Single on a July Day: Part 2, Exit Festing (NoviSad)

Well after my short time in Belgrade I had to make my way to Novi Sad...I had a ticket for Exit Festival!!!! This is where things get fun. The lady at the counter did not speak English and my Serbian isn' t any better. I made great use of sign language and what I hoped was the correct schedule. I bought what I hoped was a one way ticket and got on a train that I figured was going to the right place.

Solo travel at its best!

This is the old train...used for other cities

 

Two hours later I was in Novi Sad. The trip was in a great new train, but the tracks are still old so it was not any faster, just way more comfy...and had air conditioning which was a plus with the +36C degree weather.

Once I arrived at the train station there were volunteers from the festival helping people get to their destination. Now this is where I give two pieces of important advice...1) don't bother with the bus pass;  2) If you are a solo traveller on a budget do not book through Exit Trip (unless you are booking camping).

As for #1, they sell you on the bus pass because it is more convenient than trying to pay on the bus, but it really is not necessary. Everything I needed was in walking distance...including the festival.

The shower curtain..one on each side

And #2....I was told by representative (by email) that  I had to book a whole room even if I was traveling alone. This meant that I was paying double, but got the whole room to myself. So it was a budget conscious decision for me to go with the cheapest place. Bad idea!! Horrible....no WiFi, no cleaning, very basic amenities. A true hostel...but was apparently student housing for a tech program. The shower was open to two room areas and when I told the guy that was showing me to my room that it was unacceptable he said it was nothing to worry about and continued. Hahaha....I know better now. Next time I'll just do a little extra research and not trust the website; too bad their ad could not just say: "this place is filthy and ill equipped". (Booking.com helped me out with the other places, I'll keep them in mind for my next Exit Adventure.)

On a positive note, it was a good place to meet other people since everyone around was either a student or a visitor down for Exit.

Me and the rules for entry

Exit Festival was a first of its kind for me...a night time festival. I've done raves, but a full on festival at night....that was  different. I loved it. It was 8pm- 8am and I was usually there from 10pm-4am...that's the perfect time of day for me. The weather was more bearable and I simply prefer the night time.

There were 10 stages and all sorts of awesomeness. Plus it was held in fortress!! The party atmosphere was insane; DJs and bands all over an historical fort and let's not forget about 100 000 people were there each night. It was a great experience that I wish I could afford to do again next year. So many highlights: Faithless, Roni Size Reprezent, the whole No Sleep zone, silent disco, Manu Chau, giant slide, opening night fireworks...and much more.  I walked to and from the event and had no issues with safety or directions since Novi Sad is easy to navigate and my map memory is pretty good.

The city itself was very nice beyond the festival. Once again great prices for food and drink and great places to chill. Since my crappy accommodations did not have WiFi (so odd!!), I was advised by the ExitTrip people to go across the street to the mall and find a restaurant there. It worked out for the best since I ended up hanging out at cool place called Babylon in the SPENS. I walked in and asked if they had food, booze and Internet...they had booze and Internet and that was good enough for me.

My time at Babylon begins on a Thursday. The festival did not start until Friday so I needed a night of boozing. This is where the rakija enters the vacation. To compensate for the no food issues I had fast food across the way at Minuta....

It's all about cheap and fast

after a few beers....then I asked for rakija and the waitress was shocked and pleased.

Now from this point it is a routine of beers and different types of rakija and glasses of water along with laughs and failed language lessons . It was nice to feel welcome and, since I was alone, there was no pressure to stay or to go. I crawled back into my single bed at the residence around 7:30am....I swear that rakija shit is like red bull....I didn't get sick, just stayed awake until I was horizontal...then it was sleep time.

I did some visiting and more drinking during my few days in Novi Sad, but as I said this was a whirlwind vacation. I think I'll need to go back and stay for a few days after or before Exit Fest. I'd definitely do Exit again!

If you're making plans here are my recommendations:

Get the early bird ticket and make sure you have a hotel/hostel/apartment booked by February. The prices go up and the city sells out. You can always do the camp thing...not my thing, but I heard it was pretty clean and close to the beach.

Also, there is a secondary festival in Montenegro-- Sea Dance. If you buy your Exit ticket early enough you can get into this festival quite inexpensively. I did not go, but I saw pictures....awesome time. I might do it next year...if I can afford to get back to that side of the world!


On to the next stop....

This was one of the stops on my 9h bus ride to Sarajevo