It’s the second day.. Travelling from Miri to Mulu

It’s the second day of our stay in Miri.. We decided to wake up early to go for a morning stroll beside the sea in front of the hotel before breakfast.

After having breakfast in the hotel, we head back to our hotel room to do some final packing before checking out to depart for Mulu. Of course, we totally forgotten to bring the two bears out yesterday so for this round, we make up for it.

Mulu

Guess which bear enjoys the most during the whole journey from the airport to Mulu? It’s Ah Bear! Unfortunately, my backpack size is too huge for the overhead compartment in the small plane, so we do not have the choice but to “release” him out to sit with le wife.

The flight from Miri airport to Mulu took around 30 minutes. Touching down to a small Mulu airport, we are greeted with the iconic Gunung Mulu as background at the arrival of the airport.

Distance between the airport to Mulu Marriot hotel is about 2.8 kilometers. Taking the shuttle to the hotel takes approximately 10 minutes! Do take note that when you arrived Mulu, internet connectivity will be unstable in certain areas especially when you hike into the national park. Therefore, it is recommended that you bring some extra cash throughout your stay in Mulu for easier payment transaction purposes.

Mulu National Park – Lang Cave and Deer Cave

Shortly after checking into the hotel and have lunch there, we are now fueled up, ready to go on our first tour visit to Lang Cave and Deer Cave! But first, briefing by the tour guide at the park office.

The trail is an easy, almost flat trail with proper timber plank walkway. Before seeing the cave, we have to walk about 3 kilometers to the checkpoint, which also serves as a bat observatory point which they claimed the infamous “Bat Exodus”.

First Visit – Lang Cave

Although this cave is the smallest show cave, it makes up for it by showcasing a series of very interesting stalactites and stalagmites. What makes it more interesting is the strategically placed spotlights which brings out the formation of the rocks even more where is it bright enough to take a good photo.

Walking into the cave feels like walking into a different world filled with hanging “giant jellyfishes” with droplets of mineral water trickling down to the stalagmites. Do exercise caution in certain areas of this cave as your head might bump into the stalactites above you.

Second Visit – Deer Cave

Deer Cave, a short walk out from Lang Cave’s entrance, is one of the largest cave passages and chambers in the world home to roughly 12 species of bats. As of now, there are 2.5 million bats staying inside this cave. With that said, this cave will be the smelliest cave you will be visiting as the ground is fully covered with “guano” (bat poop) that is also home to a lot of different insect populations.

This cave is also used to be a place where the deer finds shelter at the main chamber. That is where the locals decided to name this cave the Deer Cave.

As we approach the entrance of Deer Cave, there is an iconic postbox sitting in front waiting for you to post a postcard out to yourself or your friends!

A few meters into the cave, the “tortoise” look alike rock formation feels as though it is coming out from it’s hiding place to say hi and welcome to us to the cave.

Going further into the cave, we were astonished by how huge the cave is that feels like we can fit a lot of buildings in it and called it a new city!

As we venture in deeper into the cave, we can see Abraham Lincoln’s face above the cave hole. It is made even more visible by using our phone to zoom closer at the right angle and light exposure.

The pathway eventually leads to the “Garden of Eden”, a hole at the top of the cave that lets in some light allowing some plants to thrive. This is the last stop of our tour and we need make our way back to the cave’s main entrance.

Checkpoint – Bat Exodus

Do take note, for the viewing of the bat exodus, the view timing is between 6.00pm-6.30pm, recommend that you stay back to view the infamous “Bat Exodus” at dusk on the bat observatory.

However, if it rains, you’re out of luck as the bats will usually stay home because they are not very good in finding preys (mosquitos or small insects) in the rain.

Watching the “Bat Exodus” feels as though the ribbon of bats are bringing the darkness in as the day turns to night very quickly. That is where we will need to walk another 3 kilometers back to the park office. Though the timber plank walkway have small lamps in between, it is not very well lit and some of them is broken, making it harder to see the trail. So it is recommended to bring a torchlight with you for trails like this.

Outside the Park to the Hotel

The distance between the hotel to mulu national park is about 2.4km. So, some of our friends decided to have a night run from the national park back to the hotel while we both take the shuttle instead😂

After freshen up and have dinner at the hotel, both of us are exhausted from the tour and decided to head to bed early for the day.

Things to prepare for Mulu Adventure

• Cash – Easier payment transaction due to poor internet connectivity.
• Torchlight – For when you hike into the dark cave or walking out of the trail back to the park office at night.
• Gloves – For when you need extra grip when hiking in the cave or to prevent your hand from touching the guano (bat poo) on the rails.
• Non-slip shoes – Very useful when you hike inside the cave or on a rainy day where the timber planks will be very slippery.
• Poncho – Just in case it rains during the hike.
• Swimwear – For use if you want to go swimming. (Hotel or the pool filled with water that flows out of the clearwater cave)
• Snacks – For some energy booster during hike.
• More water.
• Medicine – Regardless of any trips you go, do prepare this well.