Joe + Sue also had a permit to visit the Painted Cave (the cave with primitive cave paintings) so we had agreed to hire a guide between us, + so halve the cost. We thought we had it all arranged, but it appeared there had been some misunderstanding, + the only available guide had disappeared into town. We all sat around for a while, in case he appeared, but eventually Joe + Sue walked into town to try to raise him – they had business to do there in any case. They had been gone about 10 mins when naturally Bujang the guide appeared in his motor-boat. As is usual nowadays, I was not well enough to go sprinting after them, so off Val trotted. She must have gone off at a good lick, for it wasn’t long before she returned with the others in tow. Norbert too wanted to come with us, + we were able to bluff the Ranger into thinking he had a permit as well. The more the merrier, we thought; certainly the more the cheaper.
We were a jolly little crew when we first set out, only Bujang remaining strong + silent, setting a cracking pace up front. Joe was very lively verbally – he had us all in stitches. The Chinese couple across the river he dubbed Mr + Mrs Surly – they ran the only store for the settlement, + assuredly weren’t happy souls. Physically, he wasn’t doing so well. He’s a big fellow, rather fat +, as he + Sue freely admit, they’re not very keen on walking, not when it can be avoided. By the end of the 3 kms, we’d more or less divided into 2 halves, fit + unfit.
At the Great Cave, we began by following a well-worn route, but soon it was clear why we needed a guide. The path began to twist + turn, + for a time we walked along a fairly low + narrow tunnel, + if we hadn’t been following a guide, I would have been very nervous indeed. Eventually we emerged into daylight once more, + from there we walked along a plankwalk above a swamp, before a steep climb up a stepped walkway to the Cave itself – once again, Joe, Sue + I were soon left behind. The Cave was interesting, tho’ the paintings weren’t spectacular, + were protected from vandals by a wire fence. Some distinguishable figures, however, + one doesn’t tend to look at such things for their intrinsic artistic merit. This being directly under the charge of Kuching Museum, as well as off the beaten track for guano + birds’ nest collectors, there was little or no rubbish, but we were amazed to see, thrown into a pile as tho’ about to be burnt in a bonfire, some pieces of old wood. Very old wood, actually, because on closer examination we realised were pieces from ships of the dead, or coffins, built by the cave’s primitive owners.
Soon after, we encountered a horror of a different kind, when in walked a middle-aged woman + her husband, accompanied by 3 or 4 Asian blokes. We were amazed she had made it at all, being dressed to the nines in heeled shoes + a very smart dress. Her husband, lugging 2 expensive cameras, one still, one movie, had not fared so well, the back of his shirt + trousers were very muddy. I imagine the young assistants had sprung more swiftly to the lady’s aid than to his. They were both European, + both spoke English with a foreign accent. The lady stood, looking severe, in the middle of the cave. “Is this it?” she demanded. On receiving an affirmative answer, she nearly stamped her foot. “I’m very disappointed,” she told us, + then told us that in some other cave that she had visited, the paintings were so much clearer. We tried to explain that one should approach rather closely to the walls rather than stand in the middle, but she seemed determined to be disappointed, so we left her to it. Eventually, one of her young assistants coaxed her up to the fence at the far end, + having finally got close enough to see the things, she was more impressed. “Have you seen them up there?” she accused. Yes, we had. “Much better,” she announced firmly, clearly the last word on the subject. I hope for her sake she felt she had got her money’s worth.
Joe + Sue had been staying with a wealthy family in Miri, + when they announced they wanted to visit Niah, those people had tried to arrange a tour for them. The cost for 2 people for one day was $500. Naturally, Joe + Sue had put a stop to that. We returned to the hostel in a more subdued manner than for the trip out, partly because we were tired, partly because it had been raining quite heavily, making the plankwalk much more slippery – it took all our concentration to prevent ourselves falling off.
When we returned, Joe + Norbert walked into town, while the rest of us relaxed, showered, etc. When they returned they brought a bottle of arak – rice wine – + that went sown very well indeed, especially when accompanied by 7-Up. The only regret was that they hadn’t brought 2 bottles. Joe, Sue, Val + I chatted about England – Greenham Common, Maggie T + Spiny Norman, the Falklands, English football, + 2 London innovations. One is a space-age public toilet, one cubicle size. One inserts 10p into a slot, + the door flies open automatically. It’s intended to prevent cottaging, but sounds to me like technological overkill. Besides, one woman was locked inside, + killed by the fumes given out by the cleaning fluids which sluice the things out automatically.
The other development is much healthier. A guy called Bruce has been buying up derelict or closed down pubs, + not so much renovating as denovating them, ripping out carpets if they had them, banning juke boxed, one-armed bandits, + other items of technology. A back to basics approach. Each pub brews its own beer in its own cellar, + the food is good too. A cheese roll costs 95p, which sounds a lot until one sees the size of it. And they’re all called the Something + Firkin – Frog + Firkin, Ferret + Firkin, etc. I’m looking forward to visiting one… or more.
And visit them we did indeed. At their height, there were lots – Oxford even had its own, the Philosopher and Firkin, but my impression they have now gone out of business; the Oxford one has reverted to its original name.
A fascinating encounter in the caves, and I’m pleased I took the trouble to describe it in detail.
