Day 1:

My Breakfast

Heading to the appointed hotel (assembly point) by bus. There is no need to go to the assembly point if you are staying along the travel itinerary.

8:15am to 8.30am – Assembly: There are 4 other tour mates who are the family from Australia’s Thursday Island, our beautiful tour guide, Melina and the driver, Din.

10.30am to 11.30am – Gomantong Cave: At our own expenses

The pricing for the entrance ticket

Among all the caves in Sabah, Gomantong Cave produces the bird nests with the highest nutritional value, production volume. The seasons for bird nest mining fall on April, August and December and only those organizations that permitted by the Government are allowed to do bird nest mining.

I was so happy because I coincidentally met a long lost friend of mine at Gomantong Cave. He is a professional tour guide and he brought 4 foreigners and cycled from Kota Kinabalu to Sandakan.

The wild Maroon Leaf-Monkey (Presbytis Rubicunda) spotted before entering the Gomantong Cave.

Can you spot what is in the cage?

It loves sunlight. So please do not disturb it from sun-bathing.

Could you spot the hut on the hill? It’s the security booth which built to prevent illegal mining of bird nests.

Kindly note that what you see on the ground is not soil, but all are the faeces of the swallows, bats and cockroaches! Do prepare jacket and caps, unless you would want to get “attacked” by the faeces from top!

Long legged centipede

They are enjoying their breakfast!

The security guards

The dark bird nests

Cockroaches!

The required tools for bird nest mining

12.00pm – Sukau: The different tour agencies have their own pier for the lodge. The tour agencies usually do not accept walk-in tourist and their lodges are located along the Kinabatangan River bank, mainly nearby Sukau. It is also the best location to watch the wild lives.

My welcome drink provided by the lounge:

Let me show you the lodge:

The chalet’s windows which are nearby the forest are usually sealed. Reminder is given that the room must always be locked and no night activities between 11pm to 5am. This is because the animals are only looking for prey at night.

You might want to consider bringing your own mineral water, just in case you are not used to the river water from the Kinabatangan River. There is not water heater but the hydraulic power is quite strong. The lodge staffs do room cleaning daily so you do not have to worry for having a untidy room.

Let’s check out my daily programme in Sukau:

All the food during my trip is in buffet style. The food taste not bad, the coffee and tea are served free too. However, soft drinks and beers are on own expenses with additional 15% GST.