I was just in the midst of unpacking my stuffs the moment I reached my dorm, a nice and cosy 3 bunk bed room and I realize that I was sharing the room with a couple of other female travelers and the conversation naturally strikes on “Where are you from?” “How long were you in Kuching?”
“Are you going to the festival?”
The Festival, now in its 16th year and held annually at the Sarawak Cultural Village in Kuching which has eventually put Sarawak on the world map. It brings dazzling performances from across the globe attracting more than 20,000 international and local festival-goers to the magical land of Borneo for three days of daytime music workshops and action-packed nightly shows.
The Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) has been voted for the 4th consecutive year in 2013, as one of the 25 best International Festivals by renowned world music magazine, Songlines. The event itself stands among other renowned festivals like WOMADdelaide Australia and Ulsan World Music Festival, South Korea.
According to the editorial team of Songlines the “Selection of the festival is based on the broad representation of the quality and scope of music festivals around the world”
Everyone was literally excited about it. I myself as well, despite being a little bit shaken from the iPhone tragedy (it cracked the moment I touchdown Kuching) as I waited for Rachel and Acho to pick me up from the hostel before heading up to the SCV nearby Santubong which is a 30-45 min drive from the city centre, depending on the traffic in Kuching.
Likewise you can also take the shuttle bus to go up, which will cost you RM15 per way from major hotels around Kuching.
The ticket this year is a tad more expensive, it increases every year and I really hope they’ll standardize the price once and for all, although RM120 is consider quite cheap if you compared to all the other events around Malaysia (FMFA, ASOT, and all the Korean concerts that friends are willing to pay RM500 for front seats).
However if you put in flight tickets, transportation, hotel room, food and drinks you might consider it as a…err…rip off. But everyone’s here for the music and to have a good time, so I think its a small price to pay – considering if you go ahead and starve yourself for months la if you’re a student.
Continue reading (Incl. Pics) at: Rainforest World Music Festival 2013 - Alyssa Jaren
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