Miri, Sarawak 2009

Memories of Miri

22 - 24 August 2009

Going to Miri was a rather last-minute decision. Even though the plane tickets were booked in February, we nearly cancelled our plan to go because of two reasons. First, the H1N1 Influenza A pandemic. I was skeptical about making any fixed plans or bookings of accommodation for this trip as we had adopted the 'wait-and-see' policy in case the situation got out of hand. Second, my PTK examination was scheduled on 25 August, that is, the day after the trip. (To be exact, 9 hours after our arrival at LCCT. Both Choon and I had to sit for the exam.)

After much contemplation, we finally decided to go. After all, the plane tickets were free gifts from Airasia, why waste them? (Choon, my sister and I got RM 200 vouchers each from Airasia as a compensation for the 3-hour delay on our return flight from Macau December last year).

So, equipped with masks to ward off the H1N1 virus and PTK notes to salve our worries and guilty conscience, we set off for Miri.......

Upon arrival, we booked a taxi to Miri town. During the journey, the taxi-driver, Mr. Lee, furnished us with information about Miri and the local people. When we told him of our intention to explore Niah Caves, he offered to take us there for RM 250 and be our guide to explore the caves as well. We thought it was a good deal as it would save us the trouble of finding our own way there, so we agreed.

At about 12.30 pm, we departed for Niah Caves National Park, located about 110 km from Miri. We arrived at our destination about one and a half hour later.

Mr. Lee told us to go and get our tickets saying that he would join us later. When we saw him again after that we could hardly recognize him. One moment he was the professional driver in white uniform, the next moment he had transformed into an enthusiastic hiker complete with a backpack, water-bottle and a towel round his neck. I couldn't help chuckling to myself that he looked more like the tourist than the three of us.

We had to register ourselves and paid RM 10 each for the entrance fee. Then, we took a boat to cross the Niah River to the other side where the caves were located. The boat ride cost us RM 1 per person. It took less than 10 minutes to get to the opposite bank.

The trek to the cave was quite a distance.

We walked on concrete path through the lush green tropical rainforest, ....

...strolled along the raised plank walkway (about 3 km), ....

...struggled over a fallen tree.....

...and climbed up the steep wooden staircase .....

...to get to the Trader's Cave ('Gua Dagang'). This was where the bird's nest and guano traders conducted their business and that was how the name was derived.

I enjoyed the coolness of the cave and the whisper of the wind here was very soothing to the ears. It was definitely my favourite place.

Along the way, we saw various types of vegetation.

I think this is a giant tapang tree (koompassia excelsa) which I had read about, with its enormous buttressed roots. It reminded me of the giant tingle trees of the Ancient Empire in Walpole.

There were also smaller plants and creepers that grow on the rocks.

I spotted some colourful fruits that looked like berries, but I don't think they are edible.

Fortunately, there were many rest stops along the way to the cave entrance where we could rest our tired feet. The new rubber shoes that Mr.Lee recommended did not agree with Choon's dainty feet. Poor Choon!

Finally we reached the West Mouth of the spectacular Great Cave, over 60 m high and 250 m wide.

We proceeded into the cave that was pitch-black amidst the sounds of bats and swiftlets which created an eerie atmosphere.

We really need a flashlight to find our way along the plankwalk which could be slippery at times due to the dampness and the guano (bat and bird excrement) covering the cave floor. I was glad that Mr.Lee was there as our guide. If we had been on our own, we wouldn't have dared venturing into this cave of total darkness......

Mr.Lee told us that there used to be lights illuminating the cave but they had been vandalised.

What is left now is only the empty casing of the light like the one shown above. Sigh!

Going further into the cave, we encountered a few locals who were busy harvesting bird's nests. Watch the following video clip to see what they had got....

The bird's nest collectors showed us their harvest (as seen above). It certainly looked disgusting and yukky! They told us that this bagful of unprocessed bird's nest can fetch over 1000 ringgit. Just can't believe this dirty-looking stuff can be so valuable!

But this is how it would look after cleaning and processing. This is the Niah Cave bird's nest bought from Bong Trading in Miri town. The price is RM 260 per box (37.5g in weight), after discount.

This is another type of bird's nest similar to the Lo Hong Ka's Gold Bird's Nest. The discounted price for this is RM 200 per box of the same weight.

If you know how difficult and dangerous it is for the harvesters to get the bird's nests, you would understand why they are so expensive. The following video clip shows the pole hanging from the ceiling that they have to climb up in order to harvest the bird's nests.

That brought us to the end of our cave exploration.

Wow, it was quite an educational trip. Hopefully it can help me answer some of the PTK questions. Ha...ha...ha...

Actually I did not expect much out of this trip. Since the air tickets were free, I thought we could just go for a weekend break in Miri, savour the food, explore the Niah Caves, walk about the town and maybe buy some bird's nests, then come back for the exam. Perhaps it was that low expectation that made us enjoy the trip tremendously. And of course, the company as well. The moral of the story is before you embark on any trip, keep an open mind and expect the least. Then you will gain the most out of it.

While exploring the Niah Caves, I was ovewhelmed by a sense of pride that there are such beautiful sights in our country. I only hope that such beauty can be preserved for generations to come.

On the way back to the Park Headquarters, I noticed the Niah Archeological Museum. But it was closed so we did not go in. Anyway, museums are not my cup of tea, so it was no great loss.

Before leaving Niah, Mr.Lee kindly gave us a tour round the small town in his taxi. We stopped for some refreshments at a restaurant where tour buses often make their stops. I caught the rainbow on my camera(again). Lately, I seem to capture a lot of rainbows with my camera (in Western Australia as well as in Miri). It's a good omen. Life is good...

Next to the restaurant was the marketplace. So we went round to see what kinds of vegetables they had there. We saw the vegetable/fruit that Mr.Lee mentioned when he pointed out the plant to us while we were at the cave entrance (see below). I think it belongs to the brinjal family. He said it's delicious when fried with sambal belacan. Yup, I can imagine.

I often thought that sunsets seem more beautiful in other countries. But when we were travelling back to Miri, I could not stop admiring the breathtaking sight of the streaks of gold against the blue blue sky.

We spent the next two days walking about Miri town, enjoying the breakfast at the market place, buying bird's nests and other local products at Bong Trading (visited the shop 3 times in 2 days!), resting in our room when it was too hot to go out (attempted to read the PTK notes but could not digest what was read) and having dinner at Apollo Restaurant and Pacific Garden Restaurant in the evening. The black pepper crab at Apollo Restaurant was really yummy. I will go there again some other day for this dish. And the price was good too, only RM28 per kg compared to the RM45 per kg at Seri Mahkota Restaurant in Kuantan and RM38 at Specky Guy's Restaurant.

When we saw this shop 'Winnie Motors', we were reminded of our Winnie who had missed all the fun we were having. He...he...he...

This is the Imperial Hotel in Miri, centrally located in the heart of Miri. It was the venue for the National Level Written Test and Public Speaking Competition for the Chinese Primary Schools (22-23 August 2009). This is not the hotel where we stayed. Ours was the one related to the royalty. (He..he...) It is called the Raja Inn Miri.

Looking at the sunsets in Miri, now I am truly convinced that the sunsets in Malaysia can be spectacular too. Back home we often take things for granted or are too busy to notice our surroundings. What we need is to have the time to stand and stare.....

Yes, as William Henry Davies said (in his poem 'Leisure'),

"What is this life, if full of care,
we have no time to stand and stare...."