TL;DR at the end
[Note: I did not note any timestamps during the experience, so the timestamps in the trip report are likely off by an hour or so]
The stuff:
I brought three pills of ecstasy, 240mg tested. I had three pills of 2C-B. I didn’t have this tested. I had had one before though and had great visuals, you can find that trip report here. I estimate these were about ~15mg. I also brought a gram bag of ketamine, one spliff and a bottle of poppers.
To add to my experience I brought some Marlboro mints, toothpicks, chewing gum and lollipops as well as kaleidoscope glasses. During my first MDMA experience, I was completely unprepared – needless to say, this time, I wasn’t.
The setting:
The setting was the Rotterdam Rave Festival. An amazing techno festival in the harbor of Rotterdam, with thousands of people raving at the docks as the boats pass by (this is the aftermovie of last year). I’ve only gotten into techno recently, but I have grown to love the music, and the party scene that comes with it. I had been looking out to this festival for a while, and it did not disappoint.
Popping the ecstasy:
At about 3PM, the festival was just getting started. My friend Ronald (fake name) and I had kept empty stomachs for it to kick in better, but decided to eat something anyway to be safe: first a sandwich, then a pill. I took half of my 240mg X, he took a quarter of his 280mg pill. Shortly after, we met our other friend, Jill (another fake name), who was already pretty much peaking at this point as she had traveled to the festival separate from us and popped a quarter while on public transport already. So we were ready to go.
The first hour or so we were raving hard in the inside area, great laser shows and grim techno, really getting our energy up. I took another quarter of X while in there. I was really feeling it at this point, and so were Ronald and Jill. We felt incredibly energetic and euphoric, and then decided to explore the rest of the festival grounds.
Our rave cave:
The spot we found and stayed in for the majority of the festival was beautiful; the Dock Area of the Rave. There was a stage built in under industrial cranes, right next to the harbor where ships passed by. The techno was amazing, the energy was unreal and we were loving it there, so we settled on a place close to the stage. This is where I popped the 2C-B. I took the full pill, as I knew redosing would not be as effective as taking enough on initial dose, and I was really wanting to trip.
The 2C-B kicking in:
Man oh man, I love that drug. This is where my sense of time got hazy, but probably half an hour after popping the 2C-B, the visuals started kicking in. It was nothing intense yet, I just saw beautiful bright pink and green outlines around people and objects. I remember stopping my friend Ronald to tell him each individual hair in his beard had a pink and green tip. I was loving the visuals, and I was still in a very clear headspace. I knew exactly where I was, what I was doing, and how I was feeling. I asked Ronald about how fucked I was looking, he said not at all, and we both redosed a quarter of X. Jill was rolling balls at this point off only a quarter, but still enjoying herself very much. We were slowly gathering a group of strangers around us that wanted to dance, and were having very much fun. More followed.
It was probably around 5:30PM when I sat down by the waterside with a friend I had just met, and we smoked my spliff together. We were approached by a dude well in his 40s who had been in the rave scene since the 90’s, and we shared some cool stories, as well as the spliff. I told him I was on 2C-B but wasn’t feeling it very hard, and we decided together I should take another pill. My spliff-friend and I headed back to the Dock Area where our group of ravers were still going at it, and I popped the second 2C-B pill.
The peak of the nexus flip:
At this point, I had 240mg of MDMA and ~30mg of 2C-B in my system, and I was LOVING it. Even though I had gone to the festival with only two friends, a group of ravers had formed, and we were all rolling balls. I was the only one tripping, but no one minded, we were all on a similar level. My friend Ronald had had his full 280mg pill at this point, and both of us kept describing to each other how the music completely took us. It was so, so incredibly beautiful. The beat drop made me feel weightless, and closing my eyes I saw the most beautiful and colorful patterns everywhere, I kept trying to describe it to my friends but I just couldn’t. This is where I got the genius idea to get a good sniff of my poppers, and put on the kaleidoscope glasses, and man… I was in another dimension. I saw nothing but intense, vivid moving colors, everything synergizing perfectly with the music, feeling the energy the crowd produced… It was inexplicably beautiful. We stayed at this Dock Area for multiple hours, raving hard, but also taking time to watch the boats cruise by, and at about 9PM watch a gorgeous pink sunset.
Grim raving and tripping balls off K:
At about 9PM also, we decided it was time to head inside for some real nasty raving. We were all peaking on molly, some of my new friends snorting speed (I didn’t), and incredibly high on energy. From about 9 to 10:30, we raved our asses off. Our formed group kept expanding, and everyone sticking together. At this point, we were with about 15 people, everyone fist-pumping the air, dancing as if our life depended on it. From the beautiful and light outdoors Dock Area, this transition to the dark techno cave with bright lasers was amazing, and really brought everyone’s energy out. This is where I had my last two quarters of X, coming to 360mg MDMA in total. My 2C-B trip was dying off though, but I still had another trick up my sleeve. I borrowed my new friends’ key (who had a great one for the purpose), whipped out my baggie of K, and took one fat bump. And it sent me. I put on the kaleidoscope glasses again and tripped absolute fucking balls. Taking off the glasses and opening my eyes, I could return to the surface, but wearing the glasses or closing my eyes, the hallucinations were insane. I saw so many different things, all completely nonsensical. I remember seeing slot machine figures move in front of my eyes (I have never stepped foot in a casino), the Teletubbies showing up somewhere, it was ridiculous. This didn’t last for very long though, I think I took the bump at 10PM, and the tripping lasted until about 10:30, then died down again.
The end:
For the final bit of the festival (which ended at 11PM), we decided to go back to the area we loved, and continued raving at the dock. It was now dark, and all the boats and their lights were very beautiful to look at. I met new friends here, and we shared my poppers, having a good time. Then, unfortunately, to the good time came an end, and the music stopped. I found Ronald again, we got on the bus and headed home.
Rotterdam Rave Festival, you were amazing.
TL;DR: I took 360mg of MDMA, ~30mg of 2C-B, one bump of ketamine, smoked a spliff and sniffed some poppers over the course of an 8-hour festival. I had an amazing time, the drugs synergized very, very well. Would recommend!