Seven Days in Borneo

This past week I have been in Borneo, wandering around Malaysia and Brunei with my backpack. I left Singapore alone, but met so many people while away.Here's what I got up to those seven days away.
I spent my first full day at the Niah caves outside Miri.They have huge archeological importance because of the cave paintings and burial grounds found in one of them, which changed the migration and settlement theories for this part of the world. Also one of the sites for harvesting birds' nests to be used in soup.

After only a day in Malaysia I hopped a bus to Brunei Darussalam, literally Brunei the Abode of Peace. It is certainly a peaceful country, with not much going on and little in the way of tourism.
Thankfully the Buddhist temple down the road from my hostel was holding a Chinese opera the night I was visiting, which I was able to watch free of charge. The costumes were stunning, and the acting was well done, too. That said, it was all in Chinese so I'm not quite sure of the details of the story. It was the highlight of my trip into Brunei, though.

I left Brunei the following afternoon, so I had a little time to explore the city some more, or rather revisit everything I had already seen. The capital is very small, and there are really only a few things to actually see.
The Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque is the sole attraction, and every single tourism guide or article has a photo of it at the front. I have the obligatory photos both at night and day. So, check mark for the photos, check mark for the passport stamps.

The fourth day saw me back in Miri, where I was finally able to take a look around the city. I met an Aussie, who I ended up sticking with for the next few days, and we grabbed Japanese buffet for lunch between city walks. One such walk took us up Canada Hill (not lying, no-one could tell me why it was called as such) to the Grand Old Lady, the very first oil well drilled in Borneo and Shell's first ever.
We also hit some of the city parks, toured the wet markets, and poked through the handicraft centre. When all was said and done we joined a Brit and a Fin for beers on the roof.

In the morning all four of us (Canadian, Aussie, Brit, and Fin) boarded a flight to Mulu National Park. There we checked into a longhouse homestay, a sort of plywood shack on stilts with electricity only from 6pm-9pm. It was quite the, erm, cultural experience to say the least!
In the park we did some more caving, this time in one of the largest cave chambers in the world. They claim it's the largest, but apparently the same claim has been made by a park in Thailand or Vietnam or somewhere. Whatever. Suffice to say it was huge. Also, swimming in the river!

For the second day in Mulu I broke off from the group and did a canopy tour. In another big claim, the suspended pathways and platforms of the sky walk make up what is apparently the longest tree-supported path system in the world. Sure, whatever you say.
It was cool, but there isn't much to see up in the canopy besides the tops of trees, pygmy squirrels, and the occasional stick bug. Being 25m in the air on a wood and rope bridge is rad, though; great view of the jungle and the river.

My last day in Borneo was rather abrupt, as I had to catch a flight to Singapore in the morning. The night before was fun, though, and played through like almost all my previous nights in Miri: dinner at Ming's, the restaurant and bar across the street from the hostel, World Cup rugby with whoever was watching at the time, and beers on the roof with whoever wanted to join.
So although I went for the adventures I was able to fit in plenty of relaxation as well. That, and I remembered to pick up chewing gum before leaving the country. Score!

all photos by me