New Delhi or Hilltop Party in Goa.

Read: 20 Indian Female Travelers to Follow on Instagram

09 | Everyone Wants to Get Drunk

Because, WHY NOT!! Bring on the beer! Give me that whiskey! Let’s all get drunk!

10 | Gujiya Time!

Holi Gujia Do you like dumplings? Imagine a dumpling with sweet stuffing with a few nuts! Even those who don’t have a sweet tooth relish this dessert on Holi.

11 | That Satisfying Long Shower After Playing Holi for Many Hours

Holi Shower

This is perhaps the best shower of the year for many! Honestly, it may not remove all the colours but the feeling is awesome!

What are YOUR favorite things about Holi? I would LOVE to know!

Like this post? Share in on Facebook so that your friends can enjoy the awesomeness.

You might also like:

Tips for Celebrating Holi in India

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Why Holi is the MOST AMAZING festival EVER

A hippie travel writer with flowers in her hair, Sonal Kwatra Paladini should have been born in the 1960s! Bitten by the infamous travel bug, she has an itch to explore resort-free destinations, offbeat islands and small villages. Join her and her husband (Sandro) on their journey as they hop from one music festival to another and explore the beautiful world that they are in love with! Follow them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Sonal Kwatra Paladini

15 Reasons to LOVE the Experience Festival

by Drifter Planet | Aug 30, 2015 | Festivals and Parties, Most Popular Blog Posts

15 Reasons to LOVE the Experience Festival

If you have been following our blog, then you must be aware that San and I met while backpacking a few years back. However, not many of you know that we met at a music festival in Koh Tao. The name of that music festival is The Experience festival and here are the reasons why we absolutely LOVE this festival. We promise you will love it too if you visit it:

1) The BEST Time of the Year

An Extended New Year Party! – by Digital Thangka

The festival starts on December 30 and ends on January 2 – which makes it the BEST time to party. Don’t we all want to spend the New Year’s Eve in a big party? You know what’s better than a party? A FESTIVAL that lasts for FOUR DAYS! YAYYY!!!!

2) Beautiful Location

Koh Tao Island picture by Veejay Baba

The location of the festival is Koh Tao which also known as “turtle island”. Did you know, Koh Tao is on number 5 in the List of Top 10 Islands worldwide as per TripAdvisor’s 2015 Travelers choice awards? If you like diving, then Koh Tao is the perfect place for your next level of PADI certification.

3) Energy on the main dance floor

Energy on the Dance floor – by Digital Thangka

There’s something magical about the main dance floor of this festival. It will pull you in and make you dance for many hours. It’s the energy of the people on the trance floor that will embrace you and turn you into a stomper.

Look at the Energy! by Digital Thangka

Suggested Reading: New Year’s Eve Party on the beach in Mirissa, Sri Lanka

4) Amazing music

Photo by Digital Thangka

Some of the best international psytrance artists are regulars at this festival. This year, more than 50 amazing artists from all over the world are included in the lineup – Atriohm, Audioform, Bitkit, Contineum, Frangipani, Funky Dragon, Human Groove, Imaginarium, Liftshift, Lucid Mantra, Middle Mode, Note, Obliviant, Sonic Entity, Southwild, Starlab, Tantrix, Tristate, Vivid Loop, Ananda, Apnea, Betty, Commontense, Fordy, Ganesh, Hugo Nation, Jafar, Jo Moontribe, Jorg Vs Wung, K-Isuma, K.O.B., Koi, Lars Lee, Lenny & Carl, Mike Mad, Psymbiosis, R’Deem, Raoul, Sabaii Sabaii, Scotty, Shitaki, Single Vision, Sonic Quake, Tobermory, Tripical, Trippy, Yohei, Zig, Baburs, Blue Eyed Violet, K.O.B., Naure Said, Psychotic, Psymbiosis, Soniya, Ssongg, Tranquilogen, Tommy Rocker and Wacamolo.

5) Decoration

Photo by Digital Thangka

As some people say, the Experience festival has the most beautiful décor. The entry will make you feel like you’re entering a UV garden. The chill out area on your right as you enter, can turn the darkest of trips into a positive experience. The jellyfish and magical creatures décor will make you feel like you’re dreaming. The LED décor and the DJ station area on the dance floor will pump up your senses and lift you to a new level.

Wow – look at the decor! Picture by Veejay Baba

6) Happy people, good vibes

Look how happy everyone is – by Digital Thangka

Just look how happy everyone is! Beautiful people with beautiful smiles that spread good vibes! Seeing the smiles on everyone’s faces at this festival has spoilt me for life. Out of habit, I smiled at a few people while I was at a festival in Europe, which resulted in confused looks from them. (Yes, it’s funny)

So much positive energy! by Digital Thangka

7) The Weather

Sunrise and fresh morning air by Digital Thangka

Who wants to spend a festival shivering in cold or sweating like a pig in extreme heat? Koh Tao’s perfectly balanced tropical island weather is a delight to spend time in.

8) Water tank

Water Spashing by Digital Thangka

Ok, it may not be very hot, but c’mon, you’re at a festival and you will end up sweating if you dance in the sun. However, the festival organizers have come up with an awesome solution – a water tank that sprays water on the dancers in the morning!

Picture by Digital Thangka

9) Affordable

Entry Ticket price will make you smile 🙂 by Veejay Baba

The entry ticket to this festival is 3000 Thai Bhats at the gate and 2500 Thai Bhats if you buy two months before the festival. If you do some math, 3000 Thai Bhats ~ INR 6000 (approx). No festival of THIS duration and THIS scale is as affordable as this. Usually, the pre-sale entry fee for a 2 day pass to NH7 (Delhi) which is not even for 24 hours costs more; and if you buy it on the gate, it costs double. If you compare this to the cost of festivals in Europe or Australia, this is only a fraction of the cost. Also, the alcohol prices are low in the festival bar. One drink costs around 100-150 Thai Bhats. Lovely!

10) Clean Toilets

No one likes a dirty toilet. If you read about my post about the Wonderland festival in Germany, then you would have read about the hard time I faced there because of the toilets. Guess what, the toilets in this festival are not the typical temporary festival toilets. They are clean, proper and have an airy feel to them. Please keep them clean if you visit the festival.

11) Amazing sights

Amazing sights by Digital Thangka and Veejay Baba

The amazing sights at this festival are enough for one entire full page post, but I will try my best to put this in one point. You will get to witness a beautiful sunrise, some interesting message boards that people carry, some really talented poi dancers, hula hoop dancers, fire dancers as well as some people who dress up in the most unique way.

12) Food and Shopping Section

Photo by Veejay Baba

The food section has some really delicious snacks, fruits, juices, coffee and instant noodles – easily affordable. The shops have some of the most artistic jewelry, tiaras, tank tops, jackets and so much more.

13) Several Resting Options – Chill Out Area, Wooden Sitting Area, Camping Area and the some Hammock Spots

Of course you will need some good resting spots after hours of dancing. The festival has a beautiful chill out area where you can put your mat, lie down and spend hours.

Chill Out Area – by Veejay Baba

Or you can pitch a tent in the camping area for FREE and save money on accommodation. Oh and if you don’t want to leave the dance area, there’s are huge wooden areas around the dance-floor, like this:

Sitting Area by Veejay Baba

Or you can put up your hammock in one of the many spots like this:

Hammock Area, Photo by Veejay Baba

Or just chill inside the dustbin, like this:

Dustbin was also a popular spot! By Veejay Baba

14) Some New Friends…for life

Our little festival family

San and I have met many people at this festival and some have become our friends for life. The scale of this festival is not as massive as some of the mainstream festivals hence it is visited by a fewer number of like-minded people (close to 2000 – 3000) and it feels like a close knit family.

15) Many Amazing Pictures and Videos After the Festival

Don’t we all love pictures and videos? This festival has some of the best people as the official photographers and videographers. This results in the most beautiful pictures and videos which you can share and save to keep your memories alive forever. Drifter Planet loves the pictures by Danny Apnea Martens (Digital Thangka) and Veejay Baba. All the pictures in this post are by them. If you like their work, you should follow them on facebook (Digital Thangka), (Veejay Baba) or check out Digital Thangka’s work on flickr (click here).

Amazing Photography!

If you’re in or are traveling to Asia, then we highly recommend you attend this festival. Check out the below links for further information:

Festival Website: http://theexperience-kohtao.com/

Festival FB page: https://www.facebook.com/experience.kohtao

Festival Event Page: https://www.facebook.com/events/1383520221972198/

Image Courtesy: Digital Thangka – https://www.facebook.com/Digital.Thangka, http://www.flickr.com/photos/digital_thangka/ and Veejay Baba https://www.facebook.com/vj.baba.1

Want more fun? Check out the official video by Mario Chamorro Montenegro & Andi Johnen (Check me out stomping full power at 2:15):

Or this by Diogo Castro from Portugal. (San and I are at 6:02 😉 )

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The Experience Festival of Koh Tao

Sonal Kwatra Paladini

Wonderland Festival, Germany

by Drifter Planet | Aug 15, 2015 | Festivals and Parties

Wonderland Festival, Germany

Many must have heard of the highly hyped and mainstream Tomorrowland EDM festival of Belgium, the American pre-teen pop Coachella festival of the USA and the respected Glastonbury festival of England.

Moving away from pop-rock and mainstream list to trance, many must have heard of the most famous psytrance festival called Boom festival of Portugal which occurs once in two year and few of Ozora Psytrance festival of Hungary BUT fewer must have heard of this gem of a festival called Wonderland festival, Germany, or Wald Frieden Wonderland.

Wonderland Festival Dance Area

Wald Frieden is a German word which translates into “Forest Peace”. It is organized by Wald Frieden events in their own location which is a HUGEEEEE open area in the middle of the forest.

Camping area with a lake, buddha and tents.

This is a yearly festival which happens every year since 1997, so technically, much older than most of the mainstream festivals mentioned above. I like the fact that it’s not as mainstream as the ones listed above, maybe because there’s no Facebook page of this festival.

Wonderland festival is usually scheduled for August every year. There’s another festival by the same organizers in the same location called – Hai in den Mai, which is for the month of May every year. The entry is cheaper than most of the more known festivals listed above.

Exactly a year back, I was at this festival – Wonderland #18, 2014 edition.

To reach this festival, we took a train to Bielefeld. I must tell you about a hilarious conspiracy theory about Bielefeld or you can call it a popular German Joke. The theory says, the city of Bielefeld does not actually exist but is an illusion propagated by an entity called “them” or “Sie” in German to disguise an alien spaceship in Bielefeld University. If anyone says they have been to Bielefeld or have known someone from Bielefeld, they are assumed to be a part of this conspiracy.

Shuttle from Bielefeld

I did not know about this theory, else I would have clicked a few pictures of the station at Bielefeld to prove I was there. Darn, missed an opportunity!

The Entry Point

Anyway, moving away from the conspiracy theory, we took a shuttle to the wonderland festival from outside of Bielefeld train station to reach the festival a day early and so that we could find a good camp ground to pitch our tents. The actual location of this festival is Stemwed-Wehdem, in the province of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

From the time we entered, my eyes popped out because this festival was at a much larger scale that I had imagined it would be. We got our entry bands and went in, just to notice that many camping areas were already full, especially, the area around the lake.

Peaceful Camp area around the lake

Nevertheless, we found a good spot to pitch our tents – a little far away from the toilets to avoid the smell but not too far also. We were many people together so we put up 10 tents and a few hammocks in a circle with a table and a few chairs in the middle.

Our Camp Area

San outside our tent

One friend was traveling with his stuffed party goat – Henrietta and of course she needed a tent as well. At this point, I was overly impatient and was itching to enter the festival area.

Henrietta in her tent

Moving ahead of the camp area after pitching the tents, we entered the festival area.

Walk from the Camping Area to the Festival

The festival area had a beautiful chill out area with many hammocks, floor beds and music. Up ahead, were many colorful shops selling beautiful handmade jewelry, clothes, poi, leather gear, psychedelic art, geometric art and so much more.

Festival Handmade Jewelry – PatchOuliWorld

Geometric art shop – I spent a lot of time here, tripping 😉

All the “festival shopping” that I did from Paharganj made me smile because the exact same things were being sold for at least 10 times more than what I bought. For instance, something that I bought for INR 400 rupees at Paharganj, was for €60 euros (which is more than INR 4000 rupees). Of course, I carried many gifts from Paharganj for some friends in Germany.

Festival Shopping area

Beautiful Shop with lights

Moving ahead of the shops, we entered an area which had many eating options – fresh orange juice, real espresso, vegan energy balls, Indian Aloo Gobi, food-porn-worthy pizzas and my favorite tortellini. We gave this area a skip and headed to the main area – the trance floors!

Wonderland Food Area

The first floor was the smallest one – with morning trance music and lovely visuals on the wall of an indoor trance floor next to it.

Wow

The second was the indoor area with had mind-blowing UV décor on the walls and the ceiling. This indoor area had darker trance beats. This was the only cemented indoor area of the festival apart from the bathing area.

Rainbow Forest Fairy Decor

Third dance floor was much bigger with smaller dancing areas a level above it. The fourth dance floor was as big as the third one with same music. The third and the fourth dance floors were a part of the main dance area.

Festival Dance Area

There were many smaller things and games around the main dance area. The music in the main area was usually full-on psychedelic during the day and moved to dark psy-trance at night.

Festival Main Area

I remember a wooden area with steps that went above with a lovely view of the dance floor.

Wooden Area with a view of the dance floor

Next to this, there was a massive bonfire. There was a slide as well somewhere here. We went for a walk beyond the festival area into the woods and saw some beautiful dragonflies.

Over the next four days, I saw some amazing fire dancers, hoop artists, bubble art, extremely talented poi dancers.

Amazing LED Hoop Dancers

Amazing Firedancer

Wow, look at those bubbles!

The bathing area had a separate section for hot water and cold water. The hot water section had a long queue so I decided to take a cold shower. Germany’s summer in 2014 was a little like Asia’s winter and that cold shower made me yell out loud, but I felt extremely fresh, warm and energetic all day. The bathing area was open with a barely there dividing wall but none of the boys glanced even once towards the girls area – total respect for privacy – amazing Germany.

Honestly, I’m not scared for heights or dark or cockroaches or spiders – but I’m scared of dirty toilets. And much to my dismay, the toilets were DISGUSTING. That’s one thing I love about Asia – the excess cleaning staff everywhere so most of the festival toilets are clean in Asia. The cleanest one was of Hilltop Goa. Anyway, I realized the toilets in the indoor dance area were the only ones that were always clean.

San and I (drifter)

Healing Area, Wonderland

Apart from all this, the festival had a healing area with Shamans, massage area, sound therapy, yoga, workshops for poi, etcetera – but I missed all this because I was too busy dancing, drinking, eating CANDY and losing my mind at geometric and UV artwork which was all over the festival area. Obviously I was too out of my mind to click pictures, so I have taken some from”PatchouliWorld.com“, Ian Neumann and “ॐ We are one ॐ Photography”.

UV Garden

My advice to anyone that’s visiting Europe is to check out these not so famous festivals such as Wonderland. The lesser known ones are not small (wonderland easily had 5,000 to 7,000 people) but are definitely more affordable. These lesser known festivals have an advantage of vibes which are very clean because they are visited by happy psychedelic people who visit for the amazing music and psychedelic experience, instead of loud selfie-stick holding tourists who visit to check them off their lists. I never faced a language problem here because almost everyone that I met here understood English and spoke fluently.

Amazing Decor and Lights

San and Drifter at wonderland – Ian, thanks for the picture 🙂

Photo Credit: “PatchouliWorld.com“, “ॐ We are one ॐ Photography” and Ian Neumann.

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Leave me a comment to share your opinion or if you recommend another Psy-Trance festival for me to visit.

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9 Reasons Why We Love Music Festivals

Here is why we love music festivals so much:

01 | Dance Like No One’s Watching

02 | Show Your True Personality and Wear Interesting Costumes

03| Art and Performances

04 | Traveling to a new location

05 | Camping

06 | Find Your Inner Child

07 | New Friends

08 | Free State of Mind

09 | Festivals Change You.. for Better.

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The Ultimate Packing Guide for Music Festivals

The essential items to carry for a music festival

01 | Festival ticket and your Identity Card (of course!) –

02 | A Small Waist-Bag / Pouch That You can Wear

03 | A tent, sleeping bag, pillow and mattress

04 | A flashlight

05 | Sunscreen, moisturizer and lip balm.

06 | Wet wipes

07 | Basic toiletries

08 | A towel

09 | Condoms

10 | Ear-plugs

11 | Water refill container

12 | A few trash bags

13 | Toilet paper

14 | Menstrual Cup

What clothes to carry for a music festival

01 | Some light clothing for you to dance in.

02 | A basic tank top or a tee shirt

02 | Fleece or jumper, long pants and socks

03 | Swimwear (if your festival location has a swim area)

04 | Fun Costumes

05 | Flip-flops and / or shoes depending on the weather

06 | Sunglasses

07 | Hat

08 | A sarong or a scarf

09 | A few sets of underwear

Optional things to carry for a music festival

01 | Hammock

02 | A mat

03 | Fun things that you can play with

04 | Alcohol

05 | Insect repellent

06 | Tent covers or parasols

07 | A stove, cylinder, bowls, cutleries and cooking pan (if you’re cooking your own food)

08 | Band-aids

09 | A rain poncho

10 | A power bank to charge your gadgets

11 | A hand-fan

Things I’d NEVER carry to a music festival

01 | Glass bottles

02 | A selfie stick

03 | Bad attitude

16 Psytrance Music Festivals We Want to Attend in 2016

May

01 | Dance of Shiva

June

02 | Trimurti Festival

July

03 | Freqs of Nature

04 | Solar United Natives Festival (SUN Festival)

05 | MoDem Festival (or Momento Demento Festival)

06 | Wonderland Festival (Waldfrieden)

August

07 | O.Z.O.R.A. Festival

08 | Boom Festival

09 | Lost Theory Festival

10 | Psy-Fi Festival

11 | Burning Man

September

12 | Ritual Open Air Experimental Festival

October

13 | Indigo Festival

November

14 | Earthcore Festival, Australia

December

15 | Universo Paralello