I had heard about Unkonscious several times, but a festival across the world in the middle of my snowboarding season, wasn't super appealing for timing reasons. That said, FOMO kicked in and I was able to align a snowboarding trip in Hokkaido, Japan just before, making the "quick 7h plane hop" to Bangkok more appealing :) and jetlag less of a bitch :)
One big plus of Unkonscious is that they make your trip worth it, as while the main festival is really just 2x 12H days (or 2x 16H with the indoor after party on day 3 and 4), there 2 days with pre-parties and 2 days with after parties in Bangkok. That's a great idea and it made for a pretty intense 6 days, not for the faint of the heart :)
Travel, Where to Stay and Weather
As to where to stay, the first 4 days are not super close but close enough that I elected to stay at the main festival hotel for the first 4 days, and then downtown bangkok for the last 2 days, which worked out well enough. You can easily get rides with grab or bolt and they were plenty cheap by western standards. For that matter, Thailand is reasonably cheap for westerners, making the festival affordable overall.
Also, for those who haven't gone to Thailand, people are super nice and welcoming, although many have limited english, so having google translate on your phone is a must (and it works well). Also knowing how to use google maps to voice out a location and show it written in Thai (as you should not expect Thai drivers to know how to read Thai locations in roman characters).
Carrying my LED outfit and all the batteries through Japan along with my snowboards was extra work, but worth it. As expected every venue during Unkonscious was cool with it, no one gave me a hard time and honestly all the venues were happy to have extra party spirit:
If you ask, yes, it was hot as balls, and it was warm and uncomfortable to wear, haha. I wore more comfortable clothing during the day that LEDs would'nt do much good anyway (it got dark enough around 18:00, so that was 6 hours with more reasonable weather and temps):
We also got lucky that we didn't have rain, which is always a possibility.
So, 6 days, let's go for it:
Day 1: Pre-Pre-Party @ Tappia Floating Cafe
The first day's venue was very interesting. Floating café was pretty cool. They had a fast boat that did rounds back and forth from the pier and took you to the floating café which was definitely a unique venue. Party started at 16:00 and went until midnight (or maybe a bit past):
after a little while, the sun set and it got dark:
The bar had plenty of alcohol, food was more limited and it took long enough that it felt like it came from a restaurant on land and was brought in via the next speed boat:
one Thai specialty is the 1.2L bucked of alcohol, saves time :) (and reasonably priced)
switched to my night outfit
great to see Richard Durand again
Video summary of the day:
Day 2: Pre-Party @ DAM Pattaya Beach Club
Day 2 was a different pre-party at a different beach club. Nice beach location and 2 DJs playing, one on the beach and one indoors:
light clothing to deal with the weather :)
The food options were good, but unfortunately required some fake paper money you had to buy in one place, then exchange it for a voucher, which finally got you food:
same thing with drinks although they were reasonably priced
buckers were popular
that's what the fake money looked like, and it could not be exchanged back or used from one venue to the next.
Before long, it was darker and cooler, so I was able to change and light up a bit:
brought a few lights :)
even got a chance to take that picture Ferry Tayle and I missed a few times :)
haha :)
Indoors was fairly decent for a beach club:
and we got an XXXL set from John 00 Flemming
Video Summary of Day #2:
Day 3 & 4: Main Festival Day 1 & 2: Alexa Beach Club
Finally this was the main festival. The mainstage was honestly pretty simple, it wasn't huge, definitely smaller than lumi mainstage and almost on par with stages 2 or 3 at lumi, but honestly it was big enough for the location and crowd. The entire event was not huge and that what made it nice, cosy and homely, I did like that.
Yeah, so it seems to be a Thailand thing, non refundable fake money you have to buy to be able to then buy things (which was still 2 or 3 more steps depending on what you needed, way too much work IMO). Not a fan...
note that the fake paper money from the previous day looked different and couldn't be used
hopefully contactless credit cards and phones will be allowed for direct pay in the future
Merch store that was reasonably priced:
The festival was then split in 2 each day: 12:00 to 16:00 was the pool party which was low key and easy to get in and out (security wasn't really there yet). Other bonus is you could order from the bar and restaurant from the full drink and food menu and pay with real money (which became not possible at 16:00 once the real festival started). Once I figured that out the first day with great disappointment of having lovely drinks on the menu being rejected as "not available until after the festival is over", I learned the lesson and got them during the pool party the next day:
nice to chill by the pool, listen to music and sort festival pictures :)
and a great time to chat with DJs too
nice and chill
nice beach too
pool party day #2:
working hard, or hardly working? :) Nice to relax for a change
haha, nice outfits :)
by day2 I figured out how to get real drinks
as well as very yummy food
By 16:00, the main festival started with mainstage and the psytrance stage on the 2nd floor of the building which had AC and that was nice because outside was definitely hot:
You could pay for VIP lounge areas:
The views sure were nice:
awesome sunsets
The psytrance area was nice:
And yes, it eventually got dark. It was super nice to just be able to walk by to the room and change:
Richard Durand did another killer set
a few of us brought kandi joy to the party :)
Craig Connelly was next!
And closing set by John 00 Flemming
Day 2 had more DJs and more fun:
yes, sunset again :)
fans were a lifesaving device, I can't describe how much I was sweating :)
But the big surprise of day 2 was the fire juggling which was stellar:
Festival Day 1 Video summary:
Festival Day 2 Video summary:
main festival afterparty
Both nights had an indoor afterparty from 00:00 to 04:00 if you wanted more. It was a nice indoor room:
main festival fun pictures
Many pictures were taken :)
wait, what happened here? :)
awesome to have met Katie Sirisinha, one of the organizers
Day 5: Post Party @ Venti Bangkok
Is 4 days enough? Of course not... After the main festival was over, 2 more days of after parties in Bangkok. After party #1 (day 5) was at Venti Bangkok, a nice club:
great to run into Somna who had just arrived
Rinaly did trance that night
and then Markus Schulz took over
Venti Bangkok Video Summary:
Day 6: Post-Post Party @ Eden Bangkok
Day 6! Last day! One last club, Eden in Bangkok:
Damn right, 6 days!
Rinaly was back for techno that night
awesome to have finally met Andy Moor
and that was it, finally over, 6 days!
Well, not quite over, Srangkun Sirisinha, Unkonscious co-organizer, went to play more tunes across the street, more trance still :)
And then it was finally over, time to run back to the room, pack, and go to the airport for a long trip back home to San Francisco
Eden Bangkok video summary:
Thoughts/Conclusion
Thailand doesn't have drinkable tap water, and no water fountains were provided at any of the venues, although none made a big deal if you brought your own water (or you could buy theirs of course, except for het first 4 days where you first had to buy the fake money)
Yes, those who know me know I don't like money or wristband credits that often fail and are completely unnecessary anyway. I hope unkonscious considers just accepting contactless credit cards, tap to pay, and phones.
As noted above, Alexa Beach Club (main festival) had a great food and drinks menu until 16:00 but those went away when the festival took over: the food and drink options went way down and fake money was required
It was a lower budget festival, and so what? People complain other festivals are too expensive, Unkonscious is definitely cheaper and we had heaps of fun with the DJs who came, even if a fair amount of them palyed multiple days (which honeslty I had no problem with). I loved the way it was, no need to change anything.
Should you go? Would I go Back?
very simply: yes, you should try to go if you can, it's definitely a unique festival and quite enjoyable in its current format. I'll admit that for people in the US, it's a long ass trip, but if you don't like winter, it's a good excuse to go visit Thailand which is a lovely country to visit anyway
organizers were super nice, do care, and it shows
security was more than reasonable at all venues, it was actually minimal and that was refreshing, it sucks to have to deal with airport or worse than airport security (that's you, lumi) when you're travelled across the world and paid quite a bit to have fun, have a good time, and honestly the risk level doesn't warrant over the top security
the festival being smaller in size (not in length) allowed for meeting the DJs more easily, which is always lovely
the attendees had a great vibe which of course made sense for a trance festival, but always feels great wherever you are around the world.
I would however get rid of the fake paper money to buy things at most venues, totally useless and quite annoying.
Thanks to the organizers, DJS and everyone who made the 6 days happen!
I arrived a bit late from Sapporo that day, but enough to check in the hotel in the middle of Ancient City, and have a nice yummy dinner:
The next morning, it was time to visit the park, which is a smaller recreation of all of Thailand, although it is not small in any way, it takes several hours to get around it in a golf cart:
Thailand likes reclining buddhas :)
you could walk the floating market and of course yummy drinks :)
It was a impressive and well built place, definitely worth at least 3 hours with a golf cart, and more if you can:
After spending the day visiting sights, and checking in the next hotel, arrived in time for the boat party by Pattaya:
After the boat party was over, had a bit of time to visit downtown Pattaya main street, and it was very seedy indeed (not posting everything I saw, haha):
There was a bit of time the next day in the morning to visit more sights:
And that was the end of the half sightseeing day, the rest of the time was spent at Unkonscious Festival.
Once the festival was over, had most of day to visit more local sights before going back to Bangkok:
Found a nice chinese temple on the way:
The local water market was fun enough and worth visiting on foot too:
Next was another nice park with a so-so crocodile show:
the gardens were quite nice, though
and it was then time to go towards Bangkok to check in our new hotel and go to the 5th Unkonscious Party. The [last 2 days were spent in Bangkok|]/perso/thailand/post_2024-02-04_Finishing-Unkonscious-Festival-with-2-Days-in-Bangkok.html].
For our last day in Hokkaido snow, Kiroro has just gotten a lot of snow, and it was a godo time to visit to enjoy the powder. It was reaosonably busy, but even if the parking lots were full and we had to go to overflow, the resort didn't feel very crowded and never had to wait long for a lift:
the weather alternated between sunny and snowing, all day
I wasted some time trying to see how to register for the sidecountry gates, as was required last time I came, but that was 7 years ago, and now they ask you to register with some Hokkaido backcountry office on the internet which seemed fairly time consuming if you just wanted to do the in resort sidecountry as opposed to exiting in places where you'd end up way out there.
the maps are worth paying attention to, lots of tree areas and powder fields
yes!
The first run down the chair was very good:
the gondola to the other peak had a short line and did take 15mn up each time
beautiful trees
anti wind gates
did I say nice trees? :)
Seems that most people didn't really register and just took the side country gates in a way that you end up in the resort at the end, but in one of them, if you turn the wrong way, you could end up in unhappy places (like snow hike out which could take hours)
You definitely have to pay attention to this map once you get out, especially for teh elevation linea and the river in the middle that you can fall into if the snow collapses:
I did have my beacon :)
some signs, but no real warnings about the river that will try to swallow you at the bottom
the hike at the top of the gondola can be as long as you want it to be, but make sure to drop on the left side
While the side country was good experience, it also could get you in trouble, especially as you end up on top of a river with multiple holes, some big, and others where the snow could collapse and you fall in the river, no good:
it was very easy to end up in one of these, they were almost everywhere
After 6 different side country runs, the day was over, and time to get back:
Defintely a great experience, but it's a no screw around zone, you can really get in trouble once you go side country at Kiroro
We definitely were lucky with snow and being able to choose resorts based on snowfall, did help. Nice powder at Rusutsu when we went.
Rusutsu gives you 5 free days if you have an epic local pass, but those 5 days are consecutive
Rusutsu Day 1: Great Bluebird
nice drive to Rusutsu
I didn't know the terrain so well, my first ride down the gondola, I was afraid of getting stuck at the bottom, but actually it was fine
always hard to gauge if it will be downhill the whole way, I was worried the gondola line had an uphill section lower down
ran the gondola line a few more times, it was excellent
While I really like flow bindings as they are easier to get in and out, they fail in too many different ways. Thankfully I learned my lesson and carry an entire spare emergency binding in my backpack:
kind of sucky that such a thick cable can snap
there you go, emergency backup binding installed
will fix this later, spare cables were ordered and sent home for when I get back
Back on the slopes to esplore the rest of the resort:
Rusutsu Day 2: Windy Post Storm
Knowing that a storm was coming, we went back the next day for more fresh snow, although the resort was half shut down for half the day due to too much wind. Thankfully the back of the resort did open later in the day, but the wind damaged the snow on some aspects of the mountain. Once we figured out where the good bits were, we went to enjoy that good powder ;)
snowy drive to rusutsu, but the roads stayed open
only a few lifts were open in the morning, Mt Isola was too windy
people showed up for the pow day, thankfully we already had a ticket thanks for our epic pass and skipped the ticket line
The gondola run was really good:
eventually Mt Isola opened up
And the tree runs on the correct face of Mt Isola (way from sun and wind) was also quite nice:
and after a bunch of rides, it was time to get back. Yes, there was night skiing, but that didn't really seem worth it after the great powder we had all day:
Defintely got lucky with Rusutsu, great snow even if the terrain isn't super steep in many places.
It had been 7 years since I was last in Japan for snow, time flies. This time around, it snowed every day, although more than half the days were too windy and only a few bottom lifts opened, especially on day 3 which was a bit frustrating due to the lack of open terrain. The snow was just really good all around, and even if it was not meters of it, the powder days felt very nice and no ice underneath.
For US people, Niseko gives you two days for free with Mountain Collective (you have to go to some office to get them) and then half off. At half off it was about $30 a day to ride all 4 mountains, i.e. super cheap.
Niseko Day 1: Annupuri and Niseko Village
The first 2 days, we stayed in Annupuri at Niseko Grand Hotel. There were few places left, so that's the closest we found. We took their morning shuttle to the slopes:
my partner in crime, Arturo
ticket prices were quite cheap by US standards (got 2 free days with mountain collective and half off for the last 3 days)
lots of side country gates
gate 11 by niseko village was also fun
riding pizza box chairs on the way back to Annupuri :)
doesn't feel super safe, but better than a tow rope
the Annupuri G1/G4 gates were nice, but you quickly get to a valley with tracked terrain
Niseko Day 2: Grand Hirafu and Hanazono
The next two days, we went to Rusutsu as the forecast showed good snow there, and the 4th day we came back to Niseko after moving to the fantastic pension island. The only downside of that location was that it was a bit far from the slopes, but the shuttle bus made it ok although it didn't quite get you there in time for first chair. Close enough though, the pension was Koko-san were so nice that we were super happy there:
morning gondola line
windy day with rotor cloud on top of Mt Yotei
beautiful day
gates were open, G5 took you to the Hanazono base
this was the posh base for people with too much money :)
2 or 3 chairs to go back up and cross back to Grand Hirafu
with 2 chairs only and a short hike, this side country took you back
this was the posh base for people with too much money :)
2 or 3 chairs to go back up and cross back to Grand Hirafu
with 2 chairs only and a short hike, this side country took you back
When it was sunny, it looked nice:
Side country run with good snow, still:
Niseko Day 3: Grand Hirafu Mostly Shut Down Blizzard Day
Day 3 was too windy, very few lifts were open. The gondola line was very long as a result:
not many pictures, visibility was not good due to wind, it was kind of a blizzard
Nice side country with powder faceshot:
Niseko Day 4: Windy Grand Hirafu and Hanazono
A bit more opened on Day 4, still very windy, but you could get a bit higher and cross over Hanazono:
morning gondola line, although it went faster due to less wind and higher gondola speed
the gates were weird, some closed ones were routinely ignored while others were really a good idea to respect
the work to get that powder was not really worth it, and it was not very steep in most places
beautiful views
but the weather turned quickly again
Two nice sidecountry runs, one with sun, one with show falling:
Niseko Day 5: Better weather, all mountain
For our last day, the top lifts were unfrozen and we were able to go to the top:
lnie for the top lift
The avalanche gate near the top had some really good warning cartoons. They were poetic sounding (maybe even haikus in japanese?), and they should actually be more advertised, The warnings on getting stuck in crevaces and riverbeds, were wery on point, especially at Kiroro where you can really get in trouble when you go side country:
you could hike all the way to the top, but it was a 45mn hike that didn't feel worth the time and effort
being able to take gate 4 for the first time, was nice
After that, I went back to Niseko Village and gate 11, which is alledgely a triple black diamond, but didn't feel that hard:
makes for a nice picture, though ;)
Nice clouds to end the day:
farewell niseko, we had a great time
One sidecountry run off gate 4 that finally opened:
And a loast one from gate 11, the supposed to be triple black diamond that was only single black:
After 24H in Tokyo, flew to Sapporo and barely made it with my snowboard as the airport staff was overachieving in finding things in checked in luggage that they didn't love on the plane. Taking my spray on wax (no propellant in the 100mg container) was a bit over the top, though :(
met Arturo there to join us and drive to Niseko
food food as always
Arturo won wasabi roulette :)
Hokkaido and Niseko especially gets reliable snow, and it actually snowed every day we were thee, not huge amount like in tahoe, but enough that it was fun:
After 2 days in Annupuri, we moved to the main Niseko Village base and stayed at the wonderful Pension Island and with wonderful Kako-SAn:
she is adorable and took great care of us
The food trucks close to our Pension, were fun dinner options:
did I mention it snowed almost all the time? :)
we also did a sit down dinner at a somewhat expensie restaurant we actually had been to before
my own google maps review said it was overpriced and not that great last time we went, but we did enjoy it more this time around
After 8 days around Niseko, Rusutsu and ending in Kiroro, we drove to Chitose to be close to our plane back out the next day:
managed to use enough of my japanese to order food in a restaurant which spoke no english at all
last breakfast before heading out
We had great snow, here are the blog reports on snowboarding:
Once in Haneda, I checked in my snowboard for my trip to Sapporo the next day, which was a bit of a hassle but saved me from carrying the bulky bag across Tokyo.
missed out on a cheap haircut :)
I decided to base myself in Shinjuku for that short time, because fun things:
Did a quick hop to Harajuku:
Harajuku is known for a special kind of fashion
After that, I went to a language exchange café to chat with locals:
And went out for dinner:
hahaha, can't argue with that
yum
The next morning, went back to Harajuku and Meiji Jingu:
It had been over 10 years since I last went to TJ, mostly because that last experience then was not good (over 4H for the dinner, and likely food poisoning, but that's hard to say for sure). Chez TJ does change chefs every few years, so it really depends when you go. This time around, it was a brand new chef who started just a few days earlier. The dinner was good, but not in line with the price they charged, which was closer to what 3 star restaurants charge, when they only had one star.
The service was good, food was pretty good, but I felt it was distasteful to add some silly health fee on the bill, and mandate a 20% tip. The restaurant was virtually empty on a friday night, which was also somewhat worrisome but maybe linked.
The drink selection was good, and if someone wanted to spend $500 on a very special wine pairing, that was available
I got a very interesting blueberry cider, it was very good
Nice dishes and still a fun evening:
this entremet looked nice but taste was underwhelming
the main dish, chicken, was good bug a lot of food instead of having other tasting portions
Snowfall was a bit low compared to averages this year, but by Jan 10th, a couple of storms started filling the holes and rocks, so it was time for me to do a quick trip as warmup before a trip to Japan/Niseko the following week.
Snow line was down, my M3 driving range also has now lost close to 10% since I bought it, so driving to KW in one shot with cold, snow, and headlights on, was going to be pushing things a bit, but with the supercharger in jackson, it's really just a 10mn stop now, just enough time to go to the bathroom :) (and this got me back from 43% to 76% in just over 10mn:
snow line was low, but that's good for the snow quality (cold)
got to KW in just over 3h40 with chain control speed restrictions, not bad (arrived with 31%)
glad to be back :)
Day 1 was cold and windy, became whiteout conditions before long:
coverage in Chamoix was still a bit rough at the bottom, but easy to go back on my butt
still a bit low in coverage on some ridges, but ok elsewhere
bottom of the drain still had holes to the river underneath, but they were being covered slowly
the wall still needed a bit more snow in places
it was still easy to get cliffed out i places
fair mount of snow falling the 2nd half the of day
KW crew did a great job keeping 6 and 10 open 'till end of day.
Thanks to Jeremy for getting me lodging for one night
Day #2 was the bluebird. We didn't get the 1.5ft in the forecast, only 7", but it was just the right kind that it felt bottomless and enjoyable while helping improve the base.
crews hard at work, and it sounded like this guy was actually electric, not diesel. Is that possible?
6 opened right on schedule, no delays
lovely snow
Couldn't see the base or anything the previous day. Much nicer on day #2:
I feel like I jumped this because I was too lazy to hike back up and the snow was soft enough, but it looks high. Still, I took a picture afterwards and have no other such picture, so it may actually be this one:
The Wall opened around 11:00 after snow safety was done, and the backside at 11:45 exactly as scheduled (big thumbs up on the twitter updates):
lovely to see the backside coverage, not bad
I didn't stay in line for 30mn to get first chair on 4
but I went to the wave, one of the first people down
looked like a good place to check out
got all this snow to myself, woot!
not every day I get a shot like this :)
I finished the day, getting good snow and lines all day, and left after 2 full days, very content. Great job to the KW crews for keeping things running in the middle of the week, even if few people were there:
