Featured Image Credit: Kathy Baird/The Washington Post via Getty Images / JULIE JAMMOT/AFP via Getty Images
Topics: US News
Claire Reid
Topics: US News
A man who spent a whopping $7,000 to attend Burning Man Festival says it is ‘one of the best things’ he’s ever done - despite the heavy rainfall.
As you may have seen, Burning Man was battered by heavy rainstorms from Friday (1 September) to Saturday morning (2 September).
According to CNN, the Black Rock Desert in Nevada was hit with two to three months' worth of rain in just 24 hours.
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Muddy conditions led to thousands of festival-goers becoming stranded, with the Burning Man's official Twitter page urging people to 'help each other stay safe'.
The festival even published a '2023 Wet Playa Survival Guide' on its website offering further information on what was going on, what festival-goers can do, and what 'other resources' were available to them amid the chaos.
The guide reiterates: "Conserve your food, water, and fuel. If you have extra, share with your neighbors. This is always common-sense in a wilderness environment."
However, despite all of this, Jamal Abraham, 63, has absolutely no regrets about going and says ‘the entire event is magic’.
Speaking to Insider, Jamal - who lives and works in London - said it was his first time at Burning Man, but insisted it wouldn’t be his last either.
Jamal spent five-days at Burning Man and ‘made friends with people from all over the world’.
But his trip hit him heavy in the pocket, with Jamal forking out a staggering $7,000 to get there.
He told the publication: “I paid roughly $7,000 for everything. This included the car I rented, my flight, and the camp itself. "Some participants were able to get their camps for cheaper, depending on what was included, and some cost more.
“Most Burning Man campers paid roughly between $4,000 to $10,000 to cover their costs.”
He went on to say that while he does believe the festival is ‘expensive’, he understands that it isn’t cheap to run.
“It costs a lot of money to run water and electricity and to facilitate the RVs and the tents,” he said.
“Before attending, I also thought it sounded like a lot of money.
"But when I got there, I realized how much the camp accommodates and I understood it a bit more. Now I think the price is fair for what you get when you go.”
Acknowledging the biblical levels of rainfall, Jamal admitted that it did bring ‘some challenges’ but that overall ‘everybody was happy’.