The Dark Side Of Glastonbury

I'm still recovering from the incredible high that is Glastonbury. It has been only 4 days since Mumford and Sons took the Pyramid Stage and rocked the entire Worthy Farm, and only 3 hours since I finally cut my official entry wrist band. I know I've been gushing about how amazing it was - and rightly so, because it really was... but I feel like I also need to be authentic, and fess up about the not-so-pleasant experiences we had to endure during the trip. So just in case my other post inspired you to get those tickets for Glastonbury 2014, this post will set your expectations. It's not all peace-love-and-fun. Most of it is. But not all.

Here it is. The real deal.

THE HASSLE OF GETTING IN

My friends and I drove from Cardiff to Glastonbury using 2 cars. We woke up at 4am, got out of the house by 5, and arrived at the parking lot before 7. Thousands of cars were already there (these were people who camped out outside of the farm the night before to secure a good parking space), and the queue to enter the grounds were already painfully long. Everyone had backpacks and trolleys filled with crates and crates of booze (you're allowed to bring them in Glastonbury, but only cans. No glass allowed in the farm). Since the ground is rocky and uneven, one by one, we watched a number of those trolleys give in and break down as we were moving along in the queue. The distance to get into the gates from our parking lot was about a mile and a half or so, and we spent about 3 hours in the queue before getting in. GRUELING! 

THE TOILET SITUATION

I got this photo from Nomad Travel. I couldn't take a photo myself because anytime I went near any toilet facility, I had to hold my nose with one hand, and hold baby wipes on the other.
Inside the stalls of these communal toilets, you will find - basically just a toilet seat, hammered on top of a hole that reveals a huge underground, er, space,  occupied by human waste in every shape, color, or form. The stench really was unbearable. I made the mistake of looking down on my first visit to the toilet. Never did it again after that. It was traumatic.

As a female, I quickly learned to master the art of squatting and hovering over the toilet seat. Although, I have to say, by the 5th day of walking for miles on end, when my limbs were sore and muscles giving in, squatting became more of a challenge. My thigh muscles started quivering, and peeing became a chore.
On the bright side... my friends discovered a "Posh Toilet" which was a 15 minute walk from our camp site! This "Posh Toilet" (and yes, the capitalization is on purpose) actually uses real toilets (as opposed to a hole) with water for flushing! They're clean, you can sit down properly, and it didn't stink. And that, is where my friends and I did our dirty business, ifyaknowwhatImean. ;)

THE SHOWER SITUATION

Let's just say I baby-wiped myself to cleanliness.
There were only a few shower facilities in the farm, and the queues are always as long as a Space Mountain ride in Disneyland. Honestly... it's almost not worth it, wasting all that time in a queue when you've got a whole lotta festival to explore. So what if you're dirty? Everyone else is, too! At least that was the consolation thought in our group. :)
We weren't that bad though. We managed to shower once on our 4th day. It was the time of the day when everyone was out seeing acts in different stages and we didn't have anyone in particular we wanted to see... and the queues were short! They did run out of hot water though, so it was an icy cold shower... Which wasn't so bad because it was such a hot day! :)
Anyway, if my hair weren't down to my bum, I probably would have survived washing my hair in the sink like most of the other girls I saw... and I'd have lasted the 5 days with just the baby wipes. It is roughing it after all... Right?
The point is - if and when you go, just have this as an expectation... That you might not get a chance to shower as often.... and it's OKAY. Just bring baby wipes, change your underwear everyday, and bring dry shampoo or baby powder for your hair. Those things work like magic.
OR.. if you have the funds, you can always get your hair washed and dried for 30 quid at one of the beauty tents.

THE RAIN

We were extremely lucky that we had great weather in Glastonbury this year. There is a reason why rain boots (wellies) are the festival's official App logo... It is because this festival is notorious for rains and floods. This is the UK after all...
This year, we had sunshine on 4 out of the 5 days. On the one day that it rained, it was challenging, to say the least. Just cause it's hard to do stuff when it's pouring, and wet, and cold, and muddy. We managed to do what we could in our wellies and rain gear, but it was harder to enjoy everything that the festival could offer.

Remember that the location is a farm. We were walking on the Earth. Soil. And when rain hits it, it turns to mud pretty quickly. So everything was just so icky.. and it makes you feel lazy... and dirty.. Ugh.
We managed to make the most out of it though, all of us cooped up in our tent, playing cards. It ended up being a fun night, but it would have been nicer to be outside running around.
I heard stories about the festival from years back, when it rained nonstop and the grounds got flooded. The tents that were set up in the lower areas were washed away. I shiver to think about what the toilet situation must have been then. Yikes.

SANS TECHNOLOGY

I think considering the fact that we were all camping in there, you know, being one with nature and away from the hustle and bustle of the city, Glastonbury did a pretty good job in providing "Recharge Tents" for our phones and all our other techie gadgets. I brought an extra phone battery, a portable USB charger (fully charged), and I turned my phone off whenever I didn't need it. So I only really needed my phone charged once during the whole trip. It was my camera battery that I constantly worried about. What's the point of going on a trip like this without amazing photos to show for? :)

Obviously, just like everything else in Glastonbury, the queues for the recharge tents were insane... Another hassle wasting time in the queues. So if you are one of those people who wouldn't survive a day without Tweeting, Instagramming, Facebooking or texting, then this might pose as a challenge for you.. unless you're willing to sacrifice precious festival time queuing up. 

IN CONCLUSION...

Depressed. I didn't want to leave.

ALL OF THAT plus roughing it in tents and walking miles and miles everyday from one performance stage to the next, and you have the full Glastonbury disclosure. Now, the big question is, knowing about all this... bad toilets, no shower, the hassle of getting in and the rain, etc... are you still willing to experience the best music festival in the world, have an absolute blast, and have the time of your life?

As for me? I would do it again in a heartbeat. :)

Glastonbury Festival 2013

Hands down - Best Music Festival I have ever experienced!

When my friends first brought up the idea of attending the Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, a 5 day music festival and camping trip in a huge farm in Somerset, England, my first question was - "What about the bathroom situation?"

The last time I went camping, I was 11, and I remember desperately trying to hold my pee for 2 days because I was unwilling to go by the bushes.

Well, the festival had actual toilets, but sharing them with thousands of people in the farm? Um... they were as bad as I had imagined... but just as my friends have explained - it really is just something you have to deal and get over with because in hindsight, it is only a tiny price you have to pay for one of the most amazing musical (and gastronomical) experiences of your life. And they were right! (The trick is to put some vaporub by your nose, close your eyes and just go! And always have baby wipes!)

All 135 thousand tickets for this year's festival were sold out in an hour and 40 minutes in October of last year. We have been planning this for over 9 months (in fact, I planned my whole Round The World Trip around this festival), and finally arriving at the gates of the farm was pretty surreal!

The queue to get into the farm. It took us more than 2 hours to get in!

Totally worth the wait though :)

THE FARM LIFE

We got there on Wednesday morning, bright and early to set up our tents and explore the area. The musicians don't actually start performing till the third day of the festival (Friday). The first two days are just a "warm up", to get everyone acclimatized to the grounds and the "way of life" in Glastonbury-ton-field-ville!

Presenting: My One Man Tent! It's a little tight, but cozy :)

The farm is a whopping 900 acres, so there definitely was a lot of room to explore. The Glastonbury Festival is notorious for rains and floods, which is why their app symbol is a pair of wellies (rain boots)! We were extremely lucky that this year it only rained on one of the 5 days (Thursday), and the rest of the time we were basked in sunshine, and I've got a very heavy tan to prove it!

Bright and Sunny Worthy Farm

On the one day that it rained...

Everyday we'd wake up, brave the toilets, heat some water from a portable stove for tea and coffee, then set off for the day. We walk for miles everyday, so much so that I am aching in muscles I never knew I had in my legs! I thought it was really interesting, being cooped up in the farm with 135,000 other people. All of us living in tents (some nicer than others), all of us having to use the same facilities, eating from the same array of street food, walking the same ground under the same sun.

Surprisingly, there was a lot to do and a lot to see! There was a cinema (where they held the world premiere of Monster's University), a Kidz Field (where I spent most of my time, obviously ;) ) a Greenfields area where all the peace and earth loving people were, a Stone Circle, a Tipi Village, a Shangri La (where Mick Jagger and Prince Harry were spotted), and a big Glasto sign very much like the Hollywood sign that made me feel right at home!

They had everything anyone in the world could enjoy! We were a big little community, all there for the same reasons... A little bit of nature, good food, a zest for adventure, and a big love for music!

In Glasto... we were ALL Hippies! :)

Having Fun at the Kidz Tent with Trinity! Uke Lessons by Eartha :)

The Tipi Huts!

THE MUSIC

Now, on to the good stuff! The festival had several music stages (Pyramid Stage for the biggest acts, Acoustic Stage for acoustic acts, etc..), and you can choose which act to see at a given time. It can get a little overwhelming because two artists you might like could be playing in different stages at the same time (which happened to me on one occasion).

Glen Hansard at the Acoustic Tent

I was really excited to see Glen Hansard perform at the Acoustic Stage, especially since I have just seen Once, The Musical in the West End, and I am still on a high about how great a show it was! Glen is such a passionate musician, and plays so much better live! 

Gabrielle Aplin

Gabrielle Aplin was someone I was so looking forward to see as well. I love her songs, and she has such a beautiful and soothing voice... She looks a little bit like Nora Jones, but sounds like a better version of Birdy and Ellie Goulding.

Lianne La Havas

Lianne La Havas was a big pleasant surprise. My friends were big fans of hers and I tagged along. She was amazing! Sounds like Alicia Keys!

The Lumineers! Hey! Ho!

I managed to see a little bit of The Lumineers. I didn't realize they were so big in the UK - they performed in one of the bigger stages and there were thousands of people!

There were several other artists that I managed to see a little bit of, like Vampire Weekend, Arctic Monkeys, Rita Ora, Ben Howard, and Beady Eye (Liam Gallagher).

Liam Gallagher

I also spotted a British celebrity - Dominic West, a brilliant actor who was nice enough to oblige to a photo. :) I did also see Chris Martin from Coldplay but he was with his kid... My cardinal rule for Celebrity stalking is - if they are with their families, then they are off limits. I do have my boundaries. Sometimes.

Celebrity Alert! Dominic West from The Wire, Chicago, A Midsummer Night's Dream, etc  :)

THE ROLLING STONES

The big headliner of the festival were The Rolling Stones. Apparently, Michael Eavis, the farm owner and Glastonbury organizer, has been asking The Stones to play this gig for over 50 years, and this is the first time they've finally agreed to do it! More than 100 thousand people turned up at the Pyramid Stage to see them, and the energy of the crowd was electric!

Mick Jagger is a BEAST

All I can say is that Mick Jagger still has the 'Moves Like Jagger'! (Too corny? Haha...) I honestly do not know how that man could still prance around the stage like that -- he had the energy of a toddler high on chocolate, and his voice is as steady and powerful as it has ever been!
Dude - The Rolling Stones were amazing. Being there felt like I was a part of music history...

Keith Richards NAILING IT!

MUMFORD AND SONS

Now these guys were the ones I was looking forward to seeing the most! Mumford and Sons closed out the festival despite one of their members having a scare with a blood clot in the brain! Thank goodness he's alright... you wouldn't have thought anything was wrong seeing them play the way they did. They were incredible!

I was actually in the middle of seeing Gabrielle Aplin perform at the Acoustic Stage when I heard the familiar chords of, "I Will Wait" blaring from outside her tent. I feel slightly bad about this, but I ran out of her tent and dashed onto the Pyramid Stage where I knew Mumford were 'waiting for me'.

Mumford's unique stringy sound and beautiful catchy melodies have made them a regular in Glastonbury, making this their 5th time performing there, working their way up from the smaller stages up to the closing act in the Pyramid Stage. Seeing them perform was a really great end to an amazing and legendary 5 days.

The complete gang (plus a couple extras) all together for Mumford on our last night 

The Glastonbury Festival costs 205 GBP, and tickets for next year's event will go on sale sometime on October this year. So if you guys ever want to experience music in an epic, absolutely legendary way, I'd recommend keeping tabs on the Glastonbury website to secure tickets. I guarantee you will have a blast, and it will change you forever. :)

At least that's how it was for me. <3

Peace and Love from The Fam.