Categories
Tourism Malaysia

A festival like no other

SINGING IN THE RAIN..FOREST WORLD MUSIC FESTIVAL

Let’s just say that there was absolutely no way we were going into our Taming Borneo adventure and miss the highly anticipated Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF). If you’re a music enthusiast there’s no doubt you’ve heard about it. But if you haven’t, trust us, you’re going to want to read the rest of this entry, seriously.

Truth be told, we really didn’t know what to expect. Okay, we kinda did, but only from second hand experiences; reading travel blogs or hearing stories from our friends.

The only 3 things we were sure of were;

  • It’s an annual 3-day music festival, hosted by the Sarawak Tourism Board, at the Sarawak Cultural Village in Kuching.
  • It brings international acts together with local indigenous acts to celebrate the diversity of music in the heart of the Bornean jungle.
  • It’s a totally awesome festival you have to go to #YOLO

To sum it up in a nutshell, RWMF, gives you a perfect blend of cultural and contemporary musical performances, chilled festival vibes, good local food, an all-around great crowd and ambiance to party away the weekend. But we’ll delve further into the details below.

Putting the full extent of our experience into words is just not possible, you’ll have to watch our video series to find out how lit this festival really is!

THE DEETS OF THE BEATS

The RWMF is usually held annually in the mid months of June, July or August (this year August) in the Sarawak Cultural Village, at the base of Mount Santubong, Kuching, Sarawak.

At its’ inception, RWMF was established in 1998 and drew a crowd of only 300 people. But now, it draws an annual crowd of about 20,000 a year, making RWMF a front runner in local and international music calendars!

The festival usually features approximately 20 local and international bands over the course of the weekend. The performances range from traditional, world fusion and contemporary music. Invited performers are specially curated by organizers to give audiences the musical ambiance in accordance to the creative direction of the festival.

RWMF has a format of afternoon workshops; promoting engagement between performers and attendees, while the main concerts are held at night, under the star speckled sky of the Bornean Rainforest.

Go crazy, no one will judge you!

Go crazy, no one will judge you!

Lastly, fun fact, if you’re an environmentalist, the RWMF also has a record for raising environmental awareness with its recycling initiatives, tree planting campaigns, and providing shuttle buses for festival goers to reduce carbon emission in the air. #winning

TRACES OF THE TRANCE

The festival runs on a world class level of operation, operating on tight scheduling and strict regulations, it still manages to hold energetic performances and engaging afternoon workshops. It was really easy for us to warm up to the energy of the music and the crowd.

picture3

The afternoon workshops have got to be the highlight of our experience. We participated in a drum circle and enjoyed a workshop called “The Breath of Life” showcasing delicate sounds of wind instruments in music. When the festival promises a “smashing weekend in the Bornean rainforest”, they deliver.

Besides the eargasmic performances, we had the pleasure to explore the village with vendors scattered around selling local dishes, art and traditional handicrafts. Of course, being the foodies we are, we treated ourselves to a variety of food and beverages sold at the festival grounds.

You won’t believe who we met at the Sapeh booth!

You won’t believe who we met at the Sapeh booth!

Overall, the festival definitely lives up to the hype and definitely sets the bar high for other festivals around!

A night to remember

A night to remember

THE OTHER FESTIVALS AROUND

If your schedule prohibits you from attending RWMF, don’t worry there are plenty of other great events that travellers look out for throughout the year in Sarawak. Here’s a few we find interesting:

The Borneo International Kite Festival

Borneo International Kite Festival is held in the town of Bintulu.  The huge windy open space of the Old Bintulu Airport that faces the South China Sea provides ideal conditions for consistent flight of a vast selection of colourful kites. The sky would be colourfully lit as thousands of colourful kites are flown at the festival, with the latest number being 2,500 diamond kites. The festival also holds a record in the Malaysia Book of Records for forming the longest arch kite tunnel of 500 metres.

You can expect 400 kiters from 25 countries participating in this festival with cultural and artiste performances being held in the evening.

Sarawak International Dragon Boat Regatta

This event is participated by nearly 70 countries around the world with over 50 million participants in Asia alone, particularly from China and Southeast Asia.  It was also adopted as part of the ASEAN Games 2010 in Guangzhou, China.

The Dragon Boat Race continues to be an important event in the tourism calendar of countries involved in dragon boat races around the world.  The event in Sarawak attracts global participation and promotes local tourism, thereby increasing tourist arrivals.

Borneo Jazz

Another highly anticipated music festival, the Borneo Jazz Festival is one of the longest running Jazz festivals in the region. There will be two nights of four performances each by regionally and internationally recognised jazz musicians.


If you have more questions regarding our Taming Borneo adventure, please do leave a comment in the comment section below, or start a discussion; tell us your personal Taming Borneo experience!

Also do follow along our adventure on our social media platforms:

Instagram: @MyTourismChannel or #tamingborneo  

Catch up on the latest episodes by clicking on the thumbnails below:

Sarawak : EP1

Sarawak : EP1

Episode

Sarawak : EP2

Episode 3

Sarawak : EP3

Sarawak : EP4

Sarawak : EP4

Sarawak : EP5

Sarawak : EP5

Sarawak : EP6

Sarawak : EP6

Categories
Malaysia Travel Guide

Potensi Wisata Sarawak Berkembang Pesat

Acara olahraga, festival budaya dan musik telah menjadi bagian yang penting dan sangat diperhatikan oleh Dewan Pariwisata Sarawak untuk tujuan promosi pariwisata. Serangkaian kegiatan dan atraksi yang diharapkan dapat meningkatkan jumlah kunjungan wisatawan ke Sarawak juga telah dilakukan sepanjang tahun ini dalam rangka untuk mendukung kampanye “Malaysia Year of Festival” yang diselenggarakan oleh Kementerian Pariwisata Malaysia di Kuala Lumpur.

Pariwisata adalah pilar utama ekonomi di Sarawak yang menempatkan negeri ini dilandasan yang tepat untuk mengatasi jumlah kedatangan wisatawan tahun lalu sebanyak 4,8 juta. Pendapatan sektor pariwisata Sarawak juga telah meningkat sebelum terjadi penurunan kedatangan wisatawan yang melanda Negara-negara Asia sejak awal tahun ini.

Selain acara Regatta Internasional yang diadakan pada bulan September lalu, ada lebih dari 14 acara utama yang diselenggarakan di Sarawak pada tahun ini termasuk Rainforest World Music Festival, Borneo Jazz, Borneo International Kite Festival dan Pesta Benak.

Meskipun angka-angka kedatangan wisatawan di wilayah Asia nampak tidak terlalu baik, bagi Sarawak, masih ada ruang untuk memperbaiki pertumbuhan. Kemajuan dalam Meeting, Incentive, Convention, and Exhibition (MICE) akan menjadi nilai tambahan yang bisa memperkuat sektor ini.

Sarawak telah memenangkan tender untuk menjadi tuan rumah International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA), sebuah konferensi internasional yang akan diadakan di Kuching pada tahun 2016.  Acara ditingkat nasional dan internasional yang diselenggarakan di Sarawak diharapkan menghasilkan lebih 248 hari konferensi dan diperkirakan RM42.3 juta (USD 9.8juta) dalam pengeluaran delegasi langsung.

Satu lagi bidang pariwisata yang menghasilkan adalah pengembangan ekowisata, termasuk kegiatan seperti mengamati burung dan menyelam. Keterlibatan komunitas etnis telah menjadi bagian penting dalam strategi pariwisata di wilayah ini, dengan Kementerian Pariwisata yang  mendorong partisipasi masyarakat pedesaan melalui program inap desa (homestay).  Dalam program ini, para wisatawan  dapat menyewa kamar dari sebuah keluarga dengan suasana rumah sendiri dan kegiatan yang berbasis komunitas. Sebanyak lebih dari 17 juta wisatawan mengunjungi inap desa sepanjang tahun lalu.

Meskipun begitu, perbaikan sistem transportasi amatlah perlu diberi perhatian jika sektor ini akan dikembangkan pada masa mendatang.

Tantangan utamanya adalah untuk meningkatkan perhubungan udara agar dapat mendorong perkembangan sektor pariwisata negeri ini.  Dewan Pariwisata Sarawak telah banyak menjalin hubungan kerjasama dengan perusahaan penerbangan utama di wilayah ini untuk meningkatkan hubungan udara serta berusaha meningkatkan frekuensi penerbangan yang ada.

Dalam rangka untuk memperkenalkan potensi-potensi pariwisata yang ada di Serawak, Dewan Pariwisata di Sarawak akan mengadakan Sarawak Expo pada tanggal 27 – 29 November 2015. Yang akan mengisi kegiatan ini adalah beberapa Rumah Sakit Spesialis, Instuitusi Pendidikan, Hotel dan Travel Agency dari Kuching.

Ada dua kegiatan yang akan dilakukan :

  1. Business Session (trade event) – diadakan di Mercure Pontianak Hotel pada 27 November (terbuka untuk undangan agen perjalanan dari Sarawak dan Pontianak saja)

Sarawak Expo (consumer fair) – 18 booth pameran pariwisata di Ayani Mega Mall pada 28 dan 29 November (terbuka untuk umum).

Sarawak ke pontianak

Team dari Sarawak bersedia untuk ke Pontianak, Sarawak Expo 2015

Issued by:

Corporate Communications Unit
SARAWAK TOURISM BOARD
T: + 6 082-423600
F: + 6 082-416700
W: www.sarawaktourism.com
E: [email protected]