Music Makes the People Come Together

[David Cary]

Music is a big part of a travel experience for me. Music can influence a trip for me in many ways: going out to a great club in a foreign country - like going to see Groove Armada at Pacha in Ibiza!, relaxing at the beach to some of your favorite tunes, seeing some of a country's signature music live, etc.

One of my most memorable musical moments on a trip was when Chris and I were in Cambodia visiting the famous temples of Angkor (which are awesome by the way!). We spent three days riding rental bikes to many of the temples. One night, we spent sunset at Angkor Wat watching the sun go down and listening to Tiesto's Nyana Indoor disc and Groove Armada. It was a magical experience.



As you can see in the photo, the temple reflects off of the water of the moat surrounding the temple. I am curious to hear other travelers' stories of how music has influenced your trips.

More info on Angkor Wat:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angkor_Wat

[Chris Cary]

When I was 17, my family and I went to Italy to visit with our relatives and to celebrate the 18th birthday of my cousin. In Santa Caterina, the village in Piedmonte where my Italian relatives live, the 18th birthday is called "La Leva". All of the young men and women who celebrate their 18th birthday during a particular calendar year are honored during the festival. The entire village comes out and parades the young men and women through the streets. It is their official welcome to adulthood.

The festival was made up of numerous feasts, dances, and parades. But it wasn't the eight hour meals or the nights playing bacci ball that I remember most fondly. That honor goes to the town band. As we paraded through the streets singing "Viva La Leva", a brass band made up of everybody's uncles, neighbors, and butchers played played rich, folksy, life-affirming music. The songs seemed to capture the celebration perfectly. To this day I still catch myself humming "Viva La Leva". It was that memorable.