After I woke up and had some breakfast I started out for the park. Once I got there I crossed the river and began on the plank board walkway leading to the cave entrance. It was still raining and the boards were slippery. Every few steps there would be a rotten or missing board. I was the first person to arrive at the park and I didn't see anyone else inside the caves besides a couple birds' nest collectors. The biggest cave at Niah is one of the biggest limestone caves in the world. It was huge and dark and very weird to explore alone. My flashlight was being temperamental and when it was out it was pitch black. I could hear chattering of birds? bats? bugs? My light came on once pointed directly at a huge mouse-sized cricket(?) in my path. I came to circular opening in the cave several meters above me. It was still raining and the water flowed down in to an illuminated shower in front of me. I was already soaked from rain and sweat and itchy from mosquito bites so I used it as an opportunity to shower off and cool down.
The night bus to Niah Caves dropped me off at the bus stop at 4 am in the rain. I found a dry wooden bench and fell asleep until the sun came up. I woke up to a young man curiously looking at me. Only my head and eyes were showing from under my sheet. "He or she?", he wanted to know.
In Painted Cave there are supposedly paintings from some 1,200 years ago. I saw some indistinguishable marks on a wall behind a gate that must have been them. I fell in Painted Cave on the slippery red clay floor but was actually surprised it didn't happen any sooner. It made me think what would happen if I fell into a crevice. How long would it take for another person to come along?
By the time I made my way out and back across the slippery plank walkway I was covered in sweat, mud and mosquito bites and in desperate need of a cold shower. Much to my relief I found one at park headquarters. An hour later I had walked the 3 kilometers back to town and found a ride in a pickup truck back to the bus stop (public transport to the caves is non-existent). I sat around eating corn on the cob and oranges while waiting for the next bumpy bus to take me to Miri.
