Kuching and The Rainforest Music Festival

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).

An Afternoon in Kay El : Sin Sze Yi Temple, Pasar Seni, Old Town

One of my favourite places to walk around in KL is around the old town where I get off an the Masjid Jamek LRT stop. The old colonial buildings of old KL still stand along the river delta. In fact, Masjid Jamek is located where KL's river splits into two. This is where the earliest development of Kuala Lumpur, the capital started. One of the men who contributed greatly to developing this city is a chinese labourer turned Kapitan, Yap Ah Loy. Despite his great contributions, Yap has not been given enough credit by the Malaysian government. He risks being omitted from Malaysian history in the near future.

One of the buildings which will stand as Yap's memorial is the Sin Sze Yi Temple, a stone's throw away from Pasar Seni, KL's Central Market. Most tourists who visit the Central Market are not aware of this temple. In fact, it should not be missed simply for the ambience and its history. It is one of the oldest temples in KL which is still welcoming devotees today.

The crowd peaks on major chinese festivals especially Chinese New Year. On normal days, it is tranquil and one can hear the occasional ritual chanted by the caretakers for the odd devotees coming in.

As a child, I would follow my family to this temple on the morning of the first day of chinese new year. I waited anxiously for my grandma to summon me when she is done with the praying at the main alters. One of the gods she prays to is the Scholar God. My grandma would call out to us kids to walk under the alter table from one side to the other. Apparently, this was supposed to make us more obedient and brighter in our studies. I can testify that this ritual, as it is, has a 50% effectiveness rate.

This afternoon, I find myself sitting on the long bench I used to sit on together with my dad and grandpa. We were just waiting for grandma, my mum and my aunties to finish with their prayers. Yeps...in a chinese family, even the praying is outsourced to the women folk. With both dad and grandma gone, I find myself drifting into a sentimental mood. So I do what most chinese do. I got up and move on.

The next on my agenda was the Pasar Seni. I am not a big fan of this place but there is a shop I fancy. Pasar Seni is the typical tourist trap. All dressed up but not much substance. The non-adventurous tourist will find it easy but expensive. Most stalls sell their goods at a 100% mark up on average. The store I visited is one of its kind in the world.

I arrived shortly after lunch. Ferrelle's owners is a brother and sister team. The sister designs the shoes and handbags. They are made from batik. I will not say it's Malaysian batik lest my Indonesian friends be dismayed. Whatever it is, I love the shoes and bags here. The owners are very helpful and given its unique design, I am more willing to pay the price quoted.

From Pasar Seni, I ventured on further to China Town. In my opinion, China Town's main street has become like an overly dressed lady with too much red rouge on. The show is put up for foreigners by mostly foreigners. I get mistaken for a Japanese again. The scores of Bangladeshi stall keepers and some chinese boys yelling out Japanese to me.
"Konichiwa?" No answer. Two seconds silence and then "Toyota? Suzuki? Honda?". I walked on trying to hide my grin.

The reason why I came to China Town was to buy some chinese tea at Purple Cane. For those who fancy a meal cooked with tea, >Purple Cane also has a restaurant nearby. But for this afternoon, I headed for some sago gula melaka at Culture Street.

With more calories in my system, I walked back to the Pasar Seni LRT station. Next stop, KLCC.

Suria KLCC is the posh shopping mall below the Petronas Twin Towers. Most international brands are available here. I opted for the food court. It has a wide array of food, both local and international in one space. I miss the food court concept which is non-existent in Denmark. To top it all, the food court has a nice view over KLCC park and the surrounding skyscrappers. Another place to sit and have a coffee is right above the food court at the Kinokuniya bookshop. I love the abundance of English books, something I find lacking in Denmark.

I left KLCC just before the 5pm crowd. Another nice afternoon in KL.