Checking in Mulu Rainforest

Short Note: Just recovered from a 4-day sickness. Well, not really, I'm actually still sick. 5th day and counting.


After arriving in Mulu, I promoptly lugged my luggage to the official National Park office to enquire about my room which I have booked via email.




Just google mulu park and you will find the official website with the contact of the office on the site.

After making my registration known at the office, I proceeded to check into the dormitory at the Mulu National Park.




Okay. I know what you're thinking.

It's so shabby.

Well, duh, I was in a rainforest!




What better way to experience nature then to sleep among it, to have cricket sounds sing you to sleep every night and to run away from mozzies in the early evening and let the hot scorching sun wake your sorry butt up in the morning.




I know I know, I could have gone for the Royal Mulu Resort where I would be pampered with comfortable bed, privacy, heated shower and mozzie-free nights, not to mention a god-sent swimming pool on those heat-dreading moments (like every second).

NO!

When you're hot, you don't just go find a swimming pool in the middle of the jungle to take a dip, go jump in the river! or something.




This was a rainforest I was in. I'd be damn hell if I could allow myself that sort of pampering.

I meant, how long more could I do this? Dragging my sorry ass through trecherous jungle and sleeping on hard beds. I might as well do it now before my body and mind tell me I'm too old for this. It's now or never for the rest of my life. So let the roughing out began.
Besides, the dorms were cheap.


this haircut proved how long ago this trip was made. Shut up, I hated that hair stylist.


So I opted for the bed that's furthest away from the door (I'm a light-sleeper) and not too close to the window.




After dumping my stuff on the bed, I walked back to the office to sort out my plans during my stay here. I was to be there for approximately 4 days, but Mulu caves were plentiful and there were many to do, so I had to plan to fit in as much as my stamina could allow in the time frame of these 4 days.




Thank god for a map that stated the activities one could embark on during one's stay at Mulu National Park. And these activities range from child's play a-walk-in-the-park to hard-core 3-day-adventurous-life-threatening-caving-experience-up-in-the-pinnacles.




That's the good thing about travelling to Mulu on your own, you can plan your own itinerary according to your liking and body strength.

The last thing I wanted was to squeeze every ounce of energy I have and to come back to a really hot and uncomfortable bed at night for a nap of 5 hours before I have to get up again, only to hybernate for one week after the trip.


So basically, after looking at the map and considering the suggestions of the rangers, I decided to take up a few actitivies, in no particular order:

1. take the longboat out to visit Clearwater Cave & Cave of the Winds.

Skip the longhouse since I've seen that in Kuching.




2. talk a walk to discover our beautiful Borneo Rainforest and climb the Canopy Skywalk




3. this is a must. Visit the infamous world's biggest (until 2009) cave passage Deer Cave, and another beautiful Lang Cave and observe the return of millions of bats at dusk.

That could be a handful to handle until my 4th day afternoon departure.

Oh, one more activity.




4. a walk in the Rainforest after sun down.

Oooo... spooky.