Sziget 2016

[renrutbor]

On 8/20/2016 at 6:35 PM, amfy said:

 

Edited August 26, 2016 by renrutbor
Double post!

[renrutbor]

On 8/20/2016 at 6:35 PM, amfy said:

 

Edited August 26, 2016 by renrutbor
Triple post!

[renrutbor]

On 20/08/2016 at 6:35 PM, amfy said:

We also had a mooch in some of those other areas, including the tent without borders. It felt like there weren't enough hours in the day and ithat is one of the reasons we want to go again(which is a very Glastonbury syndrome for me - the wish to keep going til I get it right!). Having sorted the geography a bit, we will be looking to locate a lot closer to the festival. We had a beautiful boat ride in every day, but we really could have done with being nearer the festival - our city days would be easer to travel further for, and our festival days would have been better nearer. Twice public transport stranded us half way home on a late night & we ended up walking 2-3 miles - you don't need that on festival feet!

On the subject of the Tent without Borders - one reggae artist - on at about 11 one night on the reggae/Latin/ African stage - had a good crowd & got everyone to move to one side of the stage & take up about a third of the space to show that when good people want to co-operate there is always enough room and you cannot say 'We are full'. It epitomised the festivals awareness of the refugee crisis and I found it really moving. 

Pit felt like the festival Glastonbury used to be in terms of its friendliness and politics, but safer and more polished. What a great place!

Yeah, we camped but would possibly consider staying in the city but close to the site next time, we thought the full 8 days of camping would get a bit much so had a night off on the sunday and treated ourselves to a hotel to get a bit of a break from the madness. Worked quite well as we went for a really nice meal in the city, a proper sleep on a comfy bed and a shower and came back for the last couple of days feeling refreshed and ready again!

I like the sound of that reggae band's example, sounds like it would make people think a bit! 

[amfy]

I think it's a good review. The more critical parts are mainly about the camping which I now feel was even more of a good choice to swerve. It made a real difference to us to be able to get a really good noght's sleep and have a soak each morning. We booked 10 nights in a large one bed apartment which was right in the middle of Buda between Petofi and Deak Ferenc Squares. It mostly worked in terms of transport. The cost was around £30 a night when we booked, but sadly jumped to nearly £40 a night after Brexit. Still great value though - less than the price of a travelodge for a really good space of our own. We loved getting the boat in each day. It was spectacular!

weirdly - we never queued long for festipay. On the first day we arrived at peak time and went to the first booth on site (not knowing whether there were any more) and this took about 20 minutes. After that, we arrived each day with a little money left on, and topped up when we saw a short queue somewhere on site as we wandered. The system is really useful when you are at a truly international festival in a country with a currency with an unfathomable number of zeros! I can't imagine the confusion, queues and rip offs if they worked with cash. I found it really useful to put a certain amount in each day, and keep track of it as I spent. Once I downloaded the app it was even better. It's a good system, but you do need to stay a little ahead of it to make sure you top up in good time, with a short queue, rather than landing in the nearest queue because you've just run out of top up.

The gripe I would have expected was about the lack of hand washing facility and drinking water. if it had been hotter, dehydration would have been a real problem for many. The number of toilets with no provision to clean or disinfect your hands was alarming.

i found the festival itself had more space than Glastonbury, or maybe it was more evenly distributed.There was nowhere that felt as crowded as most of the main areas at Glastonbury now, but maybe there was also nowhere with the tranquility of the green fields either.

Total agreement on Rhianna though - so so poor.

 

 

[Uncle Liam]

Site seemed to be smaller this year. Why oh why did they move the World Music Stage? Also, was it just me or were there less stalls this year? I couldn't find the alternative Sziget t shirt stall amongst other things. 

Still, by far the most drunken Sziget ever. The cocktail measures at the stall outside the A38 were obscene. 

M83 were outstanding, as were Editors. Muse were very good, Last Shadow Puppets covering The Fall was hilarious, Bloc Party very good. I enjoyed Movits, and generally a good time was had by all. 

Hotel already booked for next year. I'll bitch about the lineup as always but let's face it, there's fuck all else to do that week. 

[kyle82]

Although I stayed in one of the wooden huts within VIP camping (similar to the review)... I was fairly happy with the whole set-up but having done the same the previous year, I guess I knew what was coming.  It is noisy at night but I was usually out enjoying the festival until around 4-5am most days so by that point I could have slept in a bush.  The toilet facilities and shower cabins in the VIP camping were decent enough and I never had to queue at all during the whole week.  The pool is great as well went you want to relax and cool off during the day.  I also managed to avoid the Sziget cough this year even though it got a bit dusty towards the end of the festival... still, nothing as bad as it was last year.

It seemed like there were less Festipay booths open this year which meant I did have to queue for a little while a couple of times to top up my card and in hindsight, I'd probably have got myself a contactless Mastercard before going or made use of the Festipay app to save any of that hassle.

I managed to do quite a lot more than last year with the weather being a bit less on the hot side... it just meant we had a lot more energy to wander around the island during the day taking in all the sights and surroundings.

On a side note, I think the new 'tipping' thing at many of the bars is a bit wrong.  It should be made clear that the money you tip does not go to the people serving you and those staff don't actually see any of it.  I only found that out late in the festival but if I'd known, I'd have pressed 0% every time.  Perhaps a bit naive on my part!

Still trying to decide whether I want to return next year... I was against it completely to begin with but it is the 25th anniversary and I know it's a guaranteed amazing time.

[Noeliam]

2 hours ago, kyle82 said:

On a side note, I think the new 'tipping' thing at many of the bars is a bit wrong.  It should be made clear that the money you tip does not go to the people serving you and those staff don't actually see any of it.  I only found that out late in the festival but if I'd known, I'd have pressed 0% every time.  Perhaps a bit naive on my part!

Really? I was broke but tried to give 5% when I could, if only I knew!! How did you get this information?

 

[doobie ninja]

On ‎26‎/‎08‎/‎2016 at 7:16 PM, amfy said:

The gripe I would have expected was about the lack of hand washing facility and drinking water. if it had been hotter, dehydration would have been a real problem for many. The number of toilets with no provision to clean or disinfect your hands was alarming.

 

 

 

 

Totally agree. we all got Sziget flu again (szickness) but not as bad as last year, mainly as the dust wasn't so bad. But some of our group got really sick at the end with stomach problems.

 

[kyle82]

21 hours ago, Noeliam said:

Really? I was broke but tried to give 5% when I could, if only I knew!! How did you get this information?

 

I asked one of the guys who served me how they share the tips at the end of the week and he said they don't see any of it... he told me the name of the company it goes to but I can't recall what it was now.  I verified it with someone working a different bar later that night and they said the same thing... they don't get the tips.

 

Unfortunately I only found this out at the end of the festival or I'd have not bothered tipping.  I had tipped everyone until that point.  Seems a bit disingenuous to me.

[Agnes0819]

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