Gua Niah: The Expedition

Yesterday a dozen of us decided to go on a Gua Niah expedition without any tour guides. The Gua Niah gang consisted of Foundation in Engineering students which are me myself, Kip Loong, Darrold, Chai Kah Seng, Daniel Su, Daniel lim, Kon Chee Ling, Brenda Yap, Patrick, You Ung, Hyan Ping(all from 1E3), and the "sesat" only IE2 , Aaron. Hehe.Doing this the first time and alone, we DIDN"T prepare anything much except of money, water bottles, mosquito repellent(highly important) and headlights for heads (not cars). I will write the series of unfortunate events in chronological order.

6.30 am

Wakey wakey!! *knock knock* . I open the door and i saw Kip Loong with a cheery face asking me whether i was awake yet. "Urgggh!" i said as i groggily said a no and proceed to the bathroom to prepare for the trip. Cold waters do good in waking myself up. Quickly as a cheetah human I packed my stuff to get ready for the trip and brought 3 liters of water in my backpack. Chatted with Aaron and Kip Loong as we waited for the "girls" , Darrold(kidding XD) and Brenda.

7.00 am

Brenda and Darrold were still not ready!!! Argggggh!!! Kip loong, Aaron ,the transport meister Kah Seng the valiant one with his shining steed , the silverish darkerish Avanza were waiting in vain with me. Anyway while waiting , we checked out the headlights Kah Seng brought for us to buy(Kah Seng's parents are business people). Got discounted prices too! Thanks Kah Seng! After we decided the light for our future expedition we got into the car, 6 in total and proceed to the caves. Following behind us was another shining steed of gold, the Avanza. Haha. On Guard to the caves!

7.oo-9.00am

The total journey on the way can be actually summarized with the catchphrase of the day "Abuthen!" [Singlish for oh yes! It certainly is] . Aaron was misusing the phrase the whole journey. Thanks to him i also know the reason why i don't have a chinese name. In Catonese it would be Cheng Ka Tak. Which in Hokkien and Malay would be "wear a frog". =.= Thank Goodness! Such a slimy and froggish name. And no, you have no permission to use that name to me as i would slap you till your cheeks becomes like bak pau! Further lame jokes passed the time to the next pit stop, breakfast point!

9.00 am
Sat down and ordered our fuel of the day, kolo mee pok!

9.10 am
Our milos arrived but the noodles are nowhere in sight!

9.20 am
Tick tock tick tock~

9.30am
Swallowed our noodles and we were back on the road!

10.15 am
Arrived at the niah caves main gates and did some registration. For wanna-hikers, the fees for students is Rm 5. And do bring Rm 2 for the boat trip across the river (to-and-fro) . We went to the loo while others roam around for awhile. While all registration were done, we proceed ot the river!

10.25 am
WHAT A RIP OFF! - That was what Aaron said in his heart. Hehe. The river, which span across a width of only 10-15 meters needed a boat. Aaron suggested why not a bridge instead. After all, the river isn't that high. When i stepped into the boat, the boat sank swayed left and right. I think at some point, the gang we cursing in their hearts why did i even bother coming . I think it was like " We're gonna drown! GONNA DROWN! Oh? We're safe...Anders isn't that heavy!" . Hahahaa. Dont mind me typing this. Lack of sleep has its wonders. Haha.

10.30am
That's where the track starts after the river was crossed. Hup 2, 3, 4 as we marched onwards to the battle field; the tracks to the Gua Niah! We hiked all the way upward while admiring nature and its beauty while echoes of our chatter went through to the forest followed by many "shuusssh!" all the time. Due to superstition, i wasn't allowed to talk as i always call people by name. We all had nicknames like Da Jie(me, as usual), mei mei, ge ge, lao gong, da sao etc...As the superstition goes, calling people's name in a forest of cave may cause unfortunate series of events for that person. As a Christian, i chose not the believe that nonsensical stuff. I mean, why get paranoid ?We're here to enjoy God's Creation which are good and not to be scared of it??Some suggested using our enemies names and lecturers( of course we didn't, love your enemies!). Along the way we noticed many beautiful stone formations and trees. Some trees were awesomely smart as their thick trunks managed to grow through the spaces between the large rocks. One could see the various levels of rock layers all beautiful. There were gecko lizards, bugs, beautiful butterflies and all sorts. However, be careful where you place your hands as there are many poisonous millipedes of bright orange and yellow. Many of the millipedes were mating on each other ( i am not a pervert, it's science) . Some find it disgusting. Haha. We keep on having to stop as the "sakai" people kept on wanting to take pictures delaying the hike further.

However, at almost the peak, i was about to give up. I was tired, REALLY tired. Along the way, we were greated by four native ladies selling drinks and merchandise. I was tempted to buy, but the drink's price were really expensive. Nevermind, just continue and finish this, i said.

About 11.15 am

I was greeted with a flight of stairs on the hill leading to the first cave, the Traders Cave. The stairs greeted me with a mischievous grin, pushing and pulling me down, making sure i lose every ounce of energy in me. I swore i could hear the evil laughter echoing from the stairs. Grrr! I said. I CAN DO THIS! With many huffes , puffes and a single silent prayer i made it to the first cave! Made of Batu Kapur , we were astounded by the white beauty of the cave. The breeze was kinda cool and i think i know why traders used the cave as physically, most of the cave is flat, making it perfect for trading. I could envisioned the hustle and bustle of live at that cave. Many poles of wood were propped to prevent any future or unwanted cave-ins. Halfway admiring a local native bird-nest collector greeted us with a friendly smile saying that we're far from the real caves, The Great Cave and The Painted Cave. Silently i hoped that it was closer.

Oh great!, More Stairs!!!!

11.30 am

Patters of water drops from the stalacites from the celing of the caves and a whiff of Guano smell(bat shit). Finally at the mouth of the caves i was drop dead gorgeous tired. I wished i could rest but i could not, as we had to hike as fast as we can before it was too late. The Niah caves are reported to be quite dangerous especially at night as it can be very dark. The great cave was really beautiful enormous. It's larger than any mall. Each step we took was done carefully. A slight fall sideways may cause calamities , maybe even death as some parts were high . However, no worries as the railing are quite high. You can't fall unless you really want to. Some parts of the caves were dark and we had to used our headlights to show the way. For those who don't have any headlights, rental is available at the mini-museum. However, the hardest part for me again were the stairs. Aaron was by my side, assisting me as i was really tired. The stairs were chanting in my mind " Give up , give up , give up , give up!!" . It was really the batlle of the mind. I said to myself i can do it as it is all the matter of will power! Again, i said a quick prayer asking for strength. Halfway we had to stop as most of us could use a quick break and some water.

Continuing on, we finally arrived at the end of the dark , cold, slippery floors of the Great Cave. I've conquered two and finally one more to go!

12.10 pm
Walk walk walk walk in the light! X 3 Walking in the light of God!
Practically we were walking on the bridge under God's light , the Sun! I was glad as finally the wooden plankways are flat. No more stairs! Hoorah! I decided to overtake the rest and walk fast so that when i slow down (tiredness), i won't be left behind. After a pathway of twist and turns, i saw something that shook my bones. It was more flight of stairs!!!!! Angrily i mustered every single strength and i attempted to climb all the way up. I wanted to prove to myself that a person like me with willpower can climb all the way up to the Painted Caves. My right leg said no! I had a cramp halfway. Lactic acid buildup and tiredness gave in. My mind wanted to go on but my body is saying no. Friends suggested me to rest for awhile and catch up later. Disappointingly i said down, accompanied by my good friend Darrold. After a few minutes of rest i decided to go on as i was almost there. Attempting a few set of stairs at a time i reached the top. The painted cave. I was revisiting my old sejarah textbooks (history textbooks) of ancient civilizations. Sadly, the paint were quite wore off and only some parts can be seen. Provided were some clear sample photos of the caves painting. Pamphlets says the drawings are of the battles of the people on warships and dead souls.

At the top of the mount and caves, it was exhilarating. I finally made it to the top where pre-historic of civilisations occured. It was like my tiredness were washed away. I made it to all three caves!!!! I sang some Christians songs at the top. I mean, if ancient people worshipped their Gods/spirits/souls with sadness, i will worship mine with gladness. Tears of happiness did came to my eyes. I felt so peaceful and happy. A sense of accomplishment was achieved. 20 minutes later ,we had to head down.

About 12.30 pm
This time is was the journey backwards. The same trail except for some parts in the cave. Going back to the Great Cave was the easiest part as not much energy was to be used as it was downwards/downstairs most of the time. I faced some challenge though at the end of the Great Cave as i had to take many flight of stairs upwards. Bumped into many other visitors/tourists along the way at the dark part of the cave. Many of us find it scary. Surprisingly i find it serene. Imagine in the cave where people lived. I think i would be a nice place to live in minus the bat and birds droppings of course. Halfway in the Great Cave there was a split point. As we had to go back, we needed to take the left trail in order to prevent bumping into other tourist on the right(trails are smaller there). The trail here was the hardest of all hardest points. I was greeted with 10 sets of stairs of 8 each, making a grand total of 80 excruciating pain, agony, needle pricking painful steps. I felt like giving up but i can't give up in a cave, could I? Thankfully, Darrold the best pal in this trip helped me, giving me positive thought and said i could make it. After all it is just 80 steps and then i was downwards all the way. Attempting 8 steps at a time i took a rest to ease the pain. I didn't care whether i had bird droppings, bat droppings on my body or whether i touched them on the railings, my ultimate goal was to climb that circumstance and overcome it to get out of the freaking cave!

Finally i saw the light and the RESTING POINT!!!!I Grabbed the chance to sit properly, rest and drank some more water. Others climbed up a humongous rock next to the resting point to take some pictures of themselves. I wish i could however, i couldn't.

1.00 pm
Thankfully most of the trail from the Great Cave onwards are downwards. But as most people say, going downwards is the hardest of all. That is true for me too. Not only you have to watch your grip on the slippery stairs, the upward motion of the ankles cause pain to your ankles too. I slightly sprain my left ankle down the stairs but i didn't mention it to anyone. So it was walk walk walk all the way down, revisiting the trail we had once walk. When i arrived at the drink station which has the "extraordinary" drinks price, i couldn't care anymore. I spent a grand total of 9 ringgit on a can of 100 plus (isotonic benefits) , coke and mineral water as mine was running out.

After that we proceed our journey. "PAIN!!!!!" i suddenly yelled. My right leg upwards was cramped and there i was in no vicinity of a pondok (resting hut). Darrold again (thank you so much!) rested with me while the rest continued. Throughout the way back i was shuffling my feet as that was the only way to prevent the acting of the cramp. Seizing every opportunity at a pondok, i managed to get to the hill only minutes later than the others. It was a glimmer of hope that lifted me as i run walked to river as quickly as i can so that i can finally go home. I let out a heavy but proud sigh . "I CONQUERED GUA NIAH!!!" I said loudly as i could.

Approximatly 3pm
I went to toilet to splash heavenly cool water and have a good rest before embarking back to Miri city. When i looked back, i learn a valuable lesson that our mind is capable of doing great things. Indeed, the whole hike and back was mind over body. Not only that, i proved to myself that a fat person like me can do it. So why can't you???

Go Gua Niah!!


Photos later k?