Gomantong Caves

On the way back to Sandokan we visited these caves, where birds' nests are harvested for birds' nest soup. This is the first and most accessible of the caves, as tall as a cathedral as you can see from the tiny figures at the back of the cave, and the only one open to tourists. The harvesters climb up rope ladders, secured only by a rope round the waist and drop the collected nests into bamboo baskets.

The"floor" of the cave is, in fact, a huge, deep carpet of bat and bird poo and the stench of ammonia is overpowering when you first enter. Add to this the fact that the walls are covered with roosting bats and cockroaches, which also scuttle all over the wooden walkway, and it makes for an unusual if challenging tour. We seemed to remember it featuring in a David Attenborough TV programme, where they explored the contents of the poo carpet!

Despite all this, the cave itself has something of the beauty and majesty of a cathedral, thanks to the light streaming in through the holes in the roof, where swifts and bats circle in the rays of the sun.

Later in the day we enjoyed a tour of Sandokan, including the sobering and moving War Memorial Park which commemorates the infamous Ranau Death Marches: towards the end of WWII, 2500 Australian, Kiwi & British soldiers were forced to march from Sandokan to Ranau in terrible conditions with little if any food. Only 6 men survived, all of whom had managed to escape at various points during the march.