Rain in the Rain Forest

November 6th (Sunday)

I was feeling particularly lazy last night and today. So, instead of trying to catch a flight to Bario (Kelabit Highlands), I sleep in a bit, then take a bus out to Lambir Hills National Park, which lies about half an hour away from Miri. Though not particularly noted for its animals (like Bako) or for its archeological significance (like Niah) or for its geological uniqueness (like Mulu), it does have a large variety of plant life and some easy to reach waterfalls. So, it sounded pretty good.

Alas, access to the largest waterfall was closed off for repairs, so I made my slog off to another, smaller one. The hike goes up pretty high and there are some nice areas where the trees thin out and one is able to get some pretty nice views over the canopy of the forest.

(insert picture of waterfall.)

The waterfall is pleasant, so I spend some time reading and relaxing. As I was about to leave, it started to drizzle, then during my trek back, it started to pour. Though the trees do block off some of the direct rain, I still got a bit wet. Every once in a while I had to make the difficult decision of whether or not to use the trees as support to prevent me from slipping. Because, if I grabbed the tree, usually a deluge of rain water comes crashing down from above. Fortunately, after a while I became so wet that the decision wasn't that hard anymore.

So, back in Miri, safe and sound. I hope I can get on a flight to Bario tomorrow. I've spent far too long in Miri, which means that I've spent far too much time at the malls. There's absolutely nothing else to do here other than shop and eat, though I must say the food here is quite good! The boba bubble tea is much much better than in Kuching or in Singapore. And there's a vegetarian restaurant with fresh soy milk. And my favorite is the Nonya restaurant.