Niah in Sarawak, Malaysia and the Nile of Egypt…two places which are vastly separated by lands, seas, cultures, traditions and peoples. And yet, when I visited Egypt not so long time ago I was astonished to find one obvious similarity in the ancient traditions of these two exotic lands…the burial ceremony of their loved ones… the ritual performed onto those ‘lovely bones‘ of the deceased dwellers of Niah and the Nile.

The wall paintings found in the Painted Cave of Niah depicting the boat journey of the dead into the afterlife. A feature in traditions shared by both the dwellers of Niah and the Nile...?

I had actually paid a visit to Niah some years prior to my holiday in Egypt. Back then, Niah was not as popular as a tourist destination as it is now. Hence, it was not a ‘smooth sailing’ event for me to get there. From Miri town (distance-110km) I had to take a bus to a place referred to as ‘Niah Rest Stop’.  It was located on the Miri to Bintulu road. There was no direct bus from Miri (or even from Bintulu – distance:131km) to Niah then.

 

Niah Cave has 8 entrances - the biggest is the west entrance, also known as the 'WEST MOUTH' - one of the world's most spectacular cave entrances!

From ‘Niah Rest Stop’ I then hopped into a minibus to take me to the Niah Park Headquarter located in a place called Pengkalan Batu (about 3 km from Niah). I had to pay RM10 for the Park’s Entrance Fee (only RM5 for Child) and another RM5 for Camera Permit (and RM10 if you take a videocam with you).

Now…to get to the cave, I had to take a small motorized ‘sampan’ to cross the Niah River.

Cost only RM1 per pax then. Not sure how much it costs now.

After safely reached the other side of the river’s bank, I then I continued walking the 3km plank-walkway. The raised plank-way was built above a dark forest swamp and cut through a dense tropical rainforest.

 

Upon finally reaching a cliff, the path started to ‘climb’. It looke like a ‘tunnel’ to me. Soon enough, the ‘tunnel’ opened up into the great ‘Dragon Mouth’…  or better known as the West Mouth of the Niah Cave Complex.

The West Mouth is 60m high and 250m wide! It is indeed one of the world’s MOST spectacular cave entrance! It is believed that about 40,000 years ago the cave was populated by prehistoric men. To be precise… the dwellers were of the Paleolithic times (the earliest part of the Stone Age).  Indeed, they were believed to be the earliest human in the South East Asia region!

Today the caves remain important for locals for their birdnests and guano (bat & bird manures/faeces) collection. The birdsnest collectors use bamboo poles and ladders made from Belian wood (ironwood) to climb to the cave’s ceilings. It is believed that there are about 1/2 million swiflets live in the caves!

Leaving the main cave behind, i then continued to the next ‘attraction’ – the ‘Painted Cave’. I had to pass through another cave called ‘Moon Cave’, walked in almost total darkness for awhile before emerging into daylight. A short trail followed and before I knew it, I was already standing inside the ‘Painted Cave’.

‘Painted Cave’ houses wall-paintings depicting the boat journey of the dead into the afterlife. The site is believed to be the burial sites of people of the Paleolithic and Neolithic times. Set on the cave wall were numerous paintings of  ‘boats’ loaded with up to 20 people. Some crumbling dug-out canoes, which had acted as coffins, were also placed against the wall of the cave.

Back then, I had not  paid that much attention to the significant of those paintings and  ‘death canoes’. And it never crossed my mind that I would be seeing something similar in places thousand of miles apart and some seas away from this humble cave of Niah. The ancient people of these two places seemed to have had shared the same ritual in putting the ‘lovely bones‘ of their loved ones to rest. And…’that’ other place I meant was no other than … the land of pyramids, pharaohs and the Nile… Egypt!

…of Niah & Nile

eSa with Travel Buddy in 'sampan' on Niah River

 

eSa infront of 'Dragon Mouth', Niah Cave

eSa with Travel Buddy @ Niah

eSa @ GIZA

eSa in ASWAN

eSa on NILE

Pyramid, Sphinx & eSa

QUICKIES

There are now direct buses to Batu Niah from Miri and Bintulu…

Miri – from the Miri Bus Station – ‘quite’ regular – 1 hr to 2 hrs journey time

Bintulu – from the Bintulu Bus Station – 2 to 3 hrs journey time

Batu Niah to Niah HQ (Pengkalan Batu) – there are 3 alternatives:

1) motorized boat

2) taxi

3) walking – 45″ stroll along the riverbank

The Niah Cave Park opens from 8am to 5pm.