Re:Earth - Jag älskar er!

The location was on the island of Koh Samui, the largest of the Thai Islands, It feels more like a city and has a completely different feel from its smaller siblings; Railay and Koh Phi Phi. But this is where Re:Earth, The Swedish festival was going to be held. We explored the town for a couple of days then set off by scooter to track down the location which proved to be rather elusive. What we eventually found was a half completed stage by the beach and ocean in a completely secluded location surrounded by a fortress of high coconut trees and vegetation the only gap was towards the ocean which allowed a cool breeze to sail through. We were going to be staying in a tent with Andi and Alana on a strip of land just off the main festival arena, our mini campsite that consisted of only around 10 tents had a half moat running around it and a gaggle of geese and ducks that would invade your tent in the morning in search of food. We stocked up on festival food and drink from “Tescos Lotus”and climbing ropes and rocks all the way to the top of a waterfall and then cooled off in it.




















Meeting up with our Swedes; Edith and Sara a day before the festival we were taken to the other side of the island to do some volunteer work (as part of the Re-Earth ticket). Being thrown from side to side on the back of a pickup truck we held tight as we powered up a dirt track on massive hills. We stopped at a sloped clearing with a view over the trees and hills and way out to the turquoise sea. Here we planted coconuts and other plants. We went down to a stream where we built dams from nearby rocks and stones, one of the organisers started mixing up cement (or as how he pronounced it semen) and we all passed buckets down a line for towards the rocky barrier. It's meant to reduce the amount of rainwater spilling off the island, because too much fresh water mixed with the soil and other detritus was killing the coral reefs just offshore. It was very satisfying doing some manual labour, throwing large rocks and knowing your helping wildlife. Some of the bands that would be headlining the festival later were getting their hands dirty too, Hoffmaestro; a ska band that played with a lot much energy and Timbuktu; a Swedish rapper that Sara assured me everyone in Sweden had heard of (even grandmothers). Edith kept saying whilst he was within earshot how tiny this vertically challenged rapper was, but apparently he didn’t speak much English so it was ok.

On the subject of languages, English was defiantly a redundant at this festival. It was bizarre to be here with so many fair haired Swedes that had migrated south for the winter and gathering on a tropical island in the middle of the Thai Gulf, there was precious few English or anyone from any other country for that matter, but I preferred it this way. Granted even with Sara and Edith’s valiant attempts to teach me Swedish it was strange to see the bands all speaking in a language I had absolutely no grasp of, so perhaps I didn't appreciate Timbuktu's flow as much because I didn’t understand the lyrics but the likes of the Movits!, Jaquline Ronneklev (she sang in english!) and Hoffmaestro were incredible, during the latter's performance we managed to start a mosh pit in which Sara revealed her ‘crazy side', Edith got trampled on and Andy and I just bounced around like we know how, both of us limped away from the gig crushed toenails and bloody feet, (we made the rookie mistake of only bringing flippyfloppys to a gig). But for the most part Re:Earth had more chilled out vibes when compared to most British equivalents, it suited it well, when the bands finished the DJ’s would start up on the beach, when it got too much we would retreat to the tent laying down under the coconut trees and stars. we had a gooood time.