After leaving our lodge on the Kinabatangan River, we stopped by the nearby Gomantong Cave for a brief tour before heading to our next stop, the town of Sandakan. Gomantong Cave is home to a type of swiftlet bird and their nests are harvested by collectors to make the much sought after bird nest soup, an expensive dish believed to restore youthful properties in Chinese culture. There is no scientific evidence that this is true of course but thankfully the nests are only collected after the birds have finished using them to raise their young and no longer need them. The nests are actually made from the birds’ own saliva, not twigs and leaves like a typical nest, so they are quite unique. The bird nests are so rare, expensive, and sought after that people actually live inside the cave in huts to guard the nests from being stolen by unauthorized people. The official nest collectors must hold a harvesting license issued by the government. Heavy fines and penalties are imposed on unlicensed collectors. It is pretty wild.
The cave was massive with a wood walkway through it. The walkway was covered with a thick layer of guano (poop from bats and birds) and there was a strong ammonia-like odor inside. We wore helmets to protect our heads from any dropping guano from above. In addition to bats and swiftlets, this cave is home to a huge population of cockroaches. They were all over the cave walls in big groups and scampering across the walkway. The beauty of the cave was perhaps a little bit overshadowed by these other unique features in my eyes but I believe Rob thought it was awesome as he loves caves. When we came out thankfully there was a place to wash off our shoes. We also saw some red leaf monkeys in some trees on the side of the road on the way to the cave so that was a nice bonus.
After the cave tour we were dropped off at the Four Points Sheraton hotel in Sandakan where we would stay one night. They had a nice infinity type pool overlooking the sea so after the morning cave outing we opted to relax in the afternoon by the pool (pictured in the top photo of this page at sunset) and have dinner at the hotel restaurant. It is hot and humid in Borneo and the pool was wonderfully refreshing. We woke up at 5:30 am the next morning to check out of our hotel and take a Grab car to the airport in order to arrive two hours before our flight to Mulu was scheduled to depart. Due to leaving so early we missed breakfast at the hotel. When we arrived at the rather small Sandakan airport everything was closed, including the check in counters. It was clear we did not need to be there that early. Once the ticket counters did open we checked in and went to look for some breakfast. The only thing we could find that wasn’t candy or chips that we could eat was a small cup of vegetarian instant noodles. It was not the most satisfying breakfast but we figured we could get something more nutritious at the next airport where we had a connection in Kota Kinabalu. Our flight boarded only ten minutes before it was scheduled to leave.
At the Kota Kinabalu airport we asked every restaurant we could find if they had anything vegetarian. One place said they had toast and another place said they had french fries or a vegetable salad that was covered in mayonnaise. We asked some other people working at the airport and they flatly told us there was no vegetarian food in the airport at all. Our layover in Kota Kinabalu was four hours long so we ate french fries for lunch. It feels terrible to be so hungry you eat junk when all you want is some nutritious food. This was one of those rare travel days when we just could not seem to find anything decent to eat being trapped inside airports all day. Note to self, always carry emergency healthy snacks, especially on travel days when options will be limited.
Our flight from Kota Kinabalu to Mulu was on a full size airplane, but there were only seven people on the flight. They served us drinks and peanuts on the thirty-minute flight, which was a nice touch. When we landed in Mulu I realized we had no cell service due to the remote location. The tiny airport was basically one room with an immigration counter in the corner. We had booked three nights at the Marriott Mulu and when we exited the airport with our luggage we were thrilled to see a Marriott shuttle waiting outside to take us to the hotel, which we found out was only about 2.5 km from the airport. When we arrived at the Marriott we were pleasantly surprised by how nice it was. It is a five-star resort in the middle of the remote Borneo rainforest. After being greeted with refreshing towels and welcome drinks and then being shown to our beautiful suite overlooking the jungle and the river, I realized how fortunate we were to be there.
The resort has a spa, pool, restaurant, bar, yoga studio, and a complimentary on-call shuttle. After a less than ideal travel day, we had landed at the nicest hotel property we have stayed at yet during our trip. A little bit of rare luxury and comfort helped ease all the pain from earlier in the day. The reason the resort exists here is because the Gunung Mulu National Park is just 1.5 km up the road. The park is home to world famous caves and rainforest in Borneo and was also our reason for coming to this area.
Other than the airport, the park, a few restaurants, and some accommodations, there is not much in Mulu. It is quiet at night other than the sounds of the rainforest. Mulu Park has some nice on-site accommodations which were fully booked for our dates so we really only booked our stay at the Marriott as our second choice. Sometimes things eventually work out for the best even when they do not go as desired or planned.
