Los Angeles - Travel With A Butterfly

Having been to these three mega music festivals, Tomorrowland, Coachella, and EDC Vegas, I wanted to do a comparison from my own experience so that if you are deciding on which festival to go to (first), you can get an idea of what to expect from each one.

Please note that at the time of writing in Aug 2023, I’ve been to Tomorrowland and Coachella this year and EDC Vegas in 2015, so there may be a bit of recency bias and obviously a better memory of what happened at Tomorrowland and Coachella than at EDC.

The topics I will go through include: getting there and back, food, accommodations, music, venue, stage production, value, the crowd, fashion, art/partnerships, and just the overall vibe and atmosphere.

Read my EDC Vegas blog, Coachella blog, and Tomorrowland blog for more details about each of them. You can also check out other music festivals I’ve been to such as Fuji Rock and Wonderfruit.

Continue reading Comparison Between Tomorrowland, Coachella, and EDC Vegas

Travel

A Perfect Three Day Itinerary in Los Angeles

ByRyan Lee

I’ve been to Los Angeles many times, because I studied college there, and so a couple of my friends are based there, and because it just so happens to be a place that has many events there or nearby, one time in Las Vegas for EDC Vegas, and this time to go to Coachella. It just so happens that we had three days in Los Angeles to spend before going to Palm Springs, so here I will outline a good itinerary for three days in LA. Take note – this post is not for first timers, or maybe even second timers in LA; you’ll probably want to visit more “touristy” attractions and places if that’s what you’re aiming for.

Continue reading A Perfect Three Day Itinerary in Los Angeles

Events

One Coachella Is All It Takes (and Tips on Surviving Coachella)

ByRyan Lee

“One Coachella is all it takes, falling in love with you, possibilities, you look like all you need…”

Coachella has always been a part of my bucket list of things to do in my life. Told myself, better to go now than when I start having to take care of children or having to take care of my family or when I start to have more life responsibilities in general. Since I wasn’t really working at the moment, and considering my age, it was sort of a “now or never” kind of moment. Plus, I wanted to go NFT NYC the week before, so the entire sequence of events flowed perfectly.

I for one enjoyed the lineup this year. For me, it felt like Coachella emphasised on Latino artists, international acts, hip hop, dance/electronic/techno, and up and coming artists from online platforms such as Youtube creators. Acts we got to see included – Blackpink, Calvin Harris, Testpilot (Deadmau5), Metro Boomin with The Weeknd, Jackson Wang, Eric Prydz, Kaytranada, Skillrex, and more. Personally would have liked if Frank Ocean was there instead of Blink 182, but unfortunate for the replacement. Continue reading One Coachella Is All It Takes (and Tips on Surviving Coachella)

Travel

Ex NYC and LA Trip

ByRyan Lee

Just a quick itinerary that I followed a few years back when I went to NYC and LA:

New York

Supreme
nouveauyork.com
Brooklyn Brewery
Central Park
Hipster towns in Brooklyn Williamsburg
Musical – The Book of Mormon
Soho
Chelsea Market
Sleep No More
Grand Central Oyster Bar
residentadvisor.net
MoMa
Littleneck ($1 oysters)
Upstairs 145 E. 50th Street
Strand Book Store, BookCourt, the powerhouse Arena
RedEgg, Blind Barber, La Esquina, Spotted Pig
Nightclubs: Pacha, Lavo, Casa Mono

Continue reading Ex NYC and LA Trip

Travel

Pacific Coast Highway, Not Really

ByRyan Lee

I got the idea of driving along the Pacific Coast Highway from one of my Bucket List links illustrating some of the top 10 drives in America. Since I had to be in the west coast, and I wanted to minimize my time in Los Angeles due to the lack of things to do as a tourist visitor, I thought to myself… why not drive PCH?

I was extremely excited by the prospect of driving along the sea coast; I was imagining all the magnificent views I would be getting. Continue reading Pacific Coast Highway, Not Really

Travel

Los Angeles – Fun For A Few Days Only

ByRyan Lee

So I grew up studying university in Los Angeles for 4 years, and those were some of the best years in my life. I think to a certain extent it was also because I was situated in Los Angeles, and as a university student, it was a good place to have fun there, especially when you have a car.

LA during the night

After graduation and moving out from the city, I would periodically come back to Los Angeles every few years, for differing reasons (nostalgia, music festivals, weddings etc.). Each time finding myself needing to do more and more research to find out what else is there to do in Los Angeles besides typical city stuff, like eating. Continue reading Los Angeles – Fun For A Few Days Only

Misc.

Luxurious Airbnb Places Around The World

ByRyan Lee

Got a bit of dough to throw around? Want to impress your girlfriend/boyfriend? Want some motivation in your life? Look no further. I’ve provided ten accommodations from Airbnb from around the world that will guarantee to make your wallet thinner. I selected these accommodations based on pricing, uniqueness, and feel… some of the accommodations I saw, as expensive as they were, didn’t seem very “luxurious” and felt too “homey” for me. I set out to find accommodations that define luxury.

Important Update (Nov. 8, 2022): Upon trying to repair the broken images on this page, I realize that 9 out of the 10 Airbnb links redirected you to their homepage airbnb.com, presumably because the original airbnbs aren’t listed anymore. I apologise if you have been brought here. But don’t worry, I will be continuing to do top 10 airbnb places in different cities again soon. Continue reading Luxurious Airbnb Places Around The World

Misc.

My Bad Experience With American Airlines

ByRyan Lee

While browsing through plane ticket deals for a round trip from Hong Kong to Los Angeles, I wasn’t able to find anything within my budget. I was late to the game, the flight dates were during summer, and I didn’t want to settle on Korean Airlines. And I had already bought my EDC tickets, so there was no way I was backing off now.

And then I remembered. Luckily I was walking by and remembered that American Airlines was doing a promotion for setting up a route from Hong Kong to United States, some ad I came across. So I went to their official site, did a search, and bam. Cheapest airfare I could find for a reliable airline. It wasn’t going to be a direct route, (Hong Kong -> Fort Worth, Texas -> Los Angeles) which I’m usually OK with. It usually means more mileage for me anyway, plus I haven’t had any bad experiences with transfers… until this trip. Continue reading My Bad Experience With American Airlines

Interviews

Living In The EDM World With Skylar

ByRyan Lee

With the EDC Las Vegas festival fast approaching, and with electronic dance music (or dance music as some may prefer) manifesting itself globally while intertwining with today’s pop music, I brought along Insomniac employee Skylar Hardenbrook for a quick interview with us about his work life and his views on today’s EDM scene. Here’s what he has to say – Continue reading Living In The EDM World With Skylar