Click here to view the original article that appeared on Drifter Planet
If you have been following our blog, then you must be aware that San and I met while backpacking a few years back. However, very few 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 and many of our friends that visit this year after year, absolutely LOVE this festival. We promise you will love it too if you visit it:
1) The BEST Time of the Year
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
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
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.
4) Amazing music
Some of the best international psy-trance 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
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.
6) Happy people, good vibes
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)
7) The Weather
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
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!
9) Affordable
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. 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
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
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.
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:
Or you can put up your hammock in one of the many spots like this:
14) Some New Friends…for life
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).
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):
This article was originally published on Drifter Planet by Sonal Kwatra Paladini. 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.
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