Gunung Mulu National Park on Budget – Introduction and Getting There
Nov 02
Introduction
Many have the misconception that Gunung Mulu National Park is an expensive place to visit. I’m gonna show to you that it is not as expensive as you expected. Firstly, let me introduce to you what is Gunung Mulu National Park. Like any other National Park in Malaysia, Gunung Mulu National Park is one amazing tropical rain forest with rich biodiversity. The star attractions are the caves and the bats. Of all caves in Mulu, the most famous cave is Deer Cave. It was the largest cave passage in the World until a new cave named Son Doong Cave was discovered in Vietnam early this year. The national park offers multiple level of challenges that cater for family vacation to adventure outing. It is good enough for 3D/2N weekend vacation. Oh, it is also listed as a world heritage site by UNESCO.
Inside Deer Cave
Getting There
Even though you can get into the park by boat, the best way is by air. Why? Firstly, the boat ride takes 10 hours and lastly it may cost more than flying. The only airline that flies to Mulu is MASwings. You can fly in either from Miri or Kota Kinabalu. If you are not from these locations, you may need to find a way to get there perhaps by budget airlines such as AirAsia. Check the website regularly for latest promotion. At the time of writing, MASwings is having a promotion for their 2nd anniversary. The cheapest fare (excluding tax) from Miri is only RM2 (yes, two Ringgit) and from KK is RM22.
The smallest aircraft I have ever fly in. Not as scary as I expected.
Boarding the plane
Inside the aircraft. I love free drink in the aircraft
I know it sounds crazy, but before you rush to book your flight, here is an important tip. Don’t ever book your flight out from Mulu at late evening or you will risk your flight being canceled like what happened to me. This is because they don’t fly after 4pm. Millions of bats will come out for dinner around this time and it is definitely not a good idea to bump into them at midair. So, if the flight go delayed past 4pm, they will cancel the flight. This can be a dreadful experience to some people especially to those who has another flight to catch at Miri airport. However, MASwings will provide free accommodation at the luxury Royal Mulu Resort which includes buffet dinner and breakfast. So yeah, it may be a good thing to some people such as myself 
My room at Royal Mulu Resort. I had the whole room to myself. Courtesy from MAS.
My room from another angle
View from my room
View from my room
Enjoying the night with some friends in the pub of the resort
On the way back to my room
Buffet dinner and breakfast were provided free
I was there
Another view in the resort.
To be continue…
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