Bus, trains and planes: Tourists travel from afar for Sarawak’s RWMF
by Aileen Yap · Borneo Post OnlineKUCHING (June 26): For foreign visitors who travelled from as far as the United States and Sweden, the Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) offered more than just performances on stage — it opened a window into Sarawak’s culture, people and rainforest setting.
For best friends Kaitlyn Douglas, 32, from Virginia in the United States, and Roosa Carlsson, 35, from Sweden, the long journey to Sarawak did not dampen their excitement as they attended RWMF for the first time.
For Douglas, getting to Kuching was no short trip. Her journey began with a three-hour bus ride to Washington DC, followed by a six-hour train ride to New York, before taking flights to Germany, Singapore, Penang and finally Kuching.
Douglas said the festival matched what both friends enjoyed most — travel, music and new experiences.
“We love travel, we love music, and we love getting to have new experiences,” she said when met at the Sarawak Cultural Village here.
For Carlsson, the trip to Sarawak was also part of her birthday celebration.
She said they came across RWMF while looking for things to do in Malaysia and were immediately drawn to the idea of a music festival set against a rainforest backdrop.
“I was online looking for things to do in Malaysia, and I saw music festival, rainforest — like, we need to go immediately. Forest, animals, music, we’re done,” she said.
Although it was their first time in Sarawak, both said they were quickly drawn to the atmosphere, food and warmth of the people.
Carlsson described RWMF as a “once-in-a-lifetime experience”, saying visitors could enjoy culture, a different environment, friendly people and good food all in one place.
For Douglas, what stood out most was the sense of community.
“The people, the food, the environment. You don’t have a community like this where I’m from.
“You don’t see people out and about having fun, talking and having conversations,” she said, adding that she already hoped to return.
Meanwhile, Ryan Bracken, 45, from Oregon, United States said he discovered the festival while researching things to do during a nature-focused trip to Sarawak.
“I heard about it when we were going to visit Sarawak to do some nature tours. When I was researching it, I saw this and thought it looked like a really fun thing to do,” he said.
Bracken, who was attending the festival with his eight-year-old son, said he was especially looking forward to sharing the music experience with him.
“He’s actually never been to a concert yet, so I’m excited to take him to a concert,” he said.
Having spent almost two weeks in Borneo, including visits to Sabah, Kuching and Bako, Bracken said the festival offered another way to experience local culture.
“There are local vendors, and you can also see the cultural houses. It’s a really unique experience,” he said.
He added that the international line-up also made the festival especially interesting as it exposed visitors to music they might not usually encounter.
“The artists are from lots of different countries, so I might not be exposed to that kind of music. It should be interesting,” he said.
Swedish Jonatan Örjes, 24, who was visiting Borneo for the first time, said RWMF stood out for the way it combined nature, culture and music.
“I think it’s a very unique experience. We don’t have anything similar in Sweden. The connection between nature, the festivities and the culture is very rich,” he said.
Having travelled for about a day from Sweden to Kuching, Örjes said he was looking forward not only to the performances, but also to the cultural activities around the festival grounds.
“I’m excited to learn more about the culture and it feels very packed with activities and fun stuff to do,” he said, adding that he had already watched a strolling music performance and was also interested in the henna tattoo demonstration.
For him, part of the charm was being able to move freely through the festival and discover experiences along the way.
“It’s a nice place to just walk around. If you hear something nice, you go there. If you see something nice, you go there,” he said.
By late afternoon, the atmosphere at the Sarawak Cultural Village had grown livelier as more visitors arrived, moving between ethnic houses, craft displays, food stalls and activity areas before the main performances began in the evening.
Although the weather was hot and humid, it did little to slow visitors, many of whom continued exploring every corner of the village as music, culture and food drew them from one area to another.