My Nomadic Year: Days 45 & 46: The paradise of shopping... and Mulu National Park Part One

After hiking back from the longhouse we were driven back to the Miri airport, to catch another short flight to Mulu National Park. But before that, we stopped in Miri, to get lunch and provisions.

The Very Very Mart had a very very good selection of goods...

But THESE were the business! I tried both flavours and wish they were available in other countries! (And why aren't they? Then again, the UK has a better selection of Magnum flavors than the US, too, but none can match these two!)

Let's go inside, shall we?

Shiok! Give your kid this ramen and she'll gape like a goldfish while displaying jazz hands!

There was even ramen named after me! Aww... I'm gaping like a goldfish... (But yes, I've seen enough menus to know that "kari" means "curry" in Indonesia.)

These I had to try. I do like seaweed. They were... OK. But I think I'll stick with Sour Cream 'n' Onion (or Paprika, where available).

I thin I'll pass on this one...

Some of you might remember that cyclamate is what they put in diet sodas, before it was banned in the west. What it would be doing in butter (or is this marg?), I don't know!

Oh so sickly, IMHO...

There's my sour cream and chives on the right; I did not try the honey cheese flavour...

CRIPS? Where are the Bloods?

These lime Soleros were scrumptious, too...

I did not have time to have a tea break here but I liked the sign...

We then had a quick stop at the beach. Not to go swimming, but to have a quick look...

There was a little time to browse at the airport. And yes, I was tempted, but resisted.

The only way to get to Mulu National Park is to fly, and the airport is adjacent to the NP headquarters, which features a lodge, and a Hilton. And that's it. Yes, we stayed at the lodge. But it was very nice! A big cozy cabin with a nice veranda.

This was our room:

We arrived in the mid afternoon, and soon set off for the caves. This was quite a long walk, but a very easy and pleasant one. Again the trail was all boards, but these ones were not slippery at all.

It looks like it's night here, but it's just dark in the rainforest. I admit I have a snail phobia; I kept my distance here!

I reluctantly agreed to have my photo taken ...

I look even more sweaty in this shot!

There was sort of an outdoor amphitheatre where people could sit to watch the millions of bats fly out at dusk. I thought this is what we were going to do in a couple of hours. But we entered the cave much later than scheduled, and when we came out it was pitch black and we had missed the bats! I was pretty disappointed, but I decided I would catch them the next night.