Saturday 24 Feb. Miri, Sarawak, Malaysia
An advantage to staying at this Airbnb in Brunei is the use of a kitchen, so I fixed
an omelet breakfast along with an orange, drinking yogurt, and fruit juice. Rain
had fallen much of the night and into the early morning, causing me to wonder if
it would stop in time for the celebrations of Brunei’s National Day. Luckily it
had finished when I headed out the door in hopes of getting a bus into the center.
Bus 57 rolled by about 20 minutes later—a relatively short wait. One would think
that a major event like National Day would have a published schedule, but I never
saw one either online or posted. Instead I relied on local people’s estimate of
about 9 a.m. today, although the event would not start until the sultan and his
family had taken their positions in the reviewing stand at Taman Haji Sir Mudi Omar
Ali Saifuddien, where the reading of Brunei’s independence proclamation took place
on 1 January 1984 and many national celebrations have since. I arrived downtown
a little before 9 a.m. and found groups assembled on the waterfront road in preparation
for the parade to the assembly area. First, I needed to store my backpack. Piccolo
Café said ‘no’ but staff at nearby Joy Downtown Rest Station, a hostel with room
dividers, let me keep the bag there.
When I got to the assembly area, a large group of soldiers were dancing to energetic
music. When they ran off the field, the many groups of workers, officials, and school
kids began entering in a seemingly endless procession. Each group wore matching
outfits, though the men and women dressed differently from each other. With a soundtrack
of upbeat music, they passed below the reviewing stand where the sultan stood and
occasionally waved, then took a position in the vast field. The procession lasted
nearly an hour, then everyone on the field raised their right hand in what seemed
to be an oath to Allah, the sultan, and Brunei. Soldiers ran back out on the field
and everyone performed synchronized movements using flags, umbrellas, and stadium
gloves. At the end, the sultan descended the steps to greet some of the group, then
departed in a shiny black Rolls Royce.
I retrieved my backpack, then headed into Piccolo Café for a big lunch of basil
pesto pasta, Caesar salad, and a waffle. That left just enough time to post some
photos of the day’s event on Facebook. Lastly, I headed across the street to the
PHLS Express bus for the ride to Miri in Malaysia’s Sarawak state. The bus followed
expressways north past the airport, then southwest and roughly paralleling the coast,
though I only caught distant glimpses of the sea and some refineries. Scenery became
monotonous, and I was glad to be doing this and the rest of Sarawak by bus and not
on a bicycle. After stops at the towns of Seria and Kuala Belait, we crossed the
border and got stamped out of Brunei and into Malaysia, which gave me another 90-day
permit. With these stops the 160-kilometer journey took nearly all afternoon. On
arrival at Miri’s long-distance bus stand on the northeast edge of town, I tried
phoning a place to stay, then gave up and used booking.com to quickly reserve a
budget hotel near the center. A taxi took me the five kilometers to Lixion Inn/Homestay,
where I got a windowless two-bed room with a/c and private bath for RM54. It was
OK, though a bit of noise filtered in from the café-bar next door and the wi-fi
didn’t work. Khan’s Islamic Restaurant, recommended by my guidebook for Indian food,
was just two blocks away and served up an eggplant-potato dish, a garlic nan, mango
lassi, and milk tea. Then I walked north to Imperial Mall where I found a money
changer to convert the remaining Brunei dollars to Malaysian ringgits, then I headed
downstairs to a ‘hypermarket’ for some snacks to take to Gunung Mulu tomorrow.
25 Feb. Gunung Mulu Natl. Park
Reading about the massive caves and hikes of Gunung Mulu National Park convinced
me to go there despite its remote location in a roadless region of Malaysia’s Sarawak
state. A trio of mountains dominates the park—Gunung Mulu, of sandstone, is the
highest at 2,376 meters and a goal of adventurous trekkers, while Gunung Api (1,750m)
and Gunung Benarat (1,585m) are formed from limestone. The park has a very good
website http://mulupark.com with maps and lists of cave tours, hikes, and walks
along with practical information. Also, I found helpful reviews on
www.tripadvisor.com/ . While in Brunei I
used the park’s website to reserve three cave tours and a Night Walk. Lodgings inside
the park are expensive, so I got a room outside the park with Kenny’s B&B through
Airbnb, paying about US $20/day including breakfast for six nights; I could have
reserved the room on booking.com for approximately the same price as well. There’s
also a RM10/night tax to be paid after arrival.
One can reach the park on a hike along the Headhunter’s Trail in two days or make
a very lengthy river voyage or take a 30-minute flight from Miri. I chose the aerial
option on MASwings, a subsidiary of Malaysian Airlines, easily booked directly online
for RM315.32 (US $80.41) roundtrip. The 09:25 departure would give me most of the
day in the park. I would be flying on an ATR 72-500 twin-engine turboprop, whose
initials stand for Aerei da Trasporto Regionale or Avions de transport régional,
a joint venture formed by French aerospace company Aérospatiale (now Airbus) and
Italian aviation conglomerate Aeritalia (now Leonardo S.p.A.). The number ‘72’ refers
to the aircraft’s standard seating configuration and the ‘500’ indicates six-bladed
propellers and other improvements.
A newly arrived guest at the hotel hailed a ‘Grab’ taxi for me, and the driver arrived
in just a few minutes for the short ride down rain-soaked streets to Miri’s airport.
I got window seat 16F, a bit misleading as the seating is just two seats on either
side of the aisle. This would be my first flight on an ATR, but the plane failed
to make a good impression. Although the engines started up, we went nowhere due
to a ‘technical fault.’ Everyone returned to the departure area and waited for an
announcement of new flight booking. I sent messages to the park to cancel a Fast
Lane (Langang Cave) reserved for this afternoon and to let my guesthouse know of
the delay.
I got a boarding pass for MH 3632 at a scheduled 12:55 p.m. departure, then bad
weather at Mulu caused that to be delayed an hour. We finally got onboard, though
the captain told us that landing conditions were unsure and that we might have to
turn back, but he would try. I got a window seat again, 10A under the wing, and
watched a very wet Miri glide past below. The plane turned southeast across a seemingly
endless expanse of oil palm plantations, crossed the wide and muddy Baram River
near the village of Marudi, then descended above small jungle-clad hills to Mulu’s
airstrip, a little south of Brunei and just outside the park. Steep jungle-clad
limestone mountains rose to the south.
I was very glad to have finally arrived, although the humidity felt so thick I wasn’t
sure whether to walk or swim! My accommodation provided free transport from the
airport to the lodging complex, set on stilts at the confluence of Sungai Melinau—the
main river on this side of the park—and little Sungai Pala. Most of the rooms are
in a modern longhouse style with a verandah in front, a bathroom in the rear, and
thin wooden walls between the rooms.
Maps.me shows trails and facilities of the park area, including a short trail up
Bukit Pala that rises in sheer limestone cliffs above the confluence. I dropped
my backpack and headed over to the other side of the hill for the easy hike to the
flat-topped summit and fine views of river, jungles, and the steep limestone mountains
beyond, partially shrouded in shifting clouds. (The trail up Bukit Pala lacks a
sign, but is shown on Maps.me)
The fancy Mulu Marriott Resort is just a short walk by bridge over Sungai Melinau,
and I dropped into M Café’s outdoor dining area and got a tasty forest mushroom
soup and orange yogurt drink. Prices are a bit high as one would expect, but the
food, service, and atmosphere were very nice. Clouds spilled dramatically over a
mountain ridge, and I climbed Bukit Pala again for the changing scenery. Back at
my guesthouse, the large room with private bath had electricity only in the evening
from about 6 p.m. to midnight, but staff promised that a fan could run on solar
power the rest of the night. I swung over to the large dining room to sit at a table
and write up the day’s events. Unfortunately it’s a smoking place, so I tried to
sit on the upwind side.
26 Feb. Gunung Mulu Natl. Park
The main downside of my accommodation is that it’s a 2.4-kilometer walk from the
park entrance. The lodge provides a shuttle for RM10 that I used to reach the park
in the mornings, but since I never knew what time I would return to the lodge, I
either had to walk or hop on the free Mulu Marriott Resort shuttle. In the park
I headed to the visitor center, where I paid the RM30 entry fee that’s good for
five days—perfect for my visit. I also confirmed reservations and paid for today’s
and tomorrow’s cave visits and guided Night Walk. (One must have a guide to visit
any cave.)
Next I got into an outboard-powered canoe with a small group for the ride up Sungai
Melinau. On the way we stopped at Batu Bungan, a village of the formerly nomadic
Penan people, to browse the morning market of tourist souvenirs. I passed on the
blowpipes, but got a tiny beadwork ‘millipede’ key chain. We continued to Cave of
the Winds, reached by a short climb, and headed deep inside, where a loop trail
threads past beautiful cave features of the elaborate King’s Chamber. A breeze often
blows through—hence the cave’s name—depending on atmospheric pressure.
A short boat ride farther upriver led to a circular pool where the river inside
Clearwater Cave emerges. We climbed stairs to a higher level, made our way under
a skylight high above, then took stairs down to the river in its very long and dark
passageway, which explorers have mapped for more than 200 kilometers! Lastly we
climbed back to the upper level, exited, and descended back to our boat. The tour
of the two caves took about four hours and cost RM67.
Back at the visitor center, I signed up for the afternoon’s Fast Lane Tour through
Langang Cave, an easy three-hour trip that costs RM65. Before leaving, I had time
for lunch at nearby Mulu Café (open 7:30 a.m.-9 p.m., with last order at 8:30 p.m.)
and had the ‘Indian Platter’ with a potato curry, jungle greens, and salad; it was
good, but reminded me more of the Thai massaman curry than anything I had in India.
I met Natalia, who works in Moscow, and it turned out we would be going on tours
of the same six caves together. Instead of taking a boat this time, we followed
the part of the Paku Valley Loop trail that roughly parallels Sungai Melinau, then
turned inland a bit. As is usual for most caves here, we had to climb a bit to the
entrance, then had an easy and nearly level walk inside. The first part of the passageway
contained few cave decorations, but as we progressed the cave became more and more
beautiful.
Although walking at night is permitted after informing park staff, the Night Walk
tour (RM22) is far better because the guide is so skilful at finding nighttime critters.
We headed out at 7:30 p.m., taking about two hours to cover a loop of about two
kilometers. Male frogs sing loudly to attract a female, who judges the strength
of a prospective mate by his call. We saw one of these fellows, who possess expanding
throat sacks used to make the sounds. Farther along the guide found a much smaller
tree frog. Stick insects also like to come out at night, and we saw many. The females
of one species are about three times the size of the males and have imposing spikes
on their body as well as a reputation for a strong kick. Afterward I had the long
walk back in the dark to my accommodations at the end of a very full and satisfying
day.
27 Feb. Gunung Mulu Natl. Park
Garden of Eden Valley Walk (RM120) got ecstatic reviews on Tripadvisor despite a
few difficult sections and the need to wade through deep water. It’s a full-day
trip, so we gathered at 9:30 a.m., and I got a take-away lunch of Nasi Goreng from
Mulu Café. We first headed out on the easy boardwalk trail to Lang Cave, high up
on a hillside and with very pretty cave features inside.
Afterward we turned up a sheer-walled limestone canyon that led into the enormous
entry chamber of Deer Cave, one of the world’s largest cave passages. I really needed
a fish-eye lens to photograph it, the place was so large! There’s an even larger
cave in the park, Sarawak Chamber—said to be the Earth’s largest enclosed space—but
it’s too far inside to have illumination from natural light and even the most powerful
flashlights cannot reveal its size. Deer Cave had the advantage of light filtering
in through its great entrance, and tiny threads of waterfalls fell from the lofty
ceiling.
Deep inside the trail ends, but we kept going, scrambling down a slope to a river,
then following the river up and out a very large back entrance. Here our feet got
wet, but we followed a route clambering over rock until we had no option but to
wade chest deep through a pool. Now we had entered a magical valley of mossy jungle
enclosed by limestone walls, with the only way in or out through Deer Cave. We followed
a rough trail along the river, then climbed to a pretty waterfall that plunges into
a deep pool. Before having lunch, I stepped into the refreshingly cool water and
swam over to the waterfall and back. Our guide demonstrated a benefit of sitting
in an adjacent smaller cascade, where he got a back massage.
Dark clouds had formed overhead, and our guide felt it time to go, because if heavy
rain fell then the river can flood and trap us in the valley. He carried a bush
knife to make shelter and firewood in case that happened. But the rain held off
as we made our way back into Deer Cave. I was curious about where the river went
inside, but the guides are fearful of following the river to where it disappeared.
We had another enjoyable walk through the cave, then emerged around 5 p.m. and continued
to the Bat Observatory. It’s a little amphitheater where people gather to watch
masses of bats emerge and fly off to their hunting grounds. The park has few mosquitoes,
and we can thank the bats for this!
I felt tired after the long hike, so didn’t wait for the bats. Luckily I caught
a van from Mulu Resort at the park entrance, saving me the long walk home. I celebrated
with a curry dinner at M Café.
28 Feb. Gunung Mulu Natl. Park
Back in the park, I had signed up for the 10 a.m. Mulu Canopy Skywalk (RM45). It’s
a series of suspended bridges high in the trees, similar to that of Taman Negara,
but a bit longer at 480 meters. Also here one has to go on a guided tour, but my
guide was patient and didn’t hurry me. I enjoyed the views of the tree canopies
above and below.
Although I had visited all five of the developed ‘show caves,’ the park also offers
intermediate and advanced caving trips that require slithering through narrow or
low passages and precipitous sections that require use of ropes. In the afternoon
I joined a small group to Racer Cave (RM165), one of the intermediate caves. Park
staff require people do an intermediate cave before tackling an advanced excursion
such as the all-day Clearwater Connection, but its description sounded too grueling
for me!
We hopped into a motorized canoe up the Sungai Melinau, then hiked a short trail
to Racer Cave’s modest entrance. Here we ‘saddled up’ with climbing harnesses and
hard hats with attached lights. A little way inside we had our first steep bit,
and climbed it using fixed ropes while our guide held a safety rope attached to
our harnesses. Then came the crux of the adventure for me, a difficult vertical
squeeze that required lowering oneself, then twisting in a certain manner to get
through. Everyone else found it easy enough, but I just managed to make it. Farther
in we had another set of ropes to descend to the bottom of a passageway, then more
ropework to climb out the other side and into the prettiest part of the cave. While
exploring this area I slipped on deceptive mud and scrapped my arm and leg in the
mud, which contains tiny sharp pieces of rock. Although a ‘dry’ cave, there’s lots
of water dripping down, and I don’t think my camera would have survived if it didn’t
have weather sealing.
Heading out, our guide let us climb the second set of fixed lines without a safety
rope, proving that in caving it is much easier to ascend than descend. The squeeze
was just a difficult for me as the first time, though with practice I could probably
get better at it. Even before we returned to the cave entrance, our guide heard
the rain outside. This turned out to be the only real rain that I had to go out
in during my five days in the park. But it was a light rain and we were already
wet from cave drips and sweating. A short boat ride brought us back to the park
entrance, and again I was lucky to get a ride in the Mulu Resort van.
1 March Gunung Mulu Natl. Park
I had done all the available cave tours, so today the hiking trails beckoned. The
Paku Valley Loop is the park’s longest at 8 kilometers and passes by the modest
cascades of Paku Waterfall. I did it clockwise, following the section that roughly
parallels Sungai Melinau, then inland past cave entrances. The boardwalk ran out
and I had a typical rough jungle trail with lots of roots and a few mud puddles
to negotiate. Jungle trees and plants have great variety and some had flowered,
so I found much of interest along the way. Some sections of trail follow small rivers,
and Paku Waterfall cascaded over a cliff into one of them.
The trail went under Mulu Canopy Skywalk and returned to boardwalk for the loop
back to the park entrance. On the way I detoured onto the 1.5-kilometer loop Botanical
Heritage Trail, narrated by signs written, believe it or not, by an ant with a sense
of humor.
2 March Gunung Mulu Natl. Park
This was my last day in the park, and I had already done the show caves and main
trails, so was interested in other places to visit. A couple had advertised for
others to join them on a river excursion and hike to Long Langsat, but they didn’t
show up. I had signed up for the intermediate adventure Stonehorse Cave, but nobody
else was interested and it didn’t go. I had enjoyed Lang and Deer caves on the Garden
of Eden Valley Walk so much, that I signed up for the afternoon tour of them, and
they were just as enjoyable the second time. Afterward I sat in the Bat Observatory
and waited for the swirling clouds of bats to exit caves, which began about 6 p.m.
today. At first just small groups emerged, and one twisted into a spiraling formation
high in the sky, probably to evade hawks that prey on the bats. Then impressively
large streams made their exits, from three caves, I was told. As daylight faded,
I headed home via the Kenyalang Trail, an alternate that I hadn’t hiked before.
Despite the late hour at the park entrance, I was able to get a ride on the Mulu
Resort van and had dinner at the resort’s Café M. A lot of other diners were here
too, so I avoided the smokers by going inside.
3 March Miri
My ticket back to Miri was the afternoon flight on MASwings MH3254, but very heavy
mid-day rains cast doubt on that possibility. However the rains slackened off and
the 30-minute flight left on schedule at 2:45 p.m. At Miri’s airport I tried my
newly installed Grab taxi app and quickly got a ride into town. With Booking.com
I found the newly opened Harmony Stay guesthouse that was OK except for a tiny bit
of cigarette smoke that somehow seeped in; cost was RM66.50 plus the RM10 tourism
tax.
On to Malaysia: Sarawak Part 2—Lambir Hills NP, Nia NP, and Sibu
Back to beginning of Southeast Asia Backpacking Jan.-April 2018