The Madness of Miami and the Quiet of Key West

The food at Mojitos is okay (and the mojitos are not the best in Miami Beach), but its location on Espanola Way by Washington Avenue makes it a cool place for dinner. For best dining experience, make sure you get seated on the patio by the roadside. Espaniola Way is a small street lined up with beautiful Mediterranean revival buildings and roadside craft/jewelry/art street vendors.

Getting to see Dance Music's top international artists and DJs live at one place and the adrenaline rush you feel, being in a crowd of 40,000 screaming fans all unified for their love of electronic music, is a totally surreal experience. It’s like allowing yourself to be hypnotized and enjoying the state of intoxication.

Ultra Music Festival (UMF) is the final event of the weeklong Winter Music Conference (WMC) that Miami hosts every March. During this period, Miami hotel lobbies, pools, bars and clubs are packed with DJs, artists, industry executives, and fans alike. I was told that after this final week of madness, spring break town Miami goes into hibernation until the arrival of next winter. Without a doubt, this is the biggest dance music event in the Western Hemisphere. So if you are serious about networking with other professionals in the industry, WMC is one event not to be missed at all—plan on being in Miami a week before the UMF. Mind you, though, that the number of parties might be a little bit overwhelming if you are not already prepared. As for me, thirteen-hours-long UMF was wild enough an experience to satisfy my appetite for trance music and keep me going for a while.

UMF kicked off around 11am with DJ Skribble and other breakthrough DJs performing in the various stages/tents set up in downtown Miami’s Bayfront Park and Amphitheatre. Located right in the heart of downtown Miami, with the skyline on one side and the beautiful Biscayne Bay on the other, Bayfront Park provided the perfect setting for the festival. I can’t imagine a better place to prepare for the frenzy of the evening to come. I spent my afternoon enjoying the lush greenery, tropical rock garden, sand beach, and waterfalls in the park while going around the various DJ stages/tents with shish kebabs and chilled beer in my hand. By the time the sun went down over the Biscayne Bay, I was prepared to party like rock star.

Ferry Corsten (Netherlands) kicked off the sunset show with his punk remix, followed by another great DJ, Paul Okenfold (England). By the time DJ Tiesto came onstage, being in the middle of the screaming crowd (with hundreds of people displaying their "Tiesto is God" shirts) amidst ultra laser light show and huge screens displaying high-tech graphics was a totally surreal experience. The final performance by Paul Van Dyk, the German DJ of all DJs, left the crowd wanting for more as they headed for the after-party in the nearby American Airlines Arena (home of the Miami Heat). As for my friends and me, being in the festival for thirteen hours had already taken a toll on our bodies, and so we headed back to my friend’s apartment in North Miami (obviously, after putting up a struggle to get a cab).

Overall, it was $70 well spent.

Mangos is a one-of-a-kind Latin bar in Miami Beach. It is a must for all Miami beach visitors. The atmosphere is wild, exotic, and very much beach-like.

As we were waiting on line to enter the bar, I was skeptical that this was going to be like any other Latin bar with mediocre Latin music. Once I entered the bar, however, it was a totally different experience. With constant flow of dancers in exotic costumes that you see only in Latin fiestas in Rio or Caracas, every moment in the bar is well worth it. In fact, in Mangos, all of the staff, including the bartenders and the boucers, are dancers. The performances by the dancers, from salsa to samba, cover up well for the expensive drinks. These people know how to have fun!

Crobar has locations in New York, Miami, and Chicago. In Miami, it is one of the most popular and longest-surviving night clubs. If you like house/hip hop music and are the type to party till early morning, Crobar is the place to be. The interior is industrial art-deco, and the sound is intense. Crobar is also known for international DJs, including Sasha and Pete Tong, frequenting the scene. Celebraties are also known to be spotted at Crobar.

Key West is about 160 miles from Miami along US Route 1 and is the southernmost tip of the U.S. With traffic and an average speed limit of about 40 miles/hour, though, the drive to Key West from Miami takes around 4 hours or more. The scenery along Rt. 1, though, makes the drive well worth it.

Key West is the biggest of the multiple islands chain that are collectively known as the Florida Keys. The northernmost Key (the closest to Miami) and the second largest is known as Key Largo. Key Largo and the rest of the keys are well-known for sport fishing and for diving in North America’s only living coral barrier reef on the East Coast. As you drive through, you’ll come across people setting up their fishing gear all along Rt. 1. The Keys also house various wildlife reserves with abundant alligators and iguanas. Driving through the Keys is truly a rewarding experience. My favorite moment during the drive was when the sun went down across the ocean—the view was just breathtaking!

When we reached Key West, I was surprised and glad at the same time to find it much quieter than I had imagined. I found out later that once spring break season is over, Key West pretty much becomes a low-key family resort area just like Miami. Also to my surprise, most of the bars I went to were dominated by country music. I found only one place around Duval St. that played trance music and felt nostalgic for the Miami Ultra Music festival of the day earlier.

There are lots of activities you can get involved in Key West, and since the island is very small, it's easy to get around, as well. Some of the highlights include jet skiing, kayaking, snorkeling, daily cruises, sightseeing, etc. For me, snorkeling will have to be the highlight of Key West, since there are few other places where you can do it. During this trip, however, I didn’t get to go snorkeling due to my time limit. If you want to fully relax, make sure you come here for a few days. Also, Key West is the perfect starting point for a lot of cruises to the Caribbean Islands.

Considering the breathtaking scenery, the warmth of the Florida sun, and the peace of Key West, I can see why Hemingway decided to make his home here.