Off-Track Backpacking » party

Top 10 Best Party Cities in the World

Tanya — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 07:27:27 +0000

I was lucky enough to start 2010 on Copacabana beach in Rio, surrounded by over 2 million people. I must admit that it was an unforgettable night! One of the best parts of traveling is experiencing the night life in different cities around the world. Let it be for New Year’s Eve, during a Carnival or on a simple Saturday night, you need to party it up! Below is a list I put together on the top 10 best party cities in the world, partly based on personal experience and online research.

Buenos Aires, Argentina

The beautiful city of tango additionally has a party city. It’s a city filled with much culture were the night only begins at midnight and ends in the early morning. The few clubs I experienced in Buenos Aires had a variety of music. The people are fun and they’ll randomly talk to you. It’s quite an experience!

Barcelona, Spain

I never had as many shots as I did when visiting Barcelona. There is a great vibe in the city in the early mornings, after everyone finishes partying. It reminds me a lot of Montreal where everyone is walking outside after a fun night out, being loud and obnoxious.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

The place to be if you want to party in Rio is Lapa. Most nightclubs and bars can be found in this neighbourhood. There is a wide variety of clubs to visit, anything from traditional clubbing music to samba clubs. You can’t leave Rio without partying in Lapa. Impossible!

Las Vegas, USA

What to say about Vegas? Party and money go together. One of the most famous places to party in the world, there is definitely a handful of places to consider, let it be in Hotel lounges or popular clubs in the Sin City.

Credit: www.lasvegasnevadabus.com

Tel Aviv, Israel

Tel Aviv is a vibrant city of the Mediterranean. A city filled with endless choices of bars and clubs, you can easily find yourself partying until the early mornings of dawn.

Credit: telalivit.com

Moscow, Russia

The city of beautiful women also offers a great nightlife. Clubs with techno music, lounges or vodka bars, there is always somewhere to go in Moscow.

Credit: www.eurovision.tv

Dubai, United Arab Emirate

If you’re looking to party in style and willing to splurge, Dubai is the place for you. It’s a great place to party with lots of elegance, from partying on rooftop clubs to yatch’s, there is definitely lots of options!

Credit: blog.360dgrs.nl

NYC, USA

What to say about NYC? Referred to the city that never sleeps, partying in NYC is a must! Being a cosmopolitan city, there is more than enough variety to fulfill your party needs!

Credit: www.luisamarshall.com

Bangkok, Thailand

Anyone who visits Bangkok most certainly has experienced the nightlife in the city. Khao San Road offers lots of party places, as well as anywhere else in the city. It’s a must if visiting Bangkok.

Credit: www.forbes.com

Montreal, Canada

What to say about Montreal, my hometown? It has an awesome nightlife, from fancy clubs, to jazz bars, to bars and breweries. There is more than enough choice to meet your party tastes.

Is there a city you partied in that you’d like to mention?

Eat, Pray, Love and Party

Tanya — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 07:00:12 +0000

If you haven’t seen the movie Eat, Pray, Love, you’ve probably heard more than enough about it. Although the movie received mixed reviews, I can reassure you that it has touched us travelers in one way or another. As a female backpacker myself, I could relate to all segments of her experience. I decided to go ahead and give you my version of EAT, PRAY, LOVE and I added my very own PARTY!

EAT

Eating is my passion as well as my pass-time. I’m definitely giving this category to…. Mexico! I was in complete heaven during the 5 months I was living there. I was eating anything and everything from enchiladas to pollo con mole to Pozole. Mexican food rocks! It was deliiiiiiicious! Yum, yum, yum!

Pollo con mole

Enchiladas

PRAY

The most inspiring and spiritual place I experienced is Thailand. Seeing the monks walking in the streets or visiting the temples and Buddha’s in Bangkok was an eye opening experience for me.

Time to Pray

LOVE

Love is part of traveling. Whether you fall in love with a person, with a city or with a culture, you’re most likely going to fall in love with something in every country you visit. Here are some of the things I fell in love with in the last few years:

Tango on the streets of Buenos Aires
The sangria in Barcelona
The tranquility of the Amazon in Brazil
Arembepe beach in Bahia, Brazil
The white monuments of Vienna

Tango show in the streets of BA

Amazon

PARTY

I had to add this category because what backpacker does not experience some partying? It’s one of the best ways to emerge yourself in a culture. The only problem with this one is that I cannot just pick one place. So here’s my list of top 5 party places :

Buenos Aires, Argentina
Rio and Salvador, Brazil
Barcelona, Spain
Lagos, Portugal
Amsterdam, Holland

Friends!

Upcoming Summer Festival Destinations

naradb — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 06:26:06 +0000

This post is for all those backpackers who aren’t planning a huge backpacking adventure this year. Take a quick peek at the music filled festivals below. So if you really want to party and have a good time, I say hit up at least one of these festivals!!

Coachella – California

Two days of sunshine, amazing sound, and living in your tent! The hippie chic festival is all about rock, style, and having a blast. This festival is April 16-18 near Palm Springs. So far the line up of performers are Jay-Z, David Guetta, Gossip, The dead Weather Phoenix, Gorilaz, and Vampire Weekend.

Rock in RIO – Lisbon

This festival goes between RIO to Madrid and now to Lisbon. It is held in Lisbon’s Bela Vista Park with many different stages throughout the park. There will be stages of electronic sounds, rock, and jam sessions. Plus the expected people to be there will be Miley Cyrus, and John Mayer. This festival is between May 21-27.

Glastonbury – United Kingdom

One of the most fashionable, and star- struck festivals to attend, this is one place to be this summer! Many stars such as Kate Moss, Lily Allen, and Jay-Z are regulars to this festival. However, you need to be ready for the rain and mud, since every year it seems to rain lots during this festival. This festival is taking place between June 23 – 27 and a few performers will be U2, Stevie Wonder, and Jack Johnson.

Roskilde – Denmark

During July 1-4 the Nordic Festival is a non-profit organization that will have all profits go to a great cause and free camping is included in the ticket. Plus the well know thing about this festival are the food stands. Suppose to be amazing. This festival is only 35 km outside of Copenhagen and so far Jack Johnson and Muse will be performering.

Benicassim – Spain

Between the most party cities of Barcelona and Valencia the pristine beaches turn into a major dance floors of Spain’s largest party festival of the year. So all day you soak up the sun, swim in the sea and party all night, so who wouldn’t want to attend this festival?

How to Party like a Jamaican in Montreal

Tanya — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 06:00:31 +0000

The beauty of having spent the last 6 years traveling is the friends I’ve made throughout my journeys abroad- and HOME! My crowd of friends has drastically changed since High School or College. My closest friends go from Italian descendent to Vietnamese to Lebanese to Argentinian to Jamaican. All open minded, we spend our time together discovering new cuisines or activities.

This being said, it was my Jamaican friend’s dad’s 60th Birthday last Saturday and of course, her closest friends were invited. The evening began with some Jamaican patties as appetizers. Obviously, when the invitation said cocktail at 6:30pm, it translates to 7:30pm for Jamaicans! So we arrived on-time according to Jamaican time- 7:45pm! 15 minutes before the dad’s entrance. Then, the meal started. One word to describe the food… YUM! The menu included curry goat, fried chicken, jerk chicken, fish and beans. It was the first time I ate some real tasty Jamaican food and enjoyed every bite of it! And then…. and then came dessert. Anything from cheese cake, to spicy cake to rum cake was on the sweet table. It was delicious! So after eating such tasty food, it was time to get the P-A-R-T-Y started on the dance floor. Spent a few hours dancing to reggae which was a change.

All this to say that all of us non-Jamaicans enjoyed our time at the party. And 6 years ago, going to a Jamaican party would have probably not interested me but I’m glad that all changed! We had a much more interesting night than if we would have danced in a club or hanging out at a lounge. Change is good.

Top 5 Places to Celebrate the New Year!

Tanya — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 09:30:41 +0000

With the Holiday season just around the corner, most of you are probably wondering how you’ll be celebrating New Years Eve. Stay home with family? Go to a night club? Go to a fancy party? Party on a beach? All of these choices are good.. but how about spending New Year’s Eve someplace crazy?! Here are my Top 5 places to celebrate the New Year in the world:

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Now, now, now, don’t get jealous! I will fortunetely be there to welcome 2010. And I am very excited about it indeed! So how do Brazilians celebrate the Reveillon anyways? It’s simple, about 2 million people dressed in white head towards the most popular beaches of Rio, such as Copabacana and Ipanema close to 10pm to watch candles float the sea. The beachsides are surrounded by stages offering locals and tourists some live entertainment throughout the evening. And then at the stroke of midnight, the sky is illuminated with fireworks. Needless to say that the city goes wild after midnight on the many beaches of Rio and in the various night clubs!

Sydney, Australia

Want to know why they are special in Sydney? They are one of the first in the world to celebrate the New Year! And even better, it’s summer there! It’s funny how we in the North avoid going outside while they enjoy partying on beaches in a little bikini. So jealous! So as millions of people gather in the Darling Harbour, the night starts off with some family-oriented fireworks, then come the Harbor of Light parade where over 50 boats do a round-trip around the Harbour. And then of course, at the strike of midnight, the fireworks begin sparkling the Harbour for 12 minutes. But wait, the party isn’t over. Families head home and those who don’t have kids to tuck into bed hit town and party in various clubs in the city.

Cape Town, South Africa

Spending New Year’s Eve in Cape Town means partying on rooftops, restaurants, pubs and lounges with the most popular and international DJ’s. Throughout the evening, costumed dancers, banjo players and marches take over the city. As Cape Town is already a vibrant city without the celebration of the New Year, the city really goes wild when you add the two together! And then obviously at midnight, fireworks go crazy by the V&A Waterfront. It must be an incredible experience!

Barcelona, Spain

So let’s admit how the Spagnards love their fiestas! You can go to Barcelona at any time of the year and I can guarantee that you’ll be drinking and partying along Las Ramblas. But how exactly do they welcome the New Year in Barcelona? Their tradition is to eat 12 grapes in 12 seconds as they are counting down the last few seconds to the New Year. The 12 grapes represent the 12 months of the Year- a tradition that began with the King of Spain back in the day. From rock bands and salsa performers who take over the city, be ready for countless suprises while in Barcelona for the New Year.

The Maldives

The Maldives is a beautiful place memesmerized by it’s natural beauty and cultural heritage. On any given day, you are most likely to fall in love with it. So what happens when you combine The Maldives and New Year’s Eve? Locals and tourists fill the streets to enjoy the live music, dancers and the illuminated decoration that fills the city. Bars and restaurants are open all night and offer the crowd some local food such as Gula, kuli boakiba and foni boakiba. Ending the year and starting the New Year on some remote island can only be a memorable experience.

Although these are my top personal top picks, there are countless other places I’d enjoy celebrating the New Year. Or must I say, anywhere but home is an awesome place to be for New Year’s!! And of course, if I could have all my friends ans family by my side, that would be even better

Personal Experiences in Celebrating New Year’s Eve Away

On a personal note, on Dec 31st 2006, I had the opportunity of being in Bangkok, Thailand at the strike of midnight. Khaosan road is definitely the place to be in Bangkok! Great food, great parties, great people… what more would someone need to start off the year on the right foot?!

In 2007, I was in the random place of El Calafate (Patagonia), Argentina for New Year’s Eve. Although it wasn’t as glamorous as Bangkok, the hostel turned it into a great experience! We all cooked a dish from our country and shared the food with everyone in the hostel for dinner. After drinking lots of Argentinian wine, we head out for the fireworks at midnight and then I wandered the streets with my new Isralie friends! Very memorable moment!

And to this personal list, I’ll be adding Rio de Janeiro! Only 3 weeks away, stay tuned for more detail on this location.

Celebrating 2010 in Rio de Janeiro

Tanya — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 09:00:56 +0000

Ok ya’ll… Where in the world would you rather be than RIO to celebrate the New Year?! Right…. Rio is THE place to be! With Copacabana & Ipanema beaches, the opportunity to admire the sunset in Arpoador, visit the statue of Christ the Redeemer, have lunch in Santa Teresa and party in Lapa, how can you NOT want to be in Rio ?!

If everything goes well, meaning that I do hop on a plane in Manaus and not get stranded there, I will be in Rio de Janeiro for New Year’s Eve this year! With a hostel only a few blocks away for Copacabana and Ipanema beaches, I’m super excited! Here are the top 5 places to party for New Year’s Eve in Rio… let’s welcome 2010!

Note that 1 Canadian Dollar is equal to 1.6 Brazilian Real.

1. Museu de Arte Moderna- http://www.reveilloncidademaravilhosa.com.br/: Oh yes, this is a New Year’s Eve party in the Museum of Modern Arts in Rio! As most other South American parties, it’s always cheaper for women than men. The cost of this party is R$290 for women and R$340 for men. That price includes all you can eat buffet and all you can drink bar.

2. IATE Club- http://www.reveillondoiate.com.br/: Seems to be a cool loungy ambiance by a pool deck. It’s also an all you can eat and drink concept. It’s R$390 for women and men.

3. Reveillon Carioca- http://www.reveilloncarioca.com.br/: Another great place to party to welcome to New Year. It’s R$450 for women and R$500 for men. It includes a buffet and open bar in the lovely city of Rio.

4.Reveillon da Hipica- http://www.reveillondahipica.com.br/: This club located near one the new 7 wonder’s of the world, has a hall, a restaurant, a balcony and patio! Again, with an all you can eat menu and open bar, women pay R$330 and men pay R$390.

5. Reveillon Planeta Rio- http://www.planetario2010.com.br/: With a countdown to the New Year, this party will take place on a premise in downtown Rio. Women payR$130 and men pay $R150. This one also offers buffet and open bar although it doesn’t seem to be as glamorous as the previous ones. That would probably explain to lower entrance price!