The Experience Festival, Thailand

While in Thailand I did attend a electronic music festival, curious to see what my own culture would be like on the other side of the world. 

The Experience was a Psy-Trance festival held in Koa Toa, a breath-taking island off of the east coast of Thailand. I had two different experiences, one with how I felt about the festival, and one with how I felt about the place. 

The festival itself was interesting to me because, while it seemed similar to what I was used to in appearance, music, and types of attendees, it felt very different. First off, it was really expensive, it cost more than some festivals I went to in North America this summer. This, right off the bat, cut out the ability for a lot of local people to come. There were almost no Thai people there, the festival was made up almost entirely of travellers, which I think is why it felt so different to me. 

A makeshift shrine set up in front of the main-stage

In festivals like this, the thing that speaks to me the most is the type of community that's created through it. And that community building generally happens off the backs of the local community that's already there, that has an investment in the space. At Experience there was a surprising lack of people just hanging out during the day talking to each other. The groups seemed smaller, broken up. It seemed as though people were a little more insular when it came to making friends. It's possible that this was some of my own energy I put into the festival as well, you get out what you put in, but the overarching feeling I had of the space was one of disconnection. This festival felt to me like what it was, a bunch of out-of-towners who came for a party.

To be fair, it was a bunch of very respectful out-of-towners. Even while I found New Years to be a lot of bros getting drunk, the festival stayed super clean throughout the entire thing. And, while there were some super trashed people there, they were still all friendly even when wasted. A lot of the people attending seemed like they would be part of these communities elsewhere, I just couldn't shake the feeling of disconnection through the entire thing. Which is exactly the opposite of what I normally feel in these spaces, even when I don't know anyone. 

The island of Koa Toa however, made up for the community spirit where this festival failed. I felt so at home here, it was by far my favourite place in Thailand. There were still definitely the touristy places where the vibe wasn't so great, but as soon as we got off the beaten path we found incredibly beautiful, soul-filled places. We stayed at this one place called High Bar, where the staff was so hilarious and friendly, it really felt like home. 

It was interesting to me to have the experience of going to a festival and not connecting, but having that connection so present in the surrounding area. My sense of home shifted from the festival space, to the local space. It just goes to show you, it's the people who make things great, which means we all have the power to create good spaces wherever we are.