Phuket WAS HANDS DOWN THE BEST FETE EXPERIENCE FOR ME during carnival.
And, I'm going to take my time in telling you why. :-)
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Leh We Begin
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Getting
on the plane en route to Trinidad is a superb experience. From the
time when you commit to go to the time you reach is all surreal. This is
especially true when it is your first time.
During this carnival I really tried to do some things differently.
First and foremost, as mentioned before, I made a concerted effort to look at carnival through the eyes of a a carnival virgin.
I
tied to see things differently and not compare and contrast..... so
much. It's difficult to do because previous experiences most definitely
impact your view of your experiences, but I really tried. This seemed to
help me have a better time.
The other thing that I really try
to do is to place myself in the same experience as you. Meaning, I buy
tickets to EVERY fete just like you. Even if I am there to work as
media, I still buy.... well, attempt to buy a ticket, the same as you.
There are times when I am successful and then there are times when I am
not. This year for Soca Brainwash and AMbush I was NOT able to buy a
ticket for myself. And with my new
criteria for my fete analyses, such procedural hurdles in ticket
acquisition will most definitely impact my recap on my experience(s).
With that being said, the Phuket fete was my first fete that I attended when I reached sweet TNT.
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See, the Way Phuket
Is Set Up.......
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Phuket sits in a quality time slot on Friday as many people travel on Friday
in order to maximize their days of work during the week. And usually
people have to book housing options in Trinidad in blocks and a Friday arrival fits in that 5 day block time frame that is offered by most domiciles and hotels.
Phuket
is one of the fetes that people walk into right after getting off of
the plane. As a matter of fact, you may see some of the people in the
fete with you that were on the plane with you, as was my experience.
Because Phuket sits in this sweet time slot, it is an emotionally
charged fete because for many it is the FIRST fete experience that they
have when they touch down.
This, in my opinion, has a huge
positive impact on the vibes inside of this fete. Because the people
who have been in TNT for a while who are your friends, see you in this
fete and they get hyped when they find out that you have actually
reached. I still remember running into my main man Carnegie Tirado in
Phuket. It was a good feeling especially after he had been sending me
videos and pictures ever since he attended Machel Monday. It felt like a mini reunion.
What was also cool was seeing the people from the groups that I am in.
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The Groups
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As
you get deeper into your carnival experience you may or may not find
yourself in some groups or chat rooms about carnival . Some of these
are online in places like facebook. Some are email lists and others are
e-chat groups that use platforms such as WhatsApp. These groups can be
super helpful for carnival virgins and veterans and.......just keeping
it real...... they ALSO can get really f*cking petty and catty. Like
all things, you always have the option to leave or involve yourself as
much as you'd like. I will tell you this, the groups are a great
resource and it is a nice feeling meeting people in the fete that you
have been communicating with all year long. That is the truth.
And,
for me, it was definitely sweet seeing my Ministry of Appreciation
Family with their #MOAApproved shirts on and my BPositivo family with
their tattoos on in the fete. I also saw my What Fetes Yuh Going (WYFG)
family (also known as the "green bandits") and it felt like a huge
family reunion.
Phuket was......NICE.
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My VI and Bermudian
Massive
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AND
THEN when I didn't think the whole thing couldn't tun up anymore my
Virgin Islands crew arrived. (side note: I am not from the VI but a
good portion of my crew is so they just make me honorary VI every
carnival LOL. The truth is, I was introduced to TNT by these gentlemen.
They raised me in the ways of the fete). So, when I see my people
reach the sh*t hit another level. And then..... the place took a turn
for greatness when I ran into a pocket of Bermudians!
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Dis Oman From Bermuda
Almost Kill Me In De Fete!
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So, this
one woman from Bermuda trow a wine on me that had me feeling like I was
back in Bermuda for Bermuda Heroes Weekend at J'Ouvert. De wine was so
sweet, ah damn near pull my hamstring and trow out de left side of meh
back. But I ain't no punk, I tried to hang in there until de DJ change
de tune. I remember saying, "If this mc don't change dis chune soon I ga
dead fuh sure! Iz ah ol' man and I cyah be wining wit these young tings
so."
So there I was in the fete....PRAYING.
Praying
to God to please allow DJ to move to another chune, but I
was caught in the zone... in the riddim zone. Where he was playing a
string of songs that are made off of the same riddim track that is
produced by some quality beat makers. I was stuck. The RR riddim was
playing and one song was rolling into the next and then I heard through
the speakers, "Yuh wan speed, yuh wan speed?"
And
in my mind I was yelling, "F*ck No!!! I doh wan speed. I need some
groovy soca so that I cyan sit dung!!" And then I heard it again, "Yuh
wan speed? Is speed you wan?" At this time, I felt my right quadriceps
muscle start to twitch. And my left hamstring ah say, "Look dred, you
can do wha you wan, but we leaving! De fete for we is done!"
Oh gosh!! chubble me say!!
These woman from Bermuda doh play no games!
Iz
a strong looking man, so I couldn't go down without a fight, but I felt
like I was gonna lose this one for sure. At this time I just had to try
to keep the score to this winin game close to make this loss look respectable. Because I saw the
score on the board in my mind and I was down by 7 in the 4th quarter and I knew there was no coming back.
And then
it happened.....
The song reached!!!
The song "Gyal Meets Brass".........
And I heard it coming and I knew I was done for....."how yuh winin so?
Yes you! Ah baby rock it, rock it and roll it............"
And there was nothing that I could do.
Man Down!
Man f******* down!!
Lawd Faddah, Send Help.
Call de fete ambulance!!
Call the fete police.
Hell, call somebody!!!
If I had a white rag in meh waist, I woulda wave it to signify that I surrender.
I was going down for sure.
It was a slow death in de fete.
So, I had to pull the veteran move. I turned her around and asked, "Hey, are you going to Suits or AMBush tomorrow?"
Yeah, yeah, I know. :-(
Say what you want about me. Hell, I needed a break. I can't win em all.
So I struck up a conversation and I was able to catch myself, but by that time, de winin was done.
I
walked away feeling like I got away with my life in tact. And went
straight to the bar for more coconut water while murmuring to myself,
"Whew, I almost dead."
There was some consolation in the fact
that
this woman from Bermuda was also an alumna of Howard University. At
least it didn't feel like much of a loss if we are on the same team :-/
Say what you want..... but I ain't dead though. :-)
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Next Up....
The Riddim Section
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Not
only were the vibes nice and the people in the party good looking but
also the lighting, mist and special effects in the party were on point.
Such things added a nice type of flavor to the party as it moved into
the nighttime hour.
And then the party closed
out with a nice segment from the riddim section. De iron was set up in
the back and the iron played at the end of the fete. It was nice.
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The Negatives
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Some people said that the drink lines were too long.
I know that at the end of the night they ran out of water.
Personally,
I didn't give a sh*t! If I was being charged $140 per ticket, going
through a committee, offering to put some of my sperm in a sperm bank,
selling blood and possibly selling my ass on the street for a ticket
then I would complain. But with the new anatomy of the fete and the ease
of use for entry and the high level of vibes, Phuket is a GO for me.
This year and the next.
Buy. Attend. Fete. Leave. The end.
Phuket, for me, was The No Stress Fete.
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Closing
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