The oldest modern human remains (estimated to be 40,000 years old) discovered on South East Asia were found here...
Just an hour-and-a-half's drive from Miri, followed by about 3.5km of jungle trekking to one of the most important archeological sites in the world...
we took our own sweet time to get there...
Once we did, we felt like we were transported to a foreign planet...
First we arrived at the Trader's Cave, which is more of an extended rock overhang, rather than a proper cave...
This is where the birds nest & guano traders conducted their business in days gone by... *notice the wooden frame structures far in the horizon*
Strategically positioned bamboo poles & ladders hanging from the ceilings (some up to 60m above the ground) are evidence of the birds' nest collectors (obviously a very valuable commodity) ~ the locals have practiced this precarious occupation for generations; something tells me they'll make excellent rock climbers... no need safety harnesses one!
The Great Cave... like the famous picture we've seen so many times in our Sejarah textbooks...
a magnificient sight indeed... jagged stalactites, overhangs and dangling creepers of the cave mouth makes a dramatic photo composition!
Exiting Gan Kira on the other side...
it takes another 20 minutes trekking to reach the Painted Cave; where ancient art classes were held =p this used to be an ancient burial site...
Heading back to the Great Cave, coz there's only 1 way to & fro... back into the darkness we went *i mean absolute darkness for like a full 10 minutes of trekking; one is going to need a high-powered torch light to navigate through properly & safely*
& then, 1st ray of light beaming down, like a pathway to heaven... got to have the right timing to capture this shot; really liked this one, though i regretted not having brought a tripod along *most shots are a bit blur (handshake) & noisy (overboosted ISO) to compensate for the dim lighting inside*
the famous house inside a cave, again...
yes, it is that huge... the size of it is almost unfathomable...
That caps up my 1st outing in Miri =)
3 comments:
nice!
A regret to me when i was in Miri ... did not visit to Gua Niah & Mulu. I know its very pretty, but i did not expect so beautiful. The pic of light ray shining into the cave ... awesome!
ahmike: =)
lau: can always visit the next time u're here... just remember to bring along a tripod! was just in luck to capture that awesome ray of light =D
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