SEE MALAYSIA
As soon we arrived in miri, the third largest town in sarawak with a population of 197,000,we were whisked off to the niah national park rest house, two hours from the airport.
Without wasting time, we took a riverboat ride along Sungai Niah for a first peep of scenic riverside scenes of native dwellers, before starting on a 45-minute trek along a plank walk in the Niah National Park, Southeast Asia's most famous archaeological site that leads to Niah Caves.
We were intrigued by the Tapang tree with its buttressed roots enormously taller than us.
The first cave was the traders cave, so called as it was once a business hub for bird's nest colectors and guano traders.The Great Cave lay ahead and as we made our way slowly inside,we were thankful for the flashlights we had brought as the plank walk was slippery (from bird and bat excrement).
The cave's entrance is 60 metres high and 250 metres wide. This was where the panans, sarawak's nomadic tribe, used to live.
As we ventured inside, it got darker. We saw guano collectors with paraffin lamps digging up layers of guano covering the cave floor. The substance collected is carried in sacks to Sungai Niah, where it is graded and sold as fertiliser.
Inside the Great Cave is a larger chamber know as the padang which has shafts of sunlight beaming down from large holes in the cave roof, illuminating bizarre rock formations. As we moved ahead in pitch darkness, we came to a forest that led to the famous painted cave which dates back to 37,000 B.C. Initially visitors were not allowed into the Painted Cave but it is now open for public viewing.
As its name suggests, this one has wall drawings of pre-historic men in red heamatite. There are scrawls of spreadeagled human figures resembling worriors and hunters, animals and "longboats" (for the journey to the land of the dead).Also not to be missed are the ancient pictures of the renowned "death-ships" which symbolise the boat journey to the afterlife.
Inside the boat-shaped coffins are picture of the deceased along with offerings such as chinese ceramics, ornaments and glass beads believed to be useful in the afterlife. Afew artefacts can still be found here through most of them have since been removed to the Sarawak Museum. Visitors who wish to see the caves are advised to start early as they are prohibited from entering after 7pm, according to the caretaker.
