here to go for the most unforgettable jungle adventure? Without the bat of an eyelid, Mulu National Park stands as the obvious answer. It is renowned internationally as the eighth wonders of the world, locally it is regarded as the crown jewel of Sarawak national parks. From 7 to 11 January 2004, my friends and I had one of the most memorable experiences in our life.

 We managed to make an arrangement with Tropical Adventure, a specialist tour agent that caters for various needs. Our guide was Chris Apai. If I am not mistaken, he was the most experienced tour leader and that was how he earned the name Apai. Apai is the local word given to respected man.

Day 1 – Limbang

he eagerly awaited moment came on 6 January 2004 when my friends arrived in Limbang, Sarawak. Limbang was our entry point into Mulu. It is the closest town to Mulu.

We arrived in Camp 5 after more than two hours of jungle trekking. In front of it was Melinau River. The cold crystal clear water was very tempting for a swim, especially after a long tiring day. During the night, it could get surprisingly very cold. We were only supplied with a mat. No blankets and thick clothing. You have to use your own ingenious way to keep warm.

Day 4- The Pinnacle

e started at 7.30am and headed up the 2.4 km Pinnacle trek. The slope was quite steep and nearly vertical at the top. Things were made more challenging with sharp limestones almost throughout the journey. They could easily cut your hand if you are not careful. Near the top, the climbing became very tactical. Though ladders and ropes were placed to help climbers, we had to plan our steps to move up. Strength does help but skills will make it an easier climb. We reached the top after more than three hours.  

We traveled to Wind Cave and Clear Water Cave in the morning. Wind Cave has plenty of intriguing limestone formations including an eagle-liked shape, a hand and a king chamber.

Clearwater cave, on the other hand, has the longest underground water system in South East Asia. There is actually a connection between the two caves but we didn’t go for them though. Beside it, was Lady Cave, which has a figure that resembled Mary and an ‘animated’ shadow of a couple kissing. You have to shine your torch on the limestone from different angle to get the effect.

In the afternoon, we visited Lang and Deer Cave. Lang cave had numerous stalagmites and stalactites. The most beautiful one being those shaped like big fat jellyfish. Deer Cave, on the other hand, offered the biggest cave passage in the world. It is also home to millions of bats. It’s advisable not to gape while admiring the sights of bats high above unless you don’t mind guano dropping into your mouth.

Around evening, we waited for the bats to come out. They came out in a throng for more than half an hour. It was a mesmerizing display. That night, we stayed in Benarat Inn, took a much needed rest after several days of adventure.

   ]

Day 2- Rumah Sungai Mendalam

ur destination was an Iban longhouse situated by Mendalam River. We started our journey shortly after lunch with  4 WD to Medamit. Though on a 4 WD, parts of the drive was as comfortably as you would get during a chiropractic session. Then, we traveled upriver using a longboat. Longboats were a common mean of transportation by the locals. It was nearly a necessity to them as a car would to an urban person.

We arrived in the longhouse in the afternoon and were warmly welcomed by the locals. It was indeed a unique experience where we were greeted by wonderful people wherever we went. In the past, headhunting was practiced here. Human heads were a priced possession, a sign of manlihood. No girls would want a man with no heads hanging from his belt. Though we were free from the threat of headhunters, there was still a certain degree of danger. We were expected to drink air tuak, the Iban’s  rice wine. I would say one with an extremely strong alcohol flavor. I suspect it must have contained at least 30% alcohol. I managed to finish my cup though, after immense encouragement from my friends.

Bahasa Malaysia was well understood by most of the locals. Luckily I still remember how to converse in Bahasa Malaysia after leaving Form 5 for 3 years.

The longhouse was an intriguing place. You could see people everywhere everytime, especially children. They were very excited each time there were visitors. But, a word of caution, most of the children looked surprisingly similar even though they varied a lot in age. So, if you were someone like me who have inherent poor facial recognition ability, things may get a little bit confusing.

We met the Apai(chief) later in the day. He was an unpretentious man, casually dressed. Before this, I had the idea that the Apai would be a stern-looking man, whom you need to go through various rituals to meet him, someone who would weild his parang wildly every few minutes to live up to the reputation as the ex headhunters of Borneo. Throughout our stay in the longhouse, he made sure that we were comfortable. There are not many places on earth where you would be invited into a stranger’s house and be treated with the best of a family.

Day 3- Headhunter’s Trail

ur day started early in the morning, thanks to the roosters. A pair of earplugs would prove to be useful in the longhouse if you were not a morning person.

 After breakfast, it was time to bid farewell to the longhouse people. Our journey took us further upriver. Some parts of the journey involved steering through rapids and fallen trees. We were lucky that the water level was high as we didn’t have to push the boat. It took almost three hours to reach the headhunter’s trail.

This 11.3km trail was believed to be used by the Penan to carry out headhunting raids on the people of Limbang area. They didn’t leisurely stroll to their favourite headhunting spots, but also dragged their boats along too.

If you were lucky, you could see plenty of animals and insects. Hornbills could be spotted around this area. All that was needed was a keen eye and a bit of luck. But for our group, luck was not with us. The only jungle creature that frequently showed up was leeches. Chris lamented that we were too noisy, thus scaring the animals away. Oh well, at least we learnt something about leeches… The two types of leeches, Black leech and Tiger leech, which is distinctive by their colour. We also learnt that leeches don’t like insect repellent. We would have suffered from numerous leech bites if it were not due to the insect repellent that we spread generously on our leg.  

Day 5- Mulu Showcaves

ur destinaiton for the day was the four showcaves of Mulu. To reach there, we trekked 8.7km to our boatman who was waiting for us by the river. Along the journey, there were two river crossings. The first one was fairly easy with the deepest area around knee-deep. One just has to be careful with the slippery rocks. The second one was more exciting with strong river current and much deeper water level. 

Day 6- Miri

e took a flight to Miri in the afternoon. But before that, we had the opportunity to kayak in the river. As with jungle trekking, you could see animals if you were lucky. This time we had a bit more luck and managed to spot a monitor lizard.

Starting from Limbang, through the jungle of Borneo, we ended our adventure holiday in Miri. We will definitely come back again for another round of Borneo adventure.