Annyeong yorobun!
So, this is my very first post in 2019, lol what happened to the resolution "POSTING FREQUENTLY", well no excuse, many things happened for the past 6 months. I got new job, new life errrr new things. It was quite overwhelming in the beginning trying to adapt and grasp the whole change beyond my comfort zone. So, in order to stay sane and get myself together I felt need to refresh my mind and replenish my energy,lol. Because I already spend my entire year in 2018 to hustle and grind, I think I deserve a getaway. Actually I planned to go somewhere but unfortunately it was cancelled because my travel partner had some situation.
I wondered if I go there alone, but I didn't think I'm brave enough, that's when my fella , Putri, told me that she'd visit Singapore in the weekend to watch her bias K-pop boy band iKON who'll perform in a music festival in Singapore. So, yes I told her I want to tag a long. She wasn't sure at first, since actually I'm not a fan-girl. Tbh, I'm so into K-Drama, like it's my second nature, like you can count on me on this, name any actors/actresses , the dramas and all, I 'm proud of my knowledge related to this stuff. But I don't think I know a lot about K-Pop idols (fyi, people often mistook K-Drama lovers to be K-pop idol fans as well, but it's not, people). But, I'm quite familiar with Seung Jae, Joy from Red Velvet because they were also casted in some dramas I watched, and then I follow their career path, and who doesn't know Blackpink these days?! Been following their journey ever since the debut, because I love their exceptional taste in fashion and music, and did I mention their precious other-wordly beautiful figures? As expected from YG Entertainment which houses the big stars who make it to the top chart billboard in hollywood. I told her, well I do know a bit about iKON they're also part of YG, their song was totally catchy, especially the "Love Scenario", first time heard it during their performance on the Asian Games opening which took a place in Jakarta, it's on my repeat playlist in the car ever since. She told me all the consequences being a fan-girl, so that I won't be surprised later. Well I thought I could handle that. And so, I bought the flight ticket along with the festival ticket to assure her that I really made up my mind. The festival ran for 3 days at Siloso beach, Sentosa island, but since iKON performed only in the final day as a closing act, we chose to buy a single-entry ticket for the last day.
SKECHERS SUNDOWN FESTIVAL
Claiming to be a music-lover and also an once-a-vocalist , myself, puts me to shame since I only ever attended one music festival before. So, this was my second time, hopefully one day I can make it to Coachella (finger-crossed).
But this time it was quite different from the festival I joined in before, since we're talking about K-pop here, the ambience was totally different. There were some other performers too in the line-up but the audiences swarmed here in majority were only there for iKON . I never watched a live K-pop show before, so it kinda swept my feet off the floor , seeing how the fans were totally into this, the enthusiasm, the eagerness, to the point that they were willing to take the queue since the daybreak, while the awaited show itself was scheduled at night! Being a K-pop dummy myself, Putri had warned me before about the queue and all, I thought to myself that this might be exciting for a change, it's like exploring something new outside of my comfort zone.
And oh, I made some friends too, there were some fellow Indonesians from Jakarta, Batam, Surabaya, Tanggerang, and some others from the neighbouring country such as Malaysia, Thailand and the Philipines. It was fun meeting new friends , we hit it quickly, even though I couldn't really join the conversation since they are the true IKONic ( iKON fandom), and here I am only familiar with one song,LOL. But they are totally kind and friendly, they didn't outcast me for being a newbie lol, they were so helpful and concerned about one and another, I'm grateful to know them, thanks to Putri. We exchanged social medias too so that we could keep in touch :D
We commuted from the down town to Sentosa island, where the festival took a place, after shubuh around 5-6 AM Singapore time. It took about an hour from Clarke Quay station where we stayed to the venue. It was pretty early, but guess what? There were a whole bunch of people who were already lining up there before we did. Well as expected actually. After hours of waiting the gate to open , we entered the venue around 12 am or so. I left behind my precious 1.5 litre mineral water , I thought they forbid bringing foods and beverages from outside, but later they told us plain water was okay :) dammit should've known that!
After entering the venue, we scored the spots in the front row, literally just behind the fence barrier before the stage in order to see the performers literally up close. We took turn to "landmark" our position if anybody wanted to go to the toilet or bought some foods and beverages, LOL. Well, before we get into the main event here, let me just tell you what blew my mind on top of this K-pop thing. Well, we all knew that Singapore has a mid-high cost of living, that mineral water I left behind? bought that for 2$, around 20.000 rupiah in Indonesia which you can gain 4 bottles at the same price,LOL. And, being isolated in the venue we can only purchase foods and drinks within the area, little did I know, the mineral water available there was tagged 5$ each , for only 250mL:') like what? well, the water was one of the namely brand in collaboration with Chiara Ferragni, lol, that's why it was pretty pricey.
I got dehydrated very easily, and we were in a beach on top of that, so I ended up bought 6 bottles of mineral water and also a hot dog for 10$, also some cokes goodness 3$ each, 60 SGD for measly food and drinks lol, I was running out of dollars at the time I didn't expect it would amount that much hahaha, I brought some cash in rupiah, later I asked one of our friend to exchange their dollars with my rupiah, thank god they spared me from the hassles -_-. Well, what I spent was totally nothing compare to this friend we have, she bought dozens bottles of mineral water, just to water down her head to cool off because it was so freaking hot I myself wanna bath in that precious sparkling cold water drink too, I wish I could splurge on something like that too lol.
The thing that I was feeling fortunate for, dunno if it was to be grateful for tho, is that I was on my period, so I didn't have to do prayers, since it's not a muslim majority country, finding prayer space around the beach will be quiet you know, difficult. So there we waited there under the burning hot sun, hot beach sands, 'till the sun went down. Thank god I didn't get a heatstroke. There were some performances preceded the main act, some DJs performances one after another. Around 8 PM, I lost my footing, I felt like I was suffocated, I already past my limit, my vision started to get blur, I felt like I was about to pass out. So I decided to back off from my post and rested far away from the crowd and bought 4 bottles of mineral water. iKON performance was just an hour away, but I was afraid I'd trouble the others if I stubbornly remained there. Well, I gave myself a pat in the back though, it was my first time and I survived from morning to evening miraculously, usually I already burnt out many hours ago. Not bad for a beginner, hehehe.
So, like they said, save the best for the last, iKON finally took the stage, the crowd was so enthusiastic everybody sang along with them while waving their lighting sticks in the air, it was like a sea of lights from where I stood, such a magnificent view. Even though I watched from afar, I think it was worth the struggle. Never thought that I could watch them live, I'm glad I did. ;) I really love the stage settings, the lightings, and all. But I think, to invite a K-Pop boyband with a pretty enthusiast fandom might need a little experience and extra caution before hand since things could get out of the hand. But thankfully, the event went pretty well despite of a little chaos because of the crowd in the back tried to have their way by pushing forward to the point that they accidentally bent the barrier and offended the people at the front, nobody fell to victims, later it was under control. But my friends were pretty pissed off because ,alas ,they were caught in the middle of that chaos. :'(
Overall, it was such a whole new experience, like accomplishing a quest. My friends asked me if I will join them again, yes I'd love too! I got the knack of it so maybe in the future I'll come with better preparations, haha. It was fun during the show, the energy was terrific. But, idk maybe because I'm still new to this, when I first saw the whole fan-girl-ing things, it was quite overwhelming for me, I think we're totally in a different world since I never experienced it before, I do have some idols that I adore and look up to but it's nothing compare to this. Being a K-pop fan-girl might not really for me, but I'd really love to watch their show again of course, even the private stage, count me in! ps: Putri told me that Junee, one of the iKON member is totally my type, well sure he is <3
Quick shot by Putri
Strike a pose first
<
You've got a friend!
The so-called KON-bat lighting sticks, I borrowed it, obviously.
Did it for the gram, LOL.
The warriors, lol
iKON performance taken by me from afar using a Zuiko 45mm prime lens f 1.8
on Olympus OMD 10 II
Got goosebumps watching them, it was fantastic T.T
on our way home
THANK YOU FOR READING !
