Picture: Picture of the "Trader's Cave" which is part of the Niah caves in Sarawak.

Ted and I rented a car and drove from Miri Marina to the Niah caves; a good break from working on the boat. Niah Caves National Park is about 90 kilometers (60 miles) away. The two-lane highway is well maintained but with much truck traffic. After paying an entrance fee to the park, we had to pay a ferryman one ringgit (about US$0.30) to take us across a river to start our hike to the caves. Just across the river we stopped at a museum which was quite informative. One display was a human skull (blackish) and bones; archeologists have dated it at 40,000 years old. Other displays explained how workers have, for centuries, gathered precious bird's nests from the roof of the caves for the famous Chinese bird's nest soup. Apparently only the saliva is used for the soup. There were also pictures in the museum showing traders who lived in the "Trader's Cave", from the 1600's up to the 1970's. The timber framework of their shops and dwellings still exist but are very dilapidated. We assume the "traders" bought the bird's nest material and sold supplies to the nest gatherers.

We followed the boardwalk through the jungle to the caves for about 3.5 kilometers. Most the trail was flat except a slight gradual climb up to the caves. Next to the boardwalk there are occasional gazebos with benches which serve as rest areas. It was not a difficult hike if a person is reasonably fit.

The "great cave" was huge with gigantic overhangs adorned with various sized stalactites. There are long ropes and poles hanging from the high ceilings which look to be at least 150 feet (about 50 meters) high. The ropes and poles are used by local workers to gather the swiftlet nests. It looks like dangerous work. The work is seasonal and nobody was gathering the nests while we were there. The large cave continued on until it was necessary to use a flashlight but we decided not to go on; it looked a little scary. Also, it was getting late and we did not want to drive back during rush-hour. We had dinner at a restaurant in Miri where they serve Chinese, Indian and Western food. The food was ordinary, but they had Wi-Fi, which we always look for in this part of the world. Communication is golden and we love to hear from families and friends.