20,000 turnout expected for Sematan Festival

KUCHING: The Sematan Sub-District Office is banking on several events in drawing more visitors to its annual Sematan Festival this weekend.

The three-day festival will kick off on Friday, with Tourism Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg expected to officiate at the venue on Saturday around 9am.

During a press conference at Sarawak Golf Club here yesterday, Sematan Sub-District officer Hamsien Atar said his office expected a turnout of at least 20,000 this year, adding that the activities lined up would be those that could only be found in Sematan.

“Everybody – locals and tourists alike – should not miss these events as they portray Sarawakian culture and heritage. We are inviting all to come to Sematan town this weekend.”

Among the activities scheduled for the weekend festival are traditional water sports, cultural dances by the natives of Lundu District as well as those from the neighbouring Sambas region of Indonesia, performances from popular Malaysian singers and exhibitions by various government and non-government organisations.

Hamsien also pointed out that it had been the tradition of Sematan folk to serve free traditional food to visitors on that day.

Continue reading (Incl. Pic) at: 20,000 turnout expected for Sematan Festival

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Borneo: Southeast Asia’s Hidden Gem

The first stop on our recent vacation was to Kota Kinabalu (or KK, as the locals call it), a little city in the Malaysian state of Sabah on the island of Borneo. After spending just a couple days there, both David and I feel strongly that everyone should visit Borneo. It’s a hidden gem!

Great food, beautiful beaches, dense rainforests, amazing wildlife, developed cities, friendly locals, and bonus: virtually everyone speaks English! What more could you ask for?

Here’s a breakdown of our first few hours in Malaysia…

Expensive Mistake

For the most part, we consider ourselves a pretty well-traveled pair, but even we make rookie mistakes….this trip started off with an expensive (and embarrassing) mistake.

After a series of unfortunate events — i.e. a delayed flight from Chiang Mai, our confidence that a one-hour layover was plenty of time to make a flight connection, and AirAsia’s ridiculous policy of closing check-in a full hour before departure — we ended up missing our connecting flight from Kuala Lumpur to Kota Kinabalu.

Dangit.

The most frustrating part is that we actually would have made our second flight on time if AirAsia had simply let us check in when we got to the counter. Our plane was literally sitting on the tarmac for a full 35 minutes while we were stuck at the counter begging them to let us check in. But in the end, AirAsia wouldn’t budge and we were forced to pay a $125 USD penalty fee to get tickets on the next flight.

Incredibly annoying for any budget but especially when that fee is about 15% of your monthly salary. Ugh.

Arrival at KK Airport

Luckily, we only had to wait an hour for the next flight to take off, but when we went to grab some cash and eat while we waited, we learned that literally all of the ATMs in the airport were broken. Then it was the same story at the KK airport. So for our very first activity in KK, we had to exchange some money at a currency counter (something we usually try to avoid since they usually have unfavorable exchange rates).

Pro Tip: If caught in the same situation at KK airport, make sure to exchange your money at the yellow Maybank counter, not the other place in the airport (can’t remember its name, but their sign is red); Maybank’s exchange rates are way better and they sold smaller bills.

After getting some cash, we hopped into one of the airport-sanctioned cabs for the 15 minute drive into city, which cost 30 MYR (about $10 USD). We tried to get past the annoying delays and ATM issues, and we focused on our excitement to finally be in Borneo.

Continue reading (Incl. Pics) at: Borneo: Southeast Asia’s Hidden Gem

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Sarawak Tourism Board wooing Austrian, German-speaking markets

KUCHING: The Vienna office of Sarawak Tourism Board gave a hearty reception to Tourism Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg, who was there on a three-day working visit to Austria recently.

The minister was leading a 25-strong Sarawak delegation comprising senior staff from the Ministry of Tourism, Kuching North City Commission (DBKU) and Land Custody and Development Authority (LCDA) to Vienna in Austria and Budapest in Hungary.

Also present were Assistant Ministers for Tourism Datuk Gramong Juna and Datuk Talib Zulpilip, Assistant Minister for Youth Development Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, Assistant Minister for Culture and Heritage Liwan Lagang, Pantai Damai assemblyman Dr Abdul Rahman Junaidi and Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Tourism Datu Ik Pahon Joyik.

Abang Johari also received four Austrian guests calling on him at Hotel Grand Wien, while he was there.

The visitors were Gerald Stainoch of Jumbo Touristik GmbH, Henry Jedlsky of Reise Aktuell Travel News, Professor Waltrund Stienbock of Circle Diplomatique and Maria Oetrak, an Austrian blogger, while the minister was accompanied by the Malaysian Ambassador to Austria Dato’ Selwyn Das.

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Second Miri Country Music Fest set to be another treat for fans

KUCHING: Country music fans can expect another exciting treat at the second edition of the Miri Country Music Fest on Feb 7 next year.

The festival will feature bands from the state, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Indonesia, Czech Republic and USA.

Together they are expected to rock the festival with their wide genre of country tunes which include rock, pop, contemporary, dangdut, bluegrass and folk.

The bands are Hi Breed from Kuching, Starlet Band (Miri), Os Pombos (Kuala Lumpur), Mel and Joe (Singapore), Rani and the Westom Country Band (Indonesia), Country Sisters (Czech Republic) and Kareem Salama (USA).

Both Starlet Band and Country Sisters are all-girl bands.

Starlet Band started out as a family band with three sisters and their niece performing for a gig at a social and recreational club here.

After several shows at the club, the band soon got invited to other social functions and events. To keep up with more invitations, the band recruited another family member and now Starlet is a five-member band playing mostly rock tunes.

Besides here, the band has also performed in other cities in the country.

Like Starlet Band, the Country Sisters is also a household name in the entertainment scene back home in Czech Republic.

This six-member band play traditional country, rock and roll, evergreen and Cajun tunes. The band had performed in countries like Australia, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, France, Singapore and Thailand, to name a few. Their appearance at Miri Country Music Fest will be their first visit to the country.

Since its formation about four decades ago, the band had released 14 CDs and had also won numerous awards for their performances.

Continue reading (Incl. Pic) at: Second Miri Country Music Fest set to be another treat for fans

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Sabah targets RM8 billion from tourism

KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry will continue to acknowledge the organiser of Sabah Hospitality Fiesta in their effort to promote the State’s diversity through its annual event which is recognised as an annual tourism event in Sabah’s calendar of activities.

Its assistant minister, Datuk Pang Yuk Ming, said the hospitality and tourism industry had always been a significant force in Sabah’s economy.

“Despite some setbacks due to several unfortunate incidences earlier this year, let’s look at things from a broader perspective and together put our best foot forward because under the 10th Malaysia Plan 2011-2015, Sabah aims to increase its tourism receipts.

“Our target for the 10th Malaysia Plan is RM8 billion, while the nation’s 2020 Vision goal is aiming to achieve RM24 billion by 2020. I personally feel those young men and women who are in the industry have chosen a great platform, with huge potentials to grow bigger,” said Pang during the launching of the 17th Sabah Hospitality Fiesta 2014 at Suria Sabah Shopping Mall here yesterday.

The event aims to bring about the best hospitality through sight, sound and taste.

Themed “Colourful Scenes of Malaysia”, the fiesta is in line with the Visit Malaysia Year 2014, showcasing the unique selling points of the country’s rich cultural heritage with many ethnic groups living in harmony.

Pang also said tourism always bring people together over and over again.

In this year’s event, the fiesta has included a special event called Hawker Street Fiesta Charity Do where participating hotels, resorts, colleges and education institutions creatively set up hawker stalls with a common objective to achieve a total sales proceeds of RM10,000 which will be channeled to Sabah Cheshire Home, the beneficiary of the event.

Continue reading at: Sabah targets RM8 billion from tourism

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