Day 13 (18/01/2011) Batu Niah

We arrived in the morning after a long and exhausting bus trip at Batu Niah Bus Terminal. The city was around 11km away so we just asked a few locals and it seemed that they all wanted to drive us, one more expensive than the other. We agreed with one of them a deal and were on our way.

On the way to the city the driver explained that most areas around Batu Niah are flooded and some things could not be visited as there was no way through the water, but the caves are still open... We saw a few young lads fishing next to the street which was only slightly flooded. After a few minutes we arrived and checked out the hotels. One of them seemed ok so we checked in for a night. The room reminded me of a WW2 hospital… (from a movie of course).

Quickly changed into some more suitable clothes for the route through the jungle to the Batu Niah caves, which was actually the only real reason why we came to this small place. The other places would have been just a bonus.

The city itself is very small and provides for the most necessary day to day needs. The caves headquarter was only 3km away which we considered near enough to walk.

There is a footpath signed out and we started walking. For the first 15 minutes everything seems nice and normal, the path was a real pavement and easily to walk on. After we turned around the first corner a little shock grasp us as the street was under water. After testing the deepness we decided to go through it anyway. Now with wet feet we continued our walk and past a few more places under water, all still walkable.

Until one point where the water was so deep that it would have reached our waist. We only knew that because some of the local kids were swimming there. If two young lads hadn’t turned up with a boat, we would have walked all the way back and grapped a cab to get there. But luckily they brought us to the other site where we continued.

The scenery was amazing and the trip alone worth that we got here. We gently joked that if something would happen to one of us we would stand there pretty much without any help…not a really nice thought to have, but it occurs if you don’t have a mobile with you and the boat was again at the other side of the small river that crossed the footpath. We continued…

Suddenly around the next corner the only thing we could see was water, water and again water. Marina was brave enough to get into the water first, step by step realising that most of the way the water wasn’t really deep and the path still there. After a few minutes I followed here until suddenly I could not see her anymore as she was already behind the next corner. We talked loud with each other to make sure we didn’t make a wrong step. The water was so brown you just couldn’t see the path ahead of you.

A few minutes later I heard a loud splash and screamed Marinas name who luckily replied, I had not needed to rescue her from the wild ;) Probably some kids playing around and costing me some nerves.

We finally saw land and some huts. We reached not too wet the other side and realised that we finally made it to the Niah Caves headquarter. Excited that we could finally see the caves, the nice lady behind the counter informed us that they are closed because of the flooding. Sadly no one took a picture of two really sad faces.

Some locals offered a cab service to a horrendous price; luckily we met a French couple whom wanted to return to the bus terminal, the village was on the way. So we decided that all four of us share a cab and because the guy spoke a bit Indonesian he got us a good deal at the end.

They explained on the way to the village that the same cab driver took them up there and that he knew already beforehand that the caves were closed. That was a cheeky bastard and the French guy added that he would give him a piece of his mind when they got there. I hope that it worked out for him…

The village was so small that a decision on lunch was made pretty quickly. Now we are sitting in our hotel room, reading books, writing blogs and try to be happy anyway. Tomorrow we are leaving for Miri, which is just over an hour from here and hopefully more of a city. I asked for internet, which I saw on my wireless connections, however the owner seem not to understand what I wanted and didn’t give me a password. So I let it be and decided to get some rest. Hopefully the streets are not totally flooded tomorrow otherwise we get stuck here. Ah and yeah, we thought about leaving already today, but we paid already for the room…

Good night everyone. Oh and before I forget, comments welcome :D