Gunung Mulu National Park

Early the next morning, I hopped on my little hopper flight knowing that Rosa was already making her way towards a jungle trek to The Pinnacles, Gunung Mulu National Park's pride and joy. The view from the air proved Borneo to be every bit as gorgeous as people told us it would be: 

The Pinnacles themselves are a series of jagged limestone crags only reachable via a three-day, two-night hike/climb through the leech-infested forest. Originally, I told Rosa yes, I was willing to do this. But as the school year waned, I quickly changed my mind. The online reviews boasted of knee-defying climbs, both up and down, as well as leeches, snakes, scorpions and other less-than-satisfactory brushes with nature. 

Instead, I checked myself into the region's only hotel, a recently repurposed Marriott Hotel. One with rooms built straight into the jungle and a covered outdoor sitting area with views of the river lazily floating by. I took my book, my expensively shipped in glass of wine and felt a bit smug when it rained and still I remained dry: 

The area surrounding my hotel was bereft of humans. As a cloud descended over the foothills, the air felt oppressively heavy with oncoming rain. But my goodness, the air smelled and tasted different here. A peace descended on one of those fleeting moments of complete contentedness: 

The next morning, I made my way via free shuttle to the gates of the National Park, another World Heritage Site. The park boasts miles of walking trails, world famous caves (featured on David Attenborough's Planet Earth) and a series of bunk-bed style accommodation. 

Armed with information from the knowledgeable and very kind national park guides, I made my way to the park's many trails. They function on a check yourself into this little book and if you don't come back by x time, we'll come and look for you.  I had a little battle with my inner nature demons--what if I get eaten by a leech? What if I fall and no one finds me? Because for hours, I ran into no one.

And my goodness, the humidity. Eventually I got used to the solitude; the sheer beauty of the surroundings made that fairly easy.

Later that afternoon, I booked myself onto a canopy walk and a cave exploration for the next morning. The canopy walk proved a little vertiginous and made me further grateful I hadn't signed up for the Pinnacles trek:

Up in the trees, we spotted lots of charming flora and fauna. Plus, I managed not to vomit or pass out--heights are doing something to be in old age.

As I made my way back to the park entrance at the end of the day, the cave entrances loomed in the distance. More to come on day two!