In April, I applied for a travel writing scholarship and though I did not get that, I did get 2 awesome opportunities (major highlights of my year!) – I had the opportunity to actually cover 2 big-scale events on a media pass!
See me in the press pit? STILL one of my fave photos of the year!
On a whim (bought the tixs the night before I flew), I finally went to Kota Kinabalu(prior to this it had always been just passing through) in August & in September, for the first time, I stepped foot in Penang. While the former can be checked off as “done”, Penang requires another more proper visit. And since I’m on the subject of travelling, Labuan was “done” in April 2012 and Bintulu in February.
With those, I guess 2012 was a “Cuti-Cuti Malaysia” year for me…plus the multiple trips to Miri & at least 3 trips to Kuching.
Life & work caught up with me towards the end of the year (thus my blog was on halt from Sept-Dec) but if I could summarise those months into a blog title it would be: “3 Weddings & a Conference” – 1 of those weddings was that of a very dear friend of mine. :’) Congrats to all 3 couples!
And so ends my review of 2012 (in general).
It had been a great year filled with memories & experiences money can’t buy…no matter where I went or what I did, it was those who were with me (be it physically or in spirit) that made them special.
Thank you for journeying with me in 2012 & I look forward to more adventures together in 2013.
Leaving you now with a review of Perfect Imperfections for 2012 from the guys at WordPress.com:
Here’s an excerpt:
600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 11,000 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 18 years to get that many views.
Yahoo! Malaysia conducted a live chat session for Pandelela Rinong with her adoring Malaysian fans this morning.
Our newest Malaysia sweetheart is such a sweet girl – with a sense of humour!
Check out her reply when a fan asked her if she was single, if she would go out on a date (with him) and what she thought of “that guy” called Pain. She also confirmed that she did not have a twitter account (as a fake one was made soon after she won) and that she will be coming home to Kuching this 21st August and arriving at 12.30pm, where adoring fans are excitedly waiting to welcome her!
Oh and by the way, she answered YES to a wedding proposal!!! – with a catch.
Here’s the complete chat session (copied from here):
Question Time with Pandelela Rinong
Thursday August 16, 2012
9:35
Yahoo! Philippines:
Testing…
9:35
Yahoo! Malaysia:
Good morning!
9:36
Pandelela:
hello everyone,this is pandelela rinong
9:39
Comment From Eve
Good Luck girl
9:39
Pandelela:
thank u
9:40
Comment From del1007
Gud morning pandalela
9:40
Pandelela:
gud morning
9:41
Comment From Guest
Congrats Pandelela. I’m a fellow Sarawakian and you are our Pride & Joy!
Good morning everybody! Welcome to Yahoo! Malaysia’s Question Time with Malaysia’s sweetheart Pandelela Rinong.
9:43
Yahoo! Malaysia:
Before we begin, we’d like to offer up a HUGE thank you to gtalent.myfor organising this Q&A session with our Olympic hero!
9:43
Yahoo! Malaysia:
And our first question is in Bidayuh
9:43
Comment From Eve
lela,sindiak parik kuching?
9:44
Pandelela:
21st itih
9:44
Comment From Alexius Barieng
We watched the finals and we’re so excited watching all your dives. How did you feel on competition day? Was gold on your mind?
9:44
Pandelela:
thank u for stayed up the night. i felt very excited and just wanted to do my very best!
9:45
Comment From Jane
Love your t-shirt!!
9:45
Pandelela:
thank u.
9:45
Comment From Eza Rashid
Dear Pandalela,Malaysians so proud of you.Thanks for the bronze medal!Many times I keep replaying your video(final) on you tube!PROUD!
9:45
Pandelela:
thank u…please take care of ur eye
9:46
Yahoo! Malaysia:
The team at PC.com magazine wanted to ask you this: You have mentioned that you loved playing console games at the Olympics Village. What are some of your favourite games?
9:46
Pandelela:
wii games.. huhu
9:46
Comment From liew fk
What you to become if you are not athlete?
9:47
Pandelela:
cheerleader or air stewardess
9:47
Comment From waniejjang
How you make yourself calm during the dive? U look so cool on your last dive! kekeke
@Heartmerene Your comment is now in queue We’ll try to run your comment/question soon
9:53
Comment From Guest
since how old have you been training for this?
9:53
Pandelela:
age of 8
9:53
Comment From Yen
What is your coming tournaments?
9:54
Pandelela:
i dont know yet. no planning yet
9:54
Yahoo! Malaysia:
Here’s a quick question from our friends at Malay Mail: How did you feel about the fact that your mother was unable to stay until the finals as she had to go back earlier due to financial considerations
9:54
Pandelela:
very very sad… because she is my motivation
9:55
Yahoo! Malaysia:
Are you going to ‘belanja’ your parents anything to celebrate your success?
When asked who was the hottest Olympian she met at London, she said: “Nick McCrory from USA”. Cue blushing! #QuestionTimePandelela
10:19
Comment From Ron Kuchnig
How did you land yourself in Diving? Interest ? or by chance? When did you start the diving game ? did you start with basic swimming first?? Lastly congratulations to you. We are proud of you.
10:20
Pandelela:
get selected by coach in primary school by change. start when i was 10.
yes i started swimming yet.thank u
10:20
Yahoo! Malaysia:
We notice that you’ve been wearing this “I’m famous because of my mom” t-shirt about. What’s that about?
10:21
Pandelela:
its P&G mom campaign. and i love it very much!
10:21
Comment From liew fk
Will you come out your own autobiography like Dato Lee?
10:22
Pandelela:
no,i am not that good as Dato Lee,i still have a lot to learn
10:22
Yahoo! Malaysia:
If there ever is a diving videogame, can you imagine yourself being part of the line-up? Why / why not?
10:23
Pandelela:
ermmm, i will make fun of my own face.
10:23
Comment From Guest
hows london?? did you go for shopping or to famous place there?
10:24
Pandelela:
cool! the weather is ridiculous.. i went to oxford street only
10:24
Comment From Mirza
Macam mana saya nak jadi macam awak? Umur saya 6 tahun sedang belajar berenang teknik freestyle.
10:25
Pandelela:
HI Mirza,umur u mmg sesuai utk terjun. keep training hard
10:25
Comment From titi
how many places you have travel in your life, pandelela?
10:26
Yahoo! Malaysia:
Wait ahh…she’s counting
10:26
Pandelela:
hard to count,more than 30 places
10:26
Comment From Alexius Barieng
Do you think about becoming a Datuk? : )
10:27
Pandelela:
i dont want to be old yet,huahuahua… but its an honour to receive that
10:27
Comment From Pak Jamal
what you love to do when during free time?
10:27
Pandelela:
listening to music,watching movies,sleeping etc
10:27
Comment From Guest
what do u think Chen Roulin have, that you don’t? That you want to improve in order to be perfect and lead?
Pandelela is all smiles, giggling and laughing while answering your questions. Comel sangat! #QuestionTimePandelela
10:29
Pandelela:
she is a full time athlete while im training while studying. she has a very very strict coach while my coach is more gentleman,huhu… keep training hard
10:29
Yahoo! Malaysia:
This question just came in on Twitter, from @AminAshaari: What’s the short term for Pandelela? We think he’s asking if you have a nickname?
10:30
Pandelela:
short term is Lela
10:30
Comment From Jai
What kind of anime or manga that you reading right now?
When asked what she likes doing, she answered: “Listening to music,watching movies, sleeping” #QuestionTimeWithPandelela
10:30
Pandelela:
one piece!!! love it
10:30
Pandelela:
and campione
10:30
Comment From Ajmdaz
No question i only wanna say thanks for the medal
10:31
Comment From Stacey
I am 13 yrs old now and I would like to join the malaysian diving team, but have not been exposed to diving, but swimming yes What should I do ? will it be too late to join now?
The 15th Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) has ended, but apart from the fact that the Festival was (and always is) AWESOME – see and listen for yourself:
Or bumping into/meeting old friends you hadn’t seen in a while, mainly by chance:
Kenneth
Karen
Fab & Domi
I was at RWMF with Fab 4 years ago, and it was good to see him again on Day 2. Apparently, he has never missed a single RWMF for something like a decade! WOW! Au contraire, this was the first time for his friend whom I just met, who was involved in the Capoeira Workshop.
Other first-timers included:
My own sis-in-law (and bro who took this photo)
And Ben, who went with me this year:
By the looks of it…
…it won’t be his last either.
There were a few others like my ex-colleague, friends from Brunei and friends-that-are-practically-family, but I forgot to snap a photo with them. Heh.
But the most unexpected and most memorable experience happened on Day 3.
I had just arrived at the Sarawak Cultural Village (SCV) and was waiting in the performers’/media van to take me to One Hotel Santubong (OHS). A few minutes later, a performer climbed into the van and he sat beside me. It was a Hey-I-Just-Met-You moment.
As the van brought us the short distance to OHS, I managed an unofficial interview with him. I was gushing about how talented a sape player he was and he was very humble about it. He shared how “someone” had brought a sape back to the States and how he had learned to play it and that it is not played like a guitar and that these instruments should not be played as if they were one and the same. Care to guess who he was?
Meet David – incredible sape player and Zee Avi‘s bandmate!
And he was so kind to introduce me to the “someone” who had brought a sape back to the States - Zee Avi herself!
As you probably know already from Day 1, I really enjoyed their performance so it was quite an honour to meet her in person. Fondly referred to as Zee, this Mirian singer-songwriter, guitarist & ukelele player is a Sarawakian treasure, putting Malaysia (and especially Sarawak) on the musical map – all the way from the United States where she is based.
Zee & her “sapelele” (sape-designed ukelele)
Apart from a photo with her, I also got her autograph.
And if that ain’t enough, I was even able to chat with her for a bit – she’s such a sweet lady!
Prior to the RWMF, she was in Miri for a Homecoming Concert but before that she said she’d been away for 13 years!
Zee Avi & JC, her bass player
Those few minutes spent with her was priceless.
“Balit sitok gik kelak. Iboh tunggu 13 tahun…” I said as I left her to enjoy her privacy.
*in the local Sarawak Malay language, meaning, “Do come back again. Don’t wait for 13 years…”
While going for all 3 days was nothing impossible in itself, the media pass really opened up a whole new side of the Festival for me.
Perks of the “job” – I LIKE!
Too bad I wasn’t able to claim the free drinks from Day 1
Then I’d get 3 of these instead, but 2 is cool.
The only photo taken inside the Heinekebana apparently.
For a more in-depth coverage of the 3 days (and a behind the scenes look), do check out my RWMF 2012 series of posts and for videos, do drop by my youtube channel. Last but not least, here’s a photo that I think says a lot about the spirit of the RWMF:
I regrouped with the @SWKBLOGS Media Team at the Performers’/Media Camp* for dinner. It was the final night of the Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) and we were all excitedly looking forward to the performance that night. *Photo c/o Yvonne
Soon enough, we all found ourselves right at the front of the Jungle (main) stage where Drums of Malaysia warmed the crowd up with an energetic performance:
Photo c/o Garner
But THIS was what I was waiting for…
Thanks Ben for this photo!
Photo courtesy of Sarawak Travel (got this from Yvonne)
HATA (made up of musicians from Korea, Malaysia, Turkey, Taiwan and Azerbaijan) takes to stage as the first act. Why was I looking forward to them? Just check out their opening!
I was left mesmerized by the txalapartas – how can wood and stone (and apparently ice too from the video they showed in the background) make these melodic tunes?! – just WOW!
Listen for yourselves:
Now at this point, I just thought they were showing-off (in a good way ):
However, we were getting hungry (and the Heinekebana was calling) so we went off – which was why, once again, I missed seeing the Mongolian throat singing of Khusugtun when 1 of them came on stage to perform with Oreka TX in the last 15 mins!
Thanks Lindy for this photo!
At least I could hear him through the speakers set up throughout SCV loud and clear this time though.
Next was Rhythm of Borneo, Samuel Dass (yes, he was the one with HATA earlier) & Prakash (Malaysia) and the Carimbo Drums of Brazil. No photos/videos though as after we got back with food and a can of chilled Heineken each (apparently, you could choose to have draft beer at the cabana or “take away” ), we were content to just sit down (in view of the stage of course), hang up our cameras and just enjoy the music.
We made our way through the crowd and back to the front of the stage again then, as we were pumped up and ready for the final act and grand finale, but before that was the Native Chanting and Sape & Warrior of Sarawak.
Native chanting [Photo c/o Ben]
Photo courtesy of Sarawak Tourism Board’s RWMF album
Finally, the long-awaited final act for the night shook the main stage, literally!
But alas, all good things must come to an end. With that final performance, they welcomed back all the performers for the 15th RWMF back on stage for the Grand Finale:
I just love how they’re all just enjoying themselves!
Khusugtun – they don’t just throat-sing, they party too! [Photo c/o Ben]
Time to bring on the Confetti!!!
Here’s how it was like as we walked away from the main stage:
Yes, some people were wrestling in the mud. RWMF is apparently never complete without it…
Photo c/o Ben
Where did the mud come from? Your guess is as good as mine, especially considering it didn’t rain throughout the 3 nights…
With that, the 15th RWMF has come to an end, and yet it is only but the beginning of the countdown to the next – Yes, we have the dates! The 16th Rainforest World Music Festival will be held on 28-30 June 2013.
If you’ve never been to a RWMF before, I hope my RWMF 2012 series of posts has made you realise that it is absolutely worth going to (don’t worry about the mud, that’s purely optional and it’s fine if you don’t roll that way, neither do I ) but if you’re still not convinced, I’ll just leave you now with what my crush from HATA thinks of the RWMF:
For the record, this is an exclusive shot as he especially posed as such for my camera only!
Up next, the final post on my own personal highlights of the RWMF 2012.
By now, you would already know the drill of the Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) - concerts at night; workshops during the day – but that’s only what the (programme) book tells you.
There is actually much much more on offer, which was why I decided to go “off the book” for Day 3…
The Hornbill with Mount Santubong in the background
Before we even enter the Sarawak Cultural Village (SCV), opposite its main entrance was Damai Central, where there was a Beach Fiesta (RUSH) happening, in conjuction with the RWMF.
Camps for rent – for festival-goers who wish to camp out here during the RWMF
Trees planted by the performers before the RWMF began (and the campgroud in the distance)
Programme for RUSH
Among the things on offer there:
Paintball maybe?
Or, Skimboard?
Perhaps pick up a martial art?
Capoeira Workshop
But if something more permanent is what you’re looking for…
How about a Tattoo?
Tribal Tattoos - the real deal!
But of course, the Home of the RWMF is here:
SCV main entrance
So let’s begin…
There were many stalls set up around SCV during the RWMF:
Official merchandise stalls selling shirts, recycle bags etc
Stalls of sponsors like MAS…and of crafts
These stalls were a favourite of many:
FYI, “temporary” means it’ll last for a week.
Airbrush tattoo
Maybe specifically hand tattoos?
Or maybe you would prefer these:
HAIR TATTOO!!!
Not your ordinary barber/hairdresser, these talented Edward Scissorhands will creatively shave your hair in a way you never thought possible. (I was soooo tempted to get mine done…)
And perhaps after walking around the stalls, your feet are aching – not a problem!
Get a much needed foot massage! (among the other types of massages they offer)
And when you’re ready to continue exploring, the SCV is more than ready to welcome you into the many houses of Sarawak’s many tribes!
Perhaps some traditional kuih at the Rumah Melayu (Malay house)?
Or some nicely hand-crafted accessories…
Oh look who was there too!
Let’s peek inside the Rumah Melanau (Melanau house)!
Check out the Rumah Orang Ulu (Orang Ulu house):
If that ain’t tall, I don’t know what is!
Not for those afraid of heights…
But the inside is worth it…look at that wall!
Fatimah conquered her fear of heights and enjoyed herself
I wonder why he stopped right before coming down…hehehe
Rumah Penan (Penan house):
The Iban longhouse (Rumah Iban) is literally long…
Shown here is the traditional “tabuh” (percussions) of the Iban tribe
Long enough of a house for you?
There were many people here as there was a workshop going on.
The Bidayuh Barouk (Bidayuh house):
Left: The NEW barouk, Right: The older barouk
Inside the new Bidayuh Barouk
There was an Arts exhibit being held there by my former university (UiTM).
Nice huh?
And finally, we reach our destination…
The Festival (Main Stage) grounds
The Jungle Stage (Main Stage)
From there, I was drawn over to the Dewan Lagenda where the Metal In My Mouth workshop (on brass instruments) was going on…
And I arrived just in time to catch this:
A personal favourite!
and this:
Music is the heart and soul of the Festival so stay tuned as I bring you next, the Finale of the 15th Rainforest World Music Festival!
After a sorta random morning, I reached One Hotel Santubong (OHS) alone and brisk walked up to the Media Centre to “report for duty”. All of a sudden, someone jumps in front of me exclaiming: “Are you Marg???” And that guys, was how I met Lindy (fellow Sarawak Blogger). She promptly introduced me to Garner (another Sarawak Blogger), right after I collected my wristband, finally meeting Gustino in person, and getting a VIP Invite to the Heinekebana (which comes with a cool and eco-friendly tote bag!).
A very productive day, I thought, considering I hadn’t even been there for half an hour.
We three bloggers proceeded to wait for the media/performers van – I just found out that as media we get free transport between OHS & Sarawak Cultural Village (SCV) - while deciding on which Workshops to attend. I won’t go into details as you can read more on the workshops from Lindy and Garner, but basically, there are 3 workshops happening simultaneously in 3 different venues, thus, one can only choose to attend 3 workshops (out of 9) a day. So while I was only in time for the main (night) concerts just a few hours before, Saturday gave me the opportunity to have a better understanding of what happens during the day.
And so I decided to join Lindy for the “The Voice” workshop (on vocals) at the Iban longhouse.
We got to see the performers up close - especially since we sat in the front-most row, right by their feet hehehe…
Can you spot us? [Photo courtesy of the Sarawak Tourism Board.]
The String Sisters: Mairead Ni Mhaoniaigh & Emma Hardelien
The guys from Danyel Waro’s band (on the left is Danyel Waro himself)
Kaela Rowan (String Sisters), James Mackintosh (String Misters ) &…
…Karim Sanou from Mamadou Diabate’s Percussion Mania
After that, we met up with Garner at Dewan Lagenda for the “Hands On” workshop (on percussions).
This time, I’ll let the percussions tell the story:
I can’t remember what this instrument is called – I actually thought it was just a box-shaped stool until he started playing it - but I remember being suitably amazed by the sound coming from it!
And this guy…
Well, he’s just AMAZING…*crush crush LOL!…from HATA – a band I could not wait to watch the following night!
There were a few other awesome display of percussions during the workshop. There was even an impromptu jam session! Sorry, I only have 2 videos – was too engrossed in the moment to record.
If you thought that was bad, after that was the “Hip Hip Hip” workshop on the Kwasa-Kwasa dance & other Congolese dances.
Forget videos! (except for the only one above) – I didn’t even take any photos as I was busy dancing ehehehe.
Here’s a photo of the Kibasa dance, which was a favourite of all of us!
Thanks Lindy for this photo!
Me & Lindy @ Dewan Lagenda
Garner & I
It turned out that Priscilla & Yvonne (also Sarawak Bloggers) were also there, so after sweating it out with the Kibasa and the Koco-Koco etc, we all headed over to the Media/Performers Camp for drinks:
@SWKBLOGS media team! Clockwise: Priscilla, Yvonne, Garner, Lindy & me. Too bad Fatimah & Fazli wasn’t there.
Considering it was the first time most of us met one another, we sure didn’t take too long to click! I actually felt a little hesitant to leave the team then but I wanted to attend the press conference with the Minister of Tourism. Duty comes first.
Press Conference (PC) @ SCV Restaurant
Datuk Amar Abang Haji Abdul Rahman Zohari Bin Tun Abang Haji Openg, The Honourable Tourism Minister of Sarawak
Dato Rashid Khan, Chief Executive Officer of the Sarawak Tourism Board
Teaser: Next year’s Rainforest World Music Festival is gonna hit the streets! <- that’s what I learnt at the PC
The PC closed with dinner, so I had the chance to meet other media representatives from other countries like Palestine, Indonesia and also our brethren from West Malaysia. It’s always interesting for me to hear how others came to be in the media industry.
After dinner, I went to the entrance of SCV to rendezvous with friends and look what I saw!
The crowd at the entrance at about 6pm-ish, no doubt ready to party.
As for us, first thing first, was to claim 2 free drinks at the Heinekebana!
Since we were given draft beer, we had to drink inside the cabana so we were only able to watch the opening by Gongs of Malaysia and the first half hour of Khusugtun (from Mongolia) shown via the TV there. Oddly though, the reception wasn’t too good and we couldn’t really hear much. But the chilled Heineken in a tall glass was nice! And so was the ambience. We were too comfortable until we forgot to take any photos inside. Heh.
Anyways, when we did reach the stage area, the front of the stage was packed! It’s normal that Saturday has more crowd than Friday…
Yes, this is “normal” alright! [Photo courtesy of the Sarawak Tourism Board]
So we opted to sit down near the big screen on the left side of the (main) Jungle Stage instead.
But fret not, thanks to Lindy, we have this:
Khusugtun
After the “incredible throat singing from the Steppes of Genghis Khan” (per the Programme book) came Danyel Waro from the Reunion Islands. He was at The Voice workshop that morning so I knew some of his songs already. His vocals was, of course, impressive but what caught my attention was this instrument called the kayanm/kayamb:
Photo courtesy of Lindy
I couldn’t find a video of him playing it during that night, but I found this on youtube so you’ll get why I’m so puzzled. Ever since I saw them play it during the vocal and percussions workshop that morning, I kept wondering what it was made of, how it made such sound…and then be reminded of people “menampi padi” or winnowing(n. The process of removing husks or chaff from threshed grain.)
Next up was our own Malaysian Diplomats of Drum, and weren’t they a force to be reckoned with!
Did you know that they were the only non-mainstream band to have performed at the Beijing Olympics 2008 musical showcase and…wait for it…the FIFA 2010 World Cup in South Africa?! Waka waka eh eh~
Well, I didn’t need to remember those facts then because the music itself got me on my feet, along with everybody else.
They were at the Tree Stage which was pretty far away from where we were sitting/standing but from what I could hear, all their songs had quite a similar beat thus it kinda all blurred together into one song for me (especially since I didn’t understand the language). However, I was quite impressed by the performers:
Lastly, to close the second night of the RWMF was Cankisou from Czech Republic – and they rocked!
Cankisou
But don’t just take my word for it. Listen and see for yourself:
Too bad we weren’t able to stay till the very end like the night before though as we were taking the shuttle back to town (RM15/way) and it had been quite a long day…
Long queue for the bus back to town
I was impressed by the girl in the wheelchair – proof that RWMF is too awesome to be missed for whatever reason!
Well, the bus is here!!!
And so, we’ve reached the end of Day 2.
Updated: I’ve added a link to Rythm of Borneo’s performance in my previous post.
Note: ALL watermarked photos/videos in myRWMF 2012 series of postsare those taken by me, unless otherwise stated as that from the Sarawak Tourism Board, the @SWKBLOGS Media Team or other sources.
The Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) may be held in Kuching but it’s fame is not just confined to the borders of the Cat City.
The long queue at the departure hall of Miri International Airport – without a doubt, I wasn’t the only one flying off for the RWMF!
Fresh off the plane in Kuching at 3pm that Friday, I wasted no time in getting to the Sarawak Cultural Village (SCV) where the RWMF was held. But first I had to report at One Hotel Santubong (OHS) to get my media pass and goodies at the Media Centre, met up with fellow Sarawak Blogger, Fatimah, and from there took the public shuttle provided (as I was with my bro and sis-in-law) for RM5/way to the SCV.
Arriving at SCV, we separated: them to check out the booths and stalls etc; me on the hunt for some friends.
By 7pm, my friends and I were already “camped” right in front of the main Jungle Stage…
…only to run to the smaller Tree Stage at 7.30pm when the darkness was shattered by the Iban warrior cry, followed by the Sape & Warrior Dance of Sarawak from that stage.
We were pretty much running between stages all night, not wanting to miss out on the best view possible.
The opening act for the night was Nading Rhapsody, whom I am proud to say hail from Sarawak!
They were the winners of the RWMF Talent Search Competition 2012, and rightly so!
They were simply amazing!
“Tum Ketumba” is a traditional Iban folklore
I never heard our traditional songs (Iban/Bidayuh/Orang Ulu) sung in such a way before…further making me proud to be a Sarawakian. They also sang their version of Burung Kakak Tua, a Malaysian children’s song, which I thought was pretty cool.
3 brothers playing the oud accompanied by Youssef Hbeisch on the percussions.
Photo courtesy of the Sarawak Tourism Board
This was followed by the gorgeous String Sisters (Scotland, Norway, Ireland, Sweden, USA) and their equally handsome “String Misters/Brothers”.
Singing from their hearts about their love for their country, of their culture and of life. Music surpassed language, and although I didn’t understand a word of any of their songs, I truly enjoyed them.
Especially the Celtic sounds of the latter with songs in Gaelic & Creole among others.
Rythm of Borneo, winners of the previous year’s RWMF Talent Search Competition, came up next with some local flavours like the joget. It was interesting to note how young this band and its members were – leader Ainal Bustari made his debut at the Rainforest not too long ago, when he was just 6 years old! Here’s a video (not mine) of them. You could really tell that they were enjoying themselves in their music.
Sorry the photo is from afar…no photographer pass for this assignment =/
Fancy gypsy music? Or rock & roll? Or jazz? Or reggae? This band has it all covered! Here’s a link to a video (not mine) of them performing – don’t you just feel like dancing?
And last, but most definitely not the least, was the final act of which many people (myself included) were waiting for – Zee Avi!
Fondly referred to as Zee, this Mirian singer-songwriter, guitarist & ukelele player made a special appearance courtesy of the Sarawak State Government, a first time in the 15-year history of RWMF (and maybe the first of many more?). Her bandmate opened up with a strong sape piece, playing the traditional instrument oh-so-naturally. It was nothing short of impressive!
Click here to see the sape intro (prior to the video above).
I must admit, before this, I only knew 3 of her songs and while she didn’t perform Bitter Heart she did perform the other 2 :
Kantoi – a Manglish word for busted or caught doing something wrong
This is a unique song as it combines Malay, English, and Manglish. The song is about a guy busted for cheating on his girlfriend – with a twist at the end of the song. Click here for the full lyrics.
) I also made an appearance in a Brunei local paper.
STILL one of my fave photos of the year!
