Travel Mania

By: Krista Goon

If you're gearing up, like me, and getting ready for the upcoming Rainforest World Music Festival at the Sarawak Cultural Village (held on the second weekend of July annually), here are some handy tips to bear in mind if you're a first timer! This year it will be from 7 to 9 July.

1. Bring an umbrella or poncho
Good question. Why? Well, if you've ever lived in Kuching city, you would know that it rains almost every other day. And the rains here are not mere drizzles either. So if you want to stay dry and happy, bring a sturdy umbrella or wear a poncho. The weather may turn nasty at the last moment.

2. Go for light clothing
Well, I just said it was kind of rainy over in Kuching but when it gets hot, boy, does it get hot. When you're joining the afternoon music workshop sessions,
you tend to sweat because everyone's packing the longhouses and there's hardly any room to move. So wear cotton t-shirts and shorts.

3. Where to eat?
If you're a daytripper (means you just take a bus/van/taxi to the Sarawak Cultural Village for just the day and return to the city in the night), you won't worry about food. But what if you're staying in the hotels for the duration of the three days and worry about feeling peckish? If it is anything like last year, you'll have a variety of foods to choose from. Food stalls (with reasonable prices! Thank God) will be set up on the grounds of the Village and you'll be simply spoilt for choice. Plus the food actually tastes good...

4. Be an early bird
The open air concert starts at 7pm for the three whole nights but it's free seating folks so if you're good at tarrying, you may not find yourself a seat! Seats are plain old plastic chairs but as the evening wears on, I'm sure you'll readily dispose of the chair as you want to get up and dance! But still, come early say about 7pm if you want the best seats in the house.

5. Bring binos if you must
Unless you're seated right up front, or you're a media person, you won't be that close to the stage and you won't see much. The organisers have two huge screens by each side of the open air stage but you may want to see up close and personal. Short of craning your neck, bring along a pair of binoculars. You won't regret it.

6. Buy the CDs
The music artistes who perform usually bring along some CDs to sell at a CD booth near the entrance of the Village. If you can afford it, buy the CDs because you won't even see the artists the next year and the music will be lost to you. The best part is: you can buy the CD, and get the artistes to autograph them for you! Now you'll not only have a memento of the event, you'll also have the artistes' personal imprint! And don't wait until the last day to get the CDs - none will be left!

7. Check out the Village
By getting a pass to the Rainforest World Music Festival (which is held inside the famed Sarawak Cultural Village) entitles you to wander around the huge place, and soak up some native vibes. You even get to go to the auditorium for some comic relief when the Village's one hour performance extravaganza begins.

8. Don't stay in Kuching city
If you plan to be at the Festival three whole days, don't stay in Kuching city and travel the 45 minutes to the Village. It's not worth it. Get your travel agent to get any of the hotels in the vicinity of the Village - Holiday Inn Damai Lagoon, or any nearby hotels are the ones you should be staying in. From these hotels, it is just a 10-minute walk away. If you stay in Kuching city, you'll have to endure the 45-minute trip up the hill and another 45-minute trip down the hill by van/bus. Not fun at all because the party really begins at midnight. You don't want to leave when the party's just heating up, do you?