Shambala festival

I bought a ticket for the first time for a festival. It was 125 pounds. I thought it was bit expensive but Shambala festival was one my friends recommended also all the Cafe Tango crew was going. So I decided to go. And, I don't have to work so I can enjoy as much as I want without worry about anything. This Shambala festival was one of secret festival that the location was hidden and all the artist weren't announced that made me so curious but also anxious.

On the afternoon of Friday, Raf drove Fin and me to the site. We got lost on the way, took us about three hours to get there and it was raining when we arrived.

While I was carrying my stuff to the site, I was really shock that I spent money on this festival. We don't have Cafe Tango, so we have to walk quite long way to get to camp site, and I had to set up the tent in the rain. We don't have kitchen to hang out nor cook something to eat. I had to walk with lots of my stuff, its getting dark and cold. I talked my friends little bit. And at the night, Finn, Imogen and I walked around a little bit and I wanted to do something but I was too hungry to do anything and it was rain outside. So I went to bed early.

I woke up with sunrise and went out for a walk. Everyone was still sleeping but the day has changed to a beautiful sunny day, I had to do something. I wanted to eat but I didn't want to spend some money. The festival was not so small but its also not big either. Took me about couple of hours to walk around and seen briefly. I went back to tent to cook some lunch. I borrowed a cooking stove from some people that I met near my tent and made a noodle soup. Shambala festival is also has lots of events and shops. There were hand craft course, Indian curry and small stages so on. It also has a forest behind a lake. In the lake, there was a submarine (it was not real) and a windmill. In the forest, it was like a maze and this was my favorite stage that made out of a tree house. The time has flown to evening without notice. I went back to camp site. Finn and I got out to eat diner together and had some curry, we went to the forest and saw a concert that played on the tree house. It was a live concert of a harp and an acoustic guitar. The melodious sound of the instrument was flying throw the air softly and the view of the tree house with sunset at the background created the world as a fairy tail, made my world so peaceful and dreamy. And we went to a concert of the Correspondent. I have seen him in Edinburgh but the stage was massive in Shambala that it was not considerable to Edinburgh. Correspondent was really great but then I heard that Lamb is playing after. I was really happy. I didn't expect that at all. I told all my friends that we have to be there and we have to go crazy.

After a while, Lamb has come to the stage. It was the best thing I have been and seen in my life. I was just stunned. The sound of bass and melody; the trip hop, involved everything around me and I was shaking all over. We got circle, hugged each other, closed our eyes, and be together. Sound of Lamb has penetrated my body like lighting, I closed my eyes until I can not see anything. I could not feel anything but steps that we rhythm. Have I ever loved a music this much? I got intoxicated by my own happiness and faced to beauty of music. Maybe I heard it from somewhere but I was sure at this point that if there is a God, he must be a musician. As the live finished like waking up from sleep, it was truly like a dream.

Then the massive wooded horse was on fire as it celebrates the Shambala. The fire got around within a second and it became seriously hot. The fire has risen up tens of meters and got everyone in chaos. People from near the fire wanted to go out but the people from distance they want to come closer. That was a horrific moment of the festival. We were in the front but it was hot enough to burned my friend Amelia's eye blows from the heat. Anyway, nobody get hurt seriously so it was alright.

Then, we head to a stage called Kamikaze and the drum and bass concert has began. I totally forgot about the line-ups but its the my favorite genre, moved my body in the rhythm. I got confused that it was the beginning of the day. The fierce sound of the bass run throw my head after I woke up from the dream that I just had. Everyone got together on a little stage. When I got on the stage, I could see the whole floor and the people who attracted into the DJ delightfully, bouncing with the sound of bass in the flashing light disconnectedly; it was like a stop motion film, they were able to be seen in sharp detail but in a same time they were in a blur memory, surely it was like still in a dream. It was the world of motion of rhythm and the moment of the lighten ecstasy.

It was about 3 in the morning, the concert of the Kamikaze has finished without remaining in my memory but my friends were talked about this hidden stage. They opened up one of a fence, and there it was. A small path to go throw to a back stage. We passed through like we were going to wonderland and we found the little stage. The stage was made out of a police car, the DJ were wearing police uniform and playing awesome tunes. It is an English humor and quite funny. They making fun of the London riot which just happened two weeks ago. Some raged people has come out and attacked the police car, then some police officers came down to assault them. It was news that closed to me so that made me laugh a lot.

When I looked upon the air and gazing into the darken sky, a bright meteor dashed through my mind. The empty space took my attention for a while and my conscious has gone away for instance. When I realized, the sky was lightly bright and the number of the stars has disappear. When sunrise has come, we took our way back to tent. But the party has kept on going in Raf's tent till the mid day.

The sunday is the final day, I woke up in the afternoon and scrawled out from my tent. I can hear some music from distance. Again, I borrowed the cooking stove from neighbor and made myself some instant noodle soup. It was only 18 penny a packet but made me feel good. I had it with couple of porched eggs and spinach. I felt better but went back to tent again and I slept till evening. We went to a live band from Bristol “Disraeli and the small gods”. It was really cool tune but the stage was just too crowded that we couldn't dance or even move. Then the firework started for finale. The firework was quite nice but I was looking at them over the lake so that the energy of the fire was really nothing compare to yesterday's burning wooden horse. Then we went back to the Kamikaze stage but it was also similar to last night; felt like luck of chemical, it has gone without climix. At last we went to a DJ set in a small marquee and there was projection of mysterious arts on the ceiling in black and white. But it was just looked like an old TV. Maybe I was bit tired but also that the Saturday night was just as best as it could get. We all went back to Raf's TP and stayed and chat. And my sight has faded away with blink of my eyes.

I realized myself in the afternoon, most of the people were packing up and heading back home. We didn't have Cafe Tango so that we had o go out of the festival as same as other people. Some were still sleeping and some were still drinking. I was just impressed. I looked around. There were countless broken tents and colorful rubbish all around; it was just like a dump world. I found myself as an empty bottle in the empty field then I push myself forward to pack up and go. I remember as a flash but I felt it was taking us forever to leave that place.

I am impressed that Raf's energy that still able to drive car back to Bristol. I was worried about his driving skill with his exhaustion but I fell asleep just after we got on the car. We straight to hit to a bar in Bristol and had more beers and chat about the festival. I am completely amazed their stamina.

Soon after, we went back to Wales and prepared for next festival the “Bestival” but I got sick and stayed in bed for three days while Raf and Finn were packing up.