Pic: The Ultimate Travel Guide to Partying Around the World (Matador Network)
In the past couple of years, I had my fair share of (in)famous parties around the world:
- Clubbing in Ibiza, Spain
- Gumball 3000 in London, UK
- Songkran in Chiang Mai, Thailand
- Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Beijing 2008 Olympics, China
- Mardi Gras in New Orleans, USA
- Spring Break at Miami Beach, USA
- Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany
- New Years Eve in New York, USA
- Tomorrowland in Boom, Belgium
- Burning Man in Nevada, USA
- New Years Eve in London, UK
- London 2012 Olympics, UK
- Sensation in Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- …
And partied in places like Barcelona, Las Vegas, Athens, Seoul, Tokyo, Monaco, Saint-Tropez, Cannes, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Macau, Bangkok, Taipei, Jakarta, Phuket, Bali, Hong Kong, Boracay, Shanghai, Berlin, Shenzhen, Davos, CopenHagen, Dubai, Prague, Bucharest, Kiev, Reykjavik, Sharm el-Sheikh, Riga, Johannesburg, Krakow, Cancun, Sydney, Porto, West Hollywood, San Francisco, …
Pic: Sambadrome Parade during Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Feb 2010)
Looking for more inspiration, my attention was drawn to the newly released “101 Places To Get F*cked Up Before You Die” by Matador Network. The 278 page guide lists 101 places in 8 categories:
- Blowouts: World’s greatest events
- High Elevation: Partying in the mountains
- Under the Radar: The hidden gems
- Dirtbag: Party on a budget
- Bar Crawl: Cities with the best bars
- Spendy: Upper-class partying
- Beach Break: Hangover at the beach
- Baller: Places that have some indefinable ingredient
Pic: Bart at Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, Ipanema Beach Blocos (Feb 2010)
With only 13 major events detailed in the ‘Blowouts’ section, 101 Places To Get F*cked Up Before You Die isn’t a listing of the 101 best parties or festivals in the World. Instead the guide focuses on places where you can have fun all year round. Don’t expect in-depth practical information for each party destination either. It’s the anecdotes and inspirational stories by the 60 contributors of the guide which read like party invitations. Practical info is easily found using Google.
Pic: Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA (Feb 2009)
My personal top 3:
- Unplanned parties & events
- Burning Man
- Carnival in Rio de Janeiro
On my todo list:
- Coachella, Indio
- Electric Daisy Carnival, Las Vegas
- Saint Patrick’s Day, Dublin
- Holi, India
- Goa, India
- Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Tel Aviv, Israel
- San Diego, California
- Kathmandu, Nepal
- Ice Stock festival, McMurdo Station, Antarctica
- Tiraspol, Transnistria
- and more…
What are your favorites / recommendations? Share them via the comments section. Thanks!
Order 101 Places to Get F*cked Up Before You Die via Amazon.co.uk (£7.93) or Bol.com (€10,99)
Pic: Bourbon Street, Mardi Gras, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA (Feb 2009)
Pic: Coco Bongo in Cancun, Mexico (Jun 2011)
Pic: Hacker-Pschorr beer tent at Oktoberfest in Munich (Sep 2009)
Pic: Hacker-Pschorr beer tent at Oktoberfest in Munich (Sep 2009)
Pic: Bart Lapers at Burning Man, Black Rock City, Nevada, USA (Sep 2010)
Order 101 Places to Get F*cked Up Before You Die via Amazon.co.uk (£7.93) or Bol.com (€10,99)
Bart Lapers 
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For me one of the most fucked up nights was that one at the bullruns of Pamplona. We had a party all night long in the streets of Pamplona, to be half-asleep around 6-7h in the morning, when the sun starts to burn and the bulls are running trough the streets chasing the fucked-up partypeople, who also partied the whole night.
Another one as a 36h partyflight in the summer of 2000 to the magical island of Ibiza. I was just 18 and my eyes opened that night between all the international partypeople going all-in at the Island. Organised and paid by Axe, I got the longest sleep-hangover when returning at home after this adventure.
Thanks for your input Herman, both stories sound like what must have been amazing trips!
Hi Bart thanks for including two of the indian activities in your To-do list,you can also include Diwali(festival of lights & signifies the victory of light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance, good over evil). Welcome to india
Manish
TWITTER ID :@mainimanish
Thanks for your feedback Manish, hope to be back in India soon!
Don’t miss the Calgary Stampede! 10 days of partying.
Cool, thanks for your recommendation Heyjuan!