I’ve had a rest day today.  You can’t come to Borneo without doing the jungle, and this has been my chance.  I’ve stopped for several minutes to admire a snake on the boardwalk outside my cabin room, watched an alligator amble leisurely across the road in front of our shuttle bus, seen stick insects, large butterflies, insects galore in shades of yellow, orange and red, and, to cap it all, sat for an unbroken half hour, gazing crick-necked at a constant stream of a million bats swarming out of the Deer Cave, Mulu.  Actually, to cap it all, I then discovered that one of the other nine people in our guide group happened to be a member of the Anglican Church in Brunei, where I am headed next.  Funny old world. 

I left Kuching by plane first thing this morning.  It was just an hour’s flight to Miri, and although the stopover was only an hour long, the Diocesan Secretary had arranged for the two priests from the local parish to meet me in the airport terminal for a coffee and a chat.  This is fairly typical of my itinerary, I am finding.  There’s not much slack: every possible use is squeezed out of every possible minute.

Then it was another flight, less than an hour, to Mulu – to a mountain, jungle resort, and one of Sarawak’s great tourist attractions, the Mulu Caves.  It’s a favourite trekking area, and there are some traditional tribal longhouses close by, but most visitors (like me) just home in on the four ‘show caves’. 

I arrived in time for lunch.  I have a room at the Royal Mulu Resort.  This possibly sounds grander than it is.  It is more than comfortable (en suite, air conditioning, tele in every room etc), and there is in fact a swimming pool.  But it’s more ‘cabin’ than luxury hotel and facilities (internet, for example) are limited. 

On the other hand, people really don’t come here to use the accommodation facilities.  I joined a 2.00pm tour to the Lang Cave (good Lichfield connection there) and Deer Cave.  It involved about an hour’s ‘boardwalk’ (so flat, easy going) to reach the caves (which is where we saw all the insects), and then a visit first to Lang Cave (full of stalagmites and stalactites) and then to Deer Cave (full of bats and guano [bat-poo]). I didn’t realise that guano is full of salt, and deer need salt, so guano-filled caves attract deer – hence the name.   I also didn’t realise that guano smells horrible.  Ammonia, I suppose.  Sour is hardly the word. 

Deer Cave has a good claim to be the largest cave in the world.  It’s over 800m long.  In fact, it’s a Cave Passage, with an exit on the other side of the mountain from the entrance – although we just walked a loop, most of the way in and doubling back out again. 

It was about 4.45 by the time we emerged, and we were encouraged just to sit in a clearing outside the cave (The Bat Observatory), and wait.  At about 5.30, a stream of bats began to fly out of the cave in a swirling, twisting column (like the tail of a hurricane, I suppose).  It was like a meandering horizontal plume of smoke.  Or something.  And it kept on and on coming, unbroken, for half an hour.  Hundreds of bats, followed by hundreds more, and more and more and more.  Millions in all, we were told.  It was staggering. 

On the walk back to base, I fell into conversation with a couple from Wimbledon.  They told me they’re here visiting a friend who lives in Brunei, and who was also a member of our guide group, a woman from Ulster called Norma.  The couple inevitably asked me what I was doing in Sarawak, and when I told them, they said: ‘Oh, you must tell Norma.  She’s a member of the Anglican Church in Brunei’.  Sure enough, she is.   I was able to introduce myself, by telling here that that’s where I shall be on Friday!  Small world.

Tomorrow, God willing, will be more of the same: the Clearwater and Wind Caves, and perhaps a short hike along the Tree Canopy Trail.

Pete

Tuesday 15 January 2008