Armed with mosquito repellant and anti-malaria medication, Mundain the eco-tourist set out to tackle the Borneo jungle. Our target: The Mulu Caves aka the world's largest (recently surpassed by caves in Vietnam) subterranean cave system, with its own unique ecosystem, underground rivers and home to millions of bats.
As the Fokker 50 turboprop made its descent into remote
Borneo, over lush green foliage and meandering chocolate milk streams, my heart raced with anticipation (or was that palpitation resulting from the turbulence?).
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| silt laden rivers, dense foliage of the Borneo tropical rain forest |
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| Mulu's airport, a single strip runway |
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during landing, low lying clouds and
turbulence greeted our Fokker 50 turboprop |
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relieved Mundain, on terra firma,
heartbeat back to mundane |
On arrival, enterprising locals taxied us to the Mulu Park Lodge...about 1 minute from the landing strip.
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we toted our luggage over this suspension
bridge, into the park, to register at the park lodge |
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| our private deck...off our bungalow, simple but comfortable |
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| ...spartan but clean accommodations |
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30 minutes after checking-in, we gathered with the other adventurers and met our guide who would lead us on a trek through the canopied jungle to the famous bat caves...
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| on the trail to the caves... |
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| unusual, exotic tropical flora |
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...untouched wilderness save the trail constructed
to minimize human footprints... |
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| meandering Mundain mindlessly meditating mundane. |
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| ...watch out for falling jungle debris... |
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...all smiles as we approach the caves...
after a 3 km hike in the rain |
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| ...looking back at the cave entrance as we descend into the depths |
At this point, we pulled out our flashlights as we wound our way downwards into a dark, eerie, secret world...inhaling the cool, heavy, dank air infused with the smell of bat dung...
The camera on my Blackberry Playbook was useless in the darkness of the caves. Just as well because I needed both hands free to maintain balance as we dodged low hanging stalactites and accumulations of slippery bat droppings on the ground.
As droplets landed on our heads, we weren't sure if it was only water dripping from the stalactites or if it was bat excretions from the millions of bats audible but not visible.
After traversing underground for a couple of hours we were damp, exhausted, and hungry as we wearily trudged the 3 km trail back to the lodge, in the dark, ears perked as the jungle came alive at night...
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Simple but tasty fare at the lodge canteen,
Nasi Curried Chicken |
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| ...a hearty plate of Mee Hoon to start the next day... |
The next morning after fueling up at breakfast we headed upriver to visit a local village to experience their lifestyle (for 20 minutes) and perhaps buy some local handicrafts...
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| Mrs. Mundain cruising upstream on a river longboat |
we arrived at the village and immediately noted its quaint and backward appearance...
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| what first meets the eye is dilapidated housing |
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| wait...what's that on the side of the hut??? |
I thought we were visiting a remote Borneo village, bereft of modern conveniences but as I looked more closely I spotted more satellite dishes and tarped-over late model Kawasaki motorcycles, Seadoos, and speedboats with newish 4 stroke Mercs hidden under the stilted houses.
IS THIS ALSO A TOURIST TRAP????
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| these handicrafts appeared legitimately local |
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| hand woven products... |
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| ...colorful, local beadworks |
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| ...more hand woven natural and organic pigment dyed crafts |
20 minutes later, it was back onto the boats as we continued to navigate upstream towards another cave system...
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| liven up! ...the expedition forges onward |
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...through rippled waters and towering canyons,
we ultimately reach our destination |
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| ...another day of cave exploration |
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| disembarking, we hiked along the boardwalks to the caves |
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| ...stalactites |
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| ...Clearwater Cave entrance |
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| ...the descent begins |
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looking back into the mouth of the Clearwater Cave,
home to underground rivers and lakes |
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...after 3 hours underground, hiking subterranean trails
and crossing rushing underground rivers we emerge and
make our descent to the river where our boat awaits
to take us back to the park lodge... |
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back at the lodge canteen, Mundain
ordered a strawberry sundae with peanuts... |
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| ...but I could only drool in envy as Mrs. Mundain.... |
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...devoured grilled fresh fruits
and ice cream drizzled with chocolate sauce |
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...we followed up with yummy chicken and rice noodle soup
for the princely sum of 10 Malaysian ringgits ($3) |
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| ...which I hungrily slurped |
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before calling it a day,
as we prepared to move on in the morn |
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