Today, I finally settled the bill. So, what's the approx damage per person?
Ticket for Burning Man = £168.00
Flights LHR -> SFO return = £692.70
RV hire = £292.42
Petrol = £42.38
Safeway groceries = £62.81
Misc stuff for RV & trip = £49.01
Biiiicycle, biiiicycle (BMX!) = £30.00
Headlamps = £9.82
RV cleaning/washing = £11.90
Misc glow-in-the-dark gear = £7.09
Grand Poobah Total of... *DRUM ROLL*... £1366.13!!
Worth every penny :) Honestly, I had such an amazing time, and saw so much stuff. It's done and I'll never regret it. I look back, and I still can't believe it. Can't put a price on that feeling.
Showing posts with label burning man. Show all posts
Showing posts with label burning man. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Friday, September 12, 2008
Burning Man (the Burn)
You know, there are so many things I could tell you about BM. I'm going to stop at this post. I entered with an expectation that I would find peace. I exited with a realisation that just because the desert's isolated, doesn't mean I was going to find it :) Even doing Bikram yoga at midday in the desert, didn't clear my mind *grin* So I'll tell you what I loved about it.
It made me look at the stars :) It made me think there was more to just slogging away day-to-day. It made me think that people are more accepting, with the clause that human nature always has a hint of seediness (eg: random guy walking up to topless girl and licking her). It made me think, if I could live in the desert for 6 days, what's it going to take to break me?
And now... The Burn :)
It made me look at the stars :) It made me think there was more to just slogging away day-to-day. It made me think that people are more accepting, with the clause that human nature always has a hint of seediness (eg: random guy walking up to topless girl and licking her). It made me think, if I could live in the desert for 6 days, what's it going to take to break me?
And now... The Burn :)
This is the morning of (partied all night with T and Carl Cox ;)):
This is the start:
This is the first kaboomie! :D
Then battery & memory aziz :P
I squeezed out one more. This is the morning after (partied all night with S and the Duck ;)):
I leave you with what S said to me:
"Keep smiling - burningman never ends"
This is the first kaboomie! :D
Then battery & memory aziz :P
I squeezed out one more. This is the morning after (partied all night with S and the Duck ;)):
I leave you with what S said to me:
"Keep smiling - burningman never ends"
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Burning Man (the temple)
(Note: If you can't see the slideshow in your reader, go to the post)
There was a day, when it was sooo hot, I couldn't handle it. All I wanted to do was sleep. So that's what I did. It was like an oven in the RV, but my body (especially my sore ass), just couldn't function. So I dozed... woke up randomly, ate some packaged food... went back to dozing. I just wanted the sun to set and the breeze to begin.
My absolute favourite time of day at the desert, is dusk :) It's the most wonderful feeling cycling around just before the sun starts hiding behind the mountain. There's still some rays, yet the heat isn't stifling. One evening, we walked to the Temple - "Basura Sagrada"
It's the most beautiful structure on the playa. Sitting at 12pm to the Man, it's built mainly out of driftwood, stained glass, cardboard spires and structural lumber. Everything's burnable trash. Hence the name :) It's a temple dedicated to lost loved ones. I didn't realise this until I started reading all the messages scrawled and posted all over the structure... I watched sunset from the Temple and stared straight ahead at the Man.
You know what I miss about the desert? Sunrise. Surprisingly, I find myself wishing I was watching another sunrise at the playa when I'm at work. Watching it rise over the horizon, dancing, feeling warmth again. I didn't think I'd miss the desert. I remember teasing S as we crossed one end of the playa to another at dawn, "How could you miss this place?"
There was a day, when it was sooo hot, I couldn't handle it. All I wanted to do was sleep. So that's what I did. It was like an oven in the RV, but my body (especially my sore ass), just couldn't function. So I dozed... woke up randomly, ate some packaged food... went back to dozing. I just wanted the sun to set and the breeze to begin.
My absolute favourite time of day at the desert, is dusk :) It's the most wonderful feeling cycling around just before the sun starts hiding behind the mountain. There's still some rays, yet the heat isn't stifling. One evening, we walked to the Temple - "Basura Sagrada"
It's the most beautiful structure on the playa. Sitting at 12pm to the Man, it's built mainly out of driftwood, stained glass, cardboard spires and structural lumber. Everything's burnable trash. Hence the name :) It's a temple dedicated to lost loved ones. I didn't realise this until I started reading all the messages scrawled and posted all over the structure... I watched sunset from the Temple and stared straight ahead at the Man.
You know what I miss about the desert? Sunrise. Surprisingly, I find myself wishing I was watching another sunrise at the playa when I'm at work. Watching it rise over the horizon, dancing, feeling warmth again. I didn't think I'd miss the desert. I remember teasing S as we crossed one end of the playa to another at dawn, "How could you miss this place?"
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Burning Man (art & mutant vehicles)
(Note: If you can't see the slideshow in your reader, go to the post)
Day 5 BM: It's taken me this long to get used to the grime... And only because I've had to cycle through a full-strength SAND STORM o_O
It's like Mother Nature's way of giving you a pr0n star shower with DIRT. After that, I didn't care how dirty I was anymore. Every inch of me was covered in dust and for the first time, it felt natural :) It's an amazing experience cycling through a dust white-out. All I could see were silhouettes.
"Why don't you take a shower in your fancy shmancy RV," I hear you say?
Well, I would have if the water pump in the RV was working :P No water pump meant I didn't shower for 6 DAYS (beating my previous record of 5 days at Machu Picchu). After the sand storm, I stopped wiping myself down with baby wipes. I also did a clean out of my nose for the first time during the trip. Holy moly! BIGGEST BOOGERS EVER! Everyone else looked at me oddly when I told them. Apparently they'd been cleaning out their noses everyday.
No water pump also meant less cooking as it was such a hassle to clean cutlery, pots and plates. I was eating chunky chicken soup out of a can. Just like back in the good old Uni days when I lived with T *grin*
Ché: "Tell me how I can help you."
Me: "Make me a better person!" (easy answer)
Ché: "Ok, what do you see a better person as being?"
Me: "Hrmm, I'm already pretty good as a person *cheeky grin* Make me more relaxed and content instead!"
...
Ché: "For the next few minutes, I want you to let your mind drift and think about anything..."
Me: *thinking* "It's been awhile. Maybe the session's over, better open my eyes."
Me: *out loud* "That was good, thanks for that!"
Ché: "It's not over yet. That's good, you're always in control. Now close your eyes, and I'll count you back out."
Me: *thinking* "Oops..."
To be honest, I think all Ché did was give me the capacity to remember bad dreams *shrug* I've had a few nightmares since I got back.
Now for some art installations and mutant vehicles. Mutant vehicles are awesomely done up rides that become an artwork in itself :) It was wonderful seeing them cross the playa. Suprisingly, I took more pix of people than art. I kind of got sidetracked. Besides that, I had limited battery and memory, and everything I looked at was art!!
Day 5 BM: It's taken me this long to get used to the grime... And only because I've had to cycle through a full-strength SAND STORM o_O
View from inside our RV
"Why don't you take a shower in your fancy shmancy RV," I hear you say?
Well, I would have if the water pump in the RV was working :P No water pump meant I didn't shower for 6 DAYS (beating my previous record of 5 days at Machu Picchu). After the sand storm, I stopped wiping myself down with baby wipes. I also did a clean out of my nose for the first time during the trip. Holy moly! BIGGEST BOOGERS EVER! Everyone else looked at me oddly when I told them. Apparently they'd been cleaning out their noses everyday.
No water pump also meant less cooking as it was such a hassle to clean cutlery, pots and plates. I was eating chunky chicken soup out of a can. Just like back in the good old Uni days when I lived with T *grin*
Oh, I was cycling back from seeing my hypnotist healer Ché :)
Me: "Make me a better person!" (easy answer)
Ché: "Ok, what do you see a better person as being?"
Me: "Hrmm, I'm already pretty good as a person *cheeky grin* Make me more relaxed and content instead!"
...
Ché: "For the next few minutes, I want you to let your mind drift and think about anything..."
Me: *thinking* "It's been awhile. Maybe the session's over, better open my eyes."
Me: *out loud* "That was good, thanks for that!"
Ché: "It's not over yet. That's good, you're always in control. Now close your eyes, and I'll count you back out."
Me: *thinking* "Oops..."
To be honest, I think all Ché did was give me the capacity to remember bad dreams *shrug* I've had a few nightmares since I got back.
Now for some art installations and mutant vehicles. Mutant vehicles are awesomely done up rides that become an artwork in itself :) It was wonderful seeing them cross the playa. Suprisingly, I took more pix of people than art. I kind of got sidetracked. Besides that, I had limited battery and memory, and everything I looked at was art!!
Burning Man (floppy p3nises)
(Note: If you can't see the slideshow in your reader, go to the post)
It's strange, I've always wanted to go to BM because to me, there was nothing cooler than the concept of art in the middle of a desert. What I didn't expect, was the sense of open community and the outrageousness of it all. The only time I pulled out cash, was to pay for coffees (decent ones too!) at Center Camp. What surprised me was how giving Americans could be *grin* Free lemonade! Free iced tea! Free margaritas! Free bagels! Free snowcones! Freebies everywhere you go! People would pretty much walk to the middle of the street and say to you as you cycle past, "Hey, you wanna stop by for a *insert freebie here*?"
What I loved most, was the effort people made to dress up in costumes. Not just for a day, but for everyday and every night! :) That was amazing. It was surreal to be lying on a cushion looking at the blue sky with choons in the background, when suddenly first a Siberian tiger, then a Bengal crept past my vision :) You know what? In my shorts and singlet tops, I felt left out. The costumes were something I had not expected. I _did_ borrow Wazzz's vampire cape with the thought of wearing undies underneath. To wear that in the freezing desert night though, would've been NUTS.
The other thing I didn't expect was the massive club culture. It blew my mind. Kind of like an Ibiza without the water :) What I had trouble comprehending was how people had just come to the desert, and setup massive club arenas. Lights, speakers, decor, pyrotechnics, the works. Even an international DJ :) Carl Cox played for free one night. Tiesto played here in 2005. Dancing through to dawn on the desert, I kept asking myself, "What the hell am I doing here?" I felt like I was on a different planet altogether.
Everything seemed so random, with independent theme camps dotted around the playa. Yet everything worked so well together. That was amazing.
As T and I cycled back to our RV, a guy stands infront of us and says, "Ladies! Free stripper!"
T: "Maybe we should've gone in."
Me: "Trust me, I've seen enough floppy p3nises to last me a lifetime already!"
I certainly didn't expect *that* at BM...
It's strange, I've always wanted to go to BM because to me, there was nothing cooler than the concept of art in the middle of a desert. What I didn't expect, was the sense of open community and the outrageousness of it all. The only time I pulled out cash, was to pay for coffees (decent ones too!) at Center Camp. What surprised me was how giving Americans could be *grin* Free lemonade! Free iced tea! Free margaritas! Free bagels! Free snowcones! Freebies everywhere you go! People would pretty much walk to the middle of the street and say to you as you cycle past, "Hey, you wanna stop by for a *insert freebie here*?"
What I loved most, was the effort people made to dress up in costumes. Not just for a day, but for everyday and every night! :) That was amazing. It was surreal to be lying on a cushion looking at the blue sky with choons in the background, when suddenly first a Siberian tiger, then a Bengal crept past my vision :) You know what? In my shorts and singlet tops, I felt left out. The costumes were something I had not expected. I _did_ borrow Wazzz's vampire cape with the thought of wearing undies underneath. To wear that in the freezing desert night though, would've been NUTS.
The other thing I didn't expect was the massive club culture. It blew my mind. Kind of like an Ibiza without the water :) What I had trouble comprehending was how people had just come to the desert, and setup massive club arenas. Lights, speakers, decor, pyrotechnics, the works. Even an international DJ :) Carl Cox played for free one night. Tiesto played here in 2005. Dancing through to dawn on the desert, I kept asking myself, "What the hell am I doing here?" I felt like I was on a different planet altogether.
Everything seemed so random, with independent theme camps dotted around the playa. Yet everything worked so well together. That was amazing.
As T and I cycled back to our RV, a guy stands infront of us and says, "Ladies! Free stripper!"
T: "Maybe we should've gone in."
Me: "Trust me, I've seen enough floppy p3nises to last me a lifetime already!"
I certainly didn't expect *that* at BM...
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
Burning Man (what time is it?)
(Note: If you can't see the slideshow in your reader, go to the post)
*Blink*
It's dark... Vague memories... 200+ miles of being co-pilot with S, trying to guess which vehicles we passed were heading towards Burning Man too. S honks as we pass a blackly fuming combi van! "BURNING MAN! YEEEAH!" I grin like a lunatic as S puts pedal to the metal and tells me seriously, "This is to the floor and it's not going very fast eh?", as the speedometer flicks at 80 miles per hour. We stop at a gas station, helicopters, rescue engines - "Are you ready for The Burn?" Me, the naive n00b, "How did you know??" Twilight, we were at Gerlach... shouts from the outside about this being the last gas station before hitting the playa, yet the Garmin tells us there's a Shell station ahead. Would you have taken the risk? :)
*Blink*
D is driving the RV at a crawl... Our dusty compact home on wheels for the next 6 days. We have reached the desert.
Our initiation begins :) All out to taste some dust! We're instructed to hit the floor. S does an impressive forward headroll! T&D create some dust angels! I'm about to start flapping my arms on the dirt, when S goes, "NOO!!!!" and starts ROLLING ME around in the dirt!
Greeter: "Welcome home!"
We clang a bell loudly, each chanting, "I AM NOT A VIRGIN ANYMORE!"
Our RV parks perpendicular to our companion RV (filled with 3 Canadian Frenchies + 1 American) at approx 7:15 Hummer Avenue. A blood red Mustang with an Italian and another Frenchie pulls up to close off our little residential area. We're here :)
My first sight - STARS! Millions of them. The last time I saw this many would've been at Mt Kinabalu... Those three stars on Orion's belt, I must've been in Oz the last time I saw those.
My second sight - Glowing bicycles!! :D
The old pros take us around the playa. I don't know what time we got here. I don't know what time we went to bed. We walked in the darkness till it was dawn. Who knew the dark could come so alive?? This wasn't something I expected. The Man glowed at us constantly from the centre.
*Blink*
It's dark... Vague memories... 200+ miles of being co-pilot with S, trying to guess which vehicles we passed were heading towards Burning Man too. S honks as we pass a blackly fuming combi van! "BURNING MAN! YEEEAH!" I grin like a lunatic as S puts pedal to the metal and tells me seriously, "This is to the floor and it's not going very fast eh?", as the speedometer flicks at 80 miles per hour. We stop at a gas station, helicopters, rescue engines - "Are you ready for The Burn?" Me, the naive n00b, "How did you know??" Twilight, we were at Gerlach... shouts from the outside about this being the last gas station before hitting the playa, yet the Garmin tells us there's a Shell station ahead. Would you have taken the risk? :)
*Blink*
D is driving the RV at a crawl... Our dusty compact home on wheels for the next 6 days. We have reached the desert.
Our initiation begins :) All out to taste some dust! We're instructed to hit the floor. S does an impressive forward headroll! T&D create some dust angels! I'm about to start flapping my arms on the dirt, when S goes, "NOO!!!!" and starts ROLLING ME around in the dirt!
Greeter: "Welcome home!"
We clang a bell loudly, each chanting, "I AM NOT A VIRGIN ANYMORE!"
Our RV parks perpendicular to our companion RV (filled with 3 Canadian Frenchies + 1 American) at approx 7:15 Hummer Avenue. A blood red Mustang with an Italian and another Frenchie pulls up to close off our little residential area. We're here :)
My first sight - STARS! Millions of them. The last time I saw this many would've been at Mt Kinabalu... Those three stars on Orion's belt, I must've been in Oz the last time I saw those.
My second sight - Glowing bicycles!! :D
The old pros take us around the playa. I don't know what time we got here. I don't know what time we went to bed. We walked in the darkness till it was dawn. Who knew the dark could come so alive?? This wasn't something I expected. The Man glowed at us constantly from the centre.
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