Back in July 2009, my trip back to Malaysia coincided with the Rainforest Music Festival in Sarawak.
With guests from Denmark and Sweden, I organized our month long trip and threw in almost a week in Sarawak. We flew with Air Asia from Kuala Lumpur to Kuching. The tickets costed about MYR300 each.
The first part of the trip was at Annah Rais. This followed by 3 nights at the Damai Laut Resort which is located right next to the festival venue, The Sarawak Cultural Village. With Mount Santubong as the backdrop, both the resort and the venue are fantastic places to sit out and admire Borneo.
We bought two daily tickets out of the three available. This gave us a free day from the festival, either to take it easy at the resort or spend a day in Kuching city.
After a 45 monutes drive from Annah Rais, we arrived at the Damai laut resort around lunch time. Lunch by the pool at the resort was OK but the service was extremely slow. After lunch, we walked past the resort's chalets to the cultural village (10 minutes at most). Within the cultural village, there is a lake in the middle and surrounding it, various ethnic houses. The crowd in the afternoon consisted mainly of event organisers and sales persons at the various booths. Some visitors were like us, checking out the place.
There were music workshops at the various ethnic houses. We bought a beer and went for the one with a workshop on wind instruments. Some wooden stairs brought us to a big airy hall. A line of musicians sat at the front of the hall. There were representatives from Kenya, Scotland, Australia, the US, Venezuela and Malaysia. When this was finished, we headed towards another house where a local was playing the Sape, an instrument I like a lot.
As the day got too hot, we went back to the resort and took a swim at the pool. After a buffet dinner at the resort, we returned to the village for some concerts.
This year, the festival organizers built two stages to save time on performers rotation. The sound system was obviously not good enough for such a big open venue. Yet, the musicians were very good, albeit a weird mixture. There were performances from Canada/China, Malaysia, Hungary, Poland and France. It was kind of funny to see patches of whites in masses (masks due to H1N1). What can I say? We, Malaysians, are a paranoid and chicken bunch.
Behind the stages were the lush tropical trees and the bright shining moon. My special moment was when the chinese orchestra played in the tropical wind and the moon shone above.
Day two was spent mainly by the poolside at the resort. We found that there is a second, more private pool near our rooms. So we tanned, swam and drank by the pool for most of the day. Later in the afternoon, some of us took the coach and visited Kuching city.Kuching, which literally means Cats, is a much more beautiful city than I anticipated. The sense of spaciousness and charm makes KL feel like the ugly sister.
People are very friendly and a lot more polite than KLites. This was consistent with my experience with East Malaysians as a whole. They seem so much more cultured. After a brief walk around the river (the esplanade), we spent some time at the Kuching Museum. Again, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the museum. And it was free! One wonders why our national museum is so much less attractive. Where has the money gone?
After the museum, we walked towards India Street and found many stalls opened. There were drinks, food and spices. When we were sitting by the esplanade and waiting for lunch to be served, my sister taught me the Japanese five finger poses. Very goofy but so fun! I am tempted to post the pictures but my life could be at stake!
Our final day in Sarawak was spent again, part at the festival and part at the resort. I can honestly recommend this resort as the best accommodation if one were to go for the festival. It's so so convenient.
I am currently reading a book titled "Sylvia: Queen of The Headhunters".
An interesting read which provides a good insight into olden days Kuching under the rule of the Rajah's (Brooke).
