Ben Fogle's Sarawak Adventure - A longhouse experience at Annah Rais

In this three minute video we see adventurer and explorer Ben Fogle spend some time at an authentic longhouse about 40-min drive from Kuching.

Escorted by his amazingly knowledgeable guide, Rose, he savours the local brew -- a rice wine called 'Tuak' which is particularly potent, enjoys a delicious chicken meal cooked for him in 20 minutes in bamboo, tries his hand at being a blacksmith's apprentice, discovers the secrets to the blowpipes and how to make the arrows and also listens to some local musicians.They play him some music using bamboo instruments that have been used for hundreds of years, having been passed down through the generations and played by striking, plucking and drumming. Its called 'pratuokng' (pra-tua-k-ng)

Overall it is clear,  as Ben points out at the end, that Longhouse living is a wonderfully communal existence where all the families live together in peaceful harmony.

Ben sampling the 'tuak', rice wine usually served to welcome visitors

Sarawak... where adventure lives

Logos Hope returns to Kuching Sarawak

An international crew of 400 will make Kuching their home base from 12 July to 1st August 2013. Interacting with the international crew is part of the MV Logos Hope experience.

We at Sarawak Tourism Board are pleased to welcome the crew members who come from forty-five countries to Sarawak. We believe the crew will take in the sights and sounds of Kuching that the city is renowned for; the historical quarters of downtown Kuching, the longhouse of Annah Rais, the national parks outside the city, the Semenggoh Orang Utan Nature Reserve, Sarawak Cultural Village and not forgetting the food

A little bit about the ship... MV Logos Hope is the world's largest floating book fair with over 5,000 titles which cover a range of subjects including science, sports,cookery, children titles and much more.

MV Logos Hope will open to the public at Sim Kheng Kong Port, Pending from 12 July till 1st August 2013. Opening hours are from 10 am – 9:30 pm Wednesday through Saturday, from 1 pm – 9:30 pm on Sundays and 2 pm – 9:30 pm Mondays and Tuesdays. Tickets cost RM1; children under 12 enter for free, but must be accompanied by an adult.

Rainforest World Music Festival Preview Show at Taylor's University

This preview show will be staged at Taylor's University, Lakeside Campus, Subang Jaya from  25th-26th June 2013, 6.30pm-11pm. Entry is free.

These are the bands who will be showcasing their music.

Dizu Plaatjies & The Ibuyambo Ensemble from South Africa 

Sub-Saharan African music. Painted warriors, female dancers, traditional music played on handmade instruments. Exulted voices, wonderful instrumental textures and thrilling percussion. His album “African Kings” won Best Alternative African Album at the SAMA awards 2009.

MOHSEN SHARIFIAN & THE LIAN BAND (IRAN)

Regarded as Iran’s most prestigious folklore music band. They play Boushehri music that is the amalgamation of centuries of social, cultural, religious melting pots in Iran. They have received 7 awards for performance of Ney-Anban, 3 Best Music titles, 3 Best Singer titles and 3 awards for Best Percussion from Iran.

The two bands will be supported by local acts. Head on over to the Preview Facebook page to find out more.

This smart partnership enables students from 2 different schools of the University; ( School of Tourism, Event and Recreation and School of Business Communication) to have a practical experience of their classroom theories - Live Event Module from School of Tourism, Event and Recreation  For Sarawak Tourism Board, this is an extension of the Board's internship programme.

Sarawak Malaysia Borneo...where adventures lives

A Quick Take of Rainforest World Music Festival 2013 Bands

We have created a short write-up for each of the twenty-one (21) bands performing at this year's Music Festival. They are not listed in any order.

BAND	About The Band
MADEEH (Sarawak, Malaysia)	Bidayuh traditional roots music on hand-made bamboo instruments and drums Music like it has been in the jungles of Borneo for centuries.
RAFLY WA SAJA (Indonesia)	The unique voice of Aceh and Rafly combined with some of the top musicians from Jakarta A fitting performance on the 10th anniversary of the earthquake and resulting  tsunami in Sumatra.
MOHSEN SHARIFIAN & THE LIAN BAND (Iran)	Regarded as Iran’s most prestigious folklore music band. They play Boushehri music that is the amalgamation of centuries of social, cultural, religious melting pots in Iran. They have received 7 awards for performance of Ney-Anban, 3 Best Music titles, 3 Best Singer titles, 3 awards for Best Percussion from Iran.
JUK WAN EMANG (Sarawak, Malaysia) <Picture not available>	The rare and dying art of the nose flute of Sarawak. This is the instrument used for courtship among the Kayan people. Juk Wan Emang is 71 years old and comes from the interior of the Rainforests.
NUNUKUL YUGGERA (Australia)	Traditional Aboriginie song and dance troupe Their performances portray their unique lifestyle, religions and tribal legends in their performances. They have been called the Australian answer to the New Zealand Haka.
SHANGYIN CHINESE CHAMBER MUSIC ENSEMBLE (Sarawak, Malaysia)	Winner of 2013 at Shanghai Folk Music Orchestra Showcase Sarawak flavor and Malaysian folk music interwoven with Chinese traditional instruments.
HABADEKUK (Denmark)	Powerful horns, toe-tapping fiddle and contagious rhythms One of Denmark’s leading folk bands that uses old folk melodies in 21st century presentation. Their CD “Hopsadaddy” was awarded “Album of the Year” at Danish Music Award Folk 2011 Their fiddle player Kristian Bugge was awarded “Folk Artist of the year” at Danish Music Award Folk 2011 Nominated as best live act of the year for Danish Music Awards 2012
NATIVE CHANTING (Sarawak, Malaysia)	Oral blessings from the different indigenous tribes of Sarawak – the Bidayuh, the Iban, the Orang Ulu, the Melanau.
DIZU PLAATZIES & THE IBUYAMBO ENSEMBLE (South Africa)	Sub-Saharan African music. Painted warriors, female dancers, traditional music played on handmade instruments. Exulted voices, wonderful instrumental textures and thrilling percussion His album “African Kings” won Best Alternative African Album at the SAMA awards 2009
SPIRITUAL SEASONS (Ukraine)	Medieval, Irish and Scandinavian folk band from Kharkov, Ukraine.
MAYA GREEN (Sarawak, Malaysia)	Dato Medan Abdullah on the legendary boat lute of Sarawak – the sape.
RHYTHM IN BRONZE (Malaysia)	Gongs and gamelans. A mix of traditional instruments with contemporary compositions. “Best Music Concert” award in the World Music category at the 2004 BOH Cameronian Arts Awards. Following this, Wujud Antara, received three BOH Cameronian Arts Awards in 2005, for “Best Group performance – Instrumental”, “Best Group performance – Voice” and “Best Musical Direction” (Sunetra Fernando and Jillian Ooi) in the Music category.
PINE LEAF BOYS (USA)	Cajun and Creole band from Southern Louisiana 4 times Grammy nominated. Ancient songs and dances revived and brought to the stage with wild exuberance and energetic performances. Their accordion player, Wilson Savoy, just won a Grammy 2013
CHET NUNETA (France)	Vocal polyphonies + polyrhythms They sing  transcontinental  traditional songs accompanied by mostly percussion
LAN E TUYANG (Sarawak, Malaysia)	The very well known musician, artist and instrument maker, Matthew Ngau, with traditional Orang Ulu music on the beautiful boat lute of Sarawak, the sape, accompanied by percussion and a dancer.
REY VALLENATO BETO JAMAICA (Colombia)	Fiesta dance music of Colombia. Beto Jamaica was the winner of the Valleneto Competition 2006-2007
KRIES (Croatia)	Traditional Croatian chants – very dark, very mystic – fused into wild ethno rock.
GEMA SLDN-SARAWAK CULTURAL VILLAGE (Sarawak, Malaysia)	A collection of different percussion instruments of Sarawak – drums, gongs, bamboo.
KILA (Ireland)	Songs based on gorgeous traditional Irish melodies. Percussive like singing and driving rhythms They have supplied and composed music for a number of films, TV, theatre Shortlisted Choice Music Prize, 2008 Nominee in Meteor Irish Music awards, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006,2007, 2008 2002 Meteor Irish Music Industry Award  - Best Trad Act Hot Press Readers Choice Awards - Best Trad Act - 2003, 2004, 2007
ALP BORA (Turkey)	Music from Turkey and the Balkans. A mix of eastern and western colours.
PALSANDAE (Korean)	Korean traditional music with acrobatic and dance woven into the performance. The show includes shamanic prayer songs, pansori and pangut performances.

To find out when the groups are performing, this is the link to the evening showtimes

The Rainforest World Music Festival is organised by the Sarawak Tourism Board.

The Rainforest World Music Festival wins the Brand Laureate - Country Brand Awards 2012/2013

This award is as much a recognition for Malaysia as it is for those who have worked and developed this iconic world music festival over the past sixteen years. The festival goers who arrive in the thousands from all over the world each year deserve a mention. The partners and sponsors who contributed in-kind and cash sponsorship are also part of the festival's success story. And not forgetting the Sarawak government which has provided policy and financial support all these years.

For those at Sarawak Tourism Board, past and present, for all the hard work and challenges, there is a quiet sense of gratefulness and achievement.

The Brand Laureate - Country Brand Awards for Events is the culmination of all these efforts. And on this note, this year, the festival has also been awarded the SONGLiNES 25 Best International Festivals for the fourth year running.