MALAYSIA
MALAYSIAN BORNEO – SARAWAK •• Gunung Mulu National Park lonelyplanet.com%085-436637, 085-434184) here for Niah Caves,
Lambir Hills and Similajau National Parks.Sleeping & Eating
Minda Guesthouse (%085-411422; http://www.mindaguest
house.com; 1st/2nd fl Lot 637 Jln North Yu Seng; dm/tw RM20/
RM25 per person) New to the budget scene, Minda
is great value for money. The sundeck and
bright common space sweeten the deal.
Highlands (%085-422327, 016 809 0328; www
.borneojungles.com; 1271 Jln Sri Dagang; dm/r RM25/50;
ai) Highlands styles itself a ‘budget tour-
ist and travel information centre’, and scores
a bull’s-eye on all counts. Look out for the
affable owner, a Twin Otter pilot from New
Zealand. If you’re allergic to cats you might
have to give this place a miss.
Dillenia (%085-434204; dillenia.guesthouse@gmail
.com; 846 Jln Sida; dm/s/d RM30/50/80; ai) Dillenia
is a new backpacker option with eager-
beaver management and fresh coats of paint
on the walls.
oSummit Café^ (%019 354 7306; Jln Melayu;
mains from RM2; hbreakfast & lunch) Not to be con-
fused with the Summit Café across from the
Apollo, this spot, specialising in traditional
Kelabit cuisine, is a 10-minute walk south-
west of Mega Hotel in the Waterfront Area.
If Bario isn’t on your travel itinerary, then a
meal here is a must. Try the colourful array
of ‘jungle food’ – canko manis (forest ferns),
minced tapioca and wild boar – served on
leaves instead of plates. It’s best to come for
an early lunch, ’cause once the food runs
out it closes!
Ming Café (cnr Jln North Yu Seng & Jln Merbau; dishes
from RM3; hlunch & dinner) Take your pick of
Malay, Chinese, Indian and Western food
at this ever-busy corner eating emporium.
There’s a good drink counter here serving
fresh juices and signature tapioca teas.
Khan’s Islamic Restaurant (229 Jln Maju; mains
from RM4; hbreakfast, lunch & dinner) This simple
canteen is one of Miri’s best Indian eateries,
whipping up tasty treats like mouth-watering
tandoori chicken and aloo gobi (Indian po-
tato-and-cauliflower dish), as well as the usual
roti canai. It’s opposite Mega Hotel.Getting There & Away
AIR
Miri is the hub for flights to Gunung Mulu
National Park and the Kelabit Highlands.
MASwings (%1300 883 000; http://www.maswings.com.my)
has flights to both – see the respective destina-tion coverage for more information. Malaysia
Airways (www.malaysiaairlines.com.my), the umbrella
company of MASwings, also flies to Bintulu,
Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Lawas, Limbang,
Pulau Labuan and Sibu. Book flights to/from
Bario and Mulu as far in advance as possible.
Air Asia (%1300 889 933; http://www.airasia.com) has
cheap flights between Miri and KL, Kuching,
Kota Kinabalu and Johor Bahru.BUS
Most buses operate from the long-distance
bus terminal (also called local bus terminal)
outside of town. Miri Transport Company Bus
33A runs there from the downtown bus termi-
nal on Jln Melayu (RM1, 15 minutes). A taxi
to the long-distance bus terminal costs around
RM20. For travel information to Brunei, see
p508. Buses go to Bintulu (RM20, 4½ hours),
Sibu (RM40, 7½ hours) and Kuching (RM80,
15½ hours).GUNUNG MULU NATIONAL PARK
Hey, remember on BBC’s Planet Earth docu-
mentary when that poor cameraman had to
wade through thick steaming mounds of bat
shit? Well, they filmed that here in Mulu!
The park’s intricate systems of underground
haunted houses are stuffed to the brim with
braids of stalactites, armies of alien insects,
and over two million bats plus their noxious
piles of roach-ridden excrement. Even if you
haven’t seen the show, we’re pretty sure you
can imagine that seething mountain of bat
dung – you’ll love it, we promise.
It comes as no surprise that the park’s
yawning caverns had a cameo in this docu-
mentary of superlatives – these caves are some
of the biggest on earth. In fact, several years
ago a team of local explorers discovered the
world’s largest visitable chamber, the Sarawak
Chamber, reputed to be the size of 16 football
fields. If you want to score some cave action
but don’t want to do the dirty work, there are
five ‘show caves’ featuring plankwalks and
dim lighting. The star of the lot is Deer Cave,
which contains one of the world’s largest cave
passages – over 2km in length and 174m in
height. Lang Cave has countless jagged stalag-
mites and stalactites and some other strange
formations. After visiting these caves your
guide will take you to the ‘bat observatory’
viewing area with informal, amphitheatre-
like seating facing the gaping mouth of Deer
Cave. Between 5pm and 6.30pm an endless522