Trippers Best Of...Festivals!

Early in the trip, we decided that we were going to plan our early adventures around several festivals. They are the historic and modern gatherings of people for religious, cultural, social, and even political reasons, and they are the spice that brings alive the culture or history of a city of region. Here are my favorite festivals of the world, ranked in the order that I had fun and memorability!

1. Running of the Bulls, San Fermin, Pamplona, Spain (pictured) - Quite possibly the most famous festival in the world, a week of mind numbing, park sleeping, sangria drinking, and bull running (I did it!). With our great costumes, it was a great and incredibly smelly experience.

2. Daughter's Day, Nepal - This one was a surprise. It was my last day of teaching english in my rural Nepali village when everyone left class early. It was Halloween, but in this village, it was "Daughter's Day," where all the young girls in the village sat lines in on the streets, as the elders gave each of them food and goodies on the their plates, and put colorful "tikka" on their foreheads. A colorful and lovely time!

3. Fete Le Vin, Bordeaux, France - A once in every two year Wine Festival that takes place in Bordeaux, with lots of cheap and free wine, beautiful fireworks, and a sophistication that only come...well, you wouldn't understand anyway ;-).

4. Ramadan, Turkey - Not really a festival, but a unique cultural experience to be in a moderate, secular muslim country for this holy month. My memory of standing on a hill in Cappadochia while hearing the evening prayers echo through the valleys remains endearing, as does the sights and sounds of Ramadan. Ramadan in the UAE, on the other hand, was not such a great experience.

5. Cherry Blossom Festival, Japan - Nightime Hamadi parties, beautiful cherry blossoms in full bloom across Japan, not to mention lots of drinking, karaoke, and more.

Dishonorable Mention: St. Stephen's Day. Not really that bad, until it tried to kill me.

Back to Trippers Best Of...