Mulu National Park, Sarawak, Borneo I was relieved when the sun came up and Josie, Emily and I rolled sluggishly out of bed. We
decided we should do one more thing before our flight and made our way to the observation tower to try and spot ourselves some critters! I think I could forgive our mouse visitor from the night before if I were able to catch a glimpse of the elusive moon rat (busybaby) that I so desperately wanted to see. Lo and behold, our trek to the tower was in vain; the only animal we saw in the tower, besides the spiders, was one red bird. Yes, one bird. Oh well, we can say we tried at least. With our things packed we waved farewell to our jungle home and made our way to the airport where we sat and waited…and waited and waited. *Pshhhhh* over 
the intercom ‘Ladies and Gentlemen the flight from Mulu to Miri has been cancelled today due to weather.’ We couldn’t believe it, well we could, but we didn’t want to. I think the last thing we wanted to do was rough it out one more night in the middle of the national park having eaten everything on the menu twice and played so many games of cards. Fortune was on our side this fine day however, as we were rebooked on the next flight tomorrow AND were being taken for a free night’s stay at Mulu Resort (the high class lodging for the non-backpacking visitors to the park.) We sprinted through the rain to our room and threw ourselves onto the soft mattresses. Before you knew it, the a/c was cranked on full blast, coffee was brewing and reruns of CSI were playing. We couldn’t help but smile from under the covers of our respective beds as we waited in luxury for our even more luxurious dinner. We seated ourselves near the front of the restaurant so we could have a nice view of the cultural show and began feasting on the gourmet buffet. Not only had we been surviving on salted fish and gooey ladyfingers all week, but I don’t think we’d had a truly gourmet meals in months and months and months. Cheesy au gratins, skewers of lamb and steak and fish, salads and sauces and fruits and breads, kebabs and endless desserts…I’m actually hungry thinking about it now! I don’t think we’ve ever been so over satiated in our lives, but oh man did we enjoy it. Our meal was completed with a full on culture show put on by the hotel’s award-winning dance troupe. They did various dances from the different tribes and influences on the island complete with a fog machine and man being raised over the crowd on a bamboo pole. The dancing was definitely entertaining, but afterward was even more fun. People were able to co
me up to the front and take pictures (I got to wear the warrior headgear and hold a spear) and then we got to participate in a couple of tribal games. The first was blow darting. Borneo used to be known for its headhunters and one of the ways they would get people would be through blowing darts—so we got to try our skills and blow the darts out of long bamboo shooters and try to pop balloons at the other side of the room. I got it on my second try and with some practice I think the 3 of us would make excellent Dartists. The second game consisted of a crisscross pattern of bamboo rods that were hit together in a rhythmic pattern by people in the center of the rods. As a jumper 
(which the 3 of us and our new Chinese friend were) one has to jump in between the rods in the same rhythm without getting your foot crushed as you hop through…and the rhythm speeds up as the game goes on. So we were hopping like rabbits over a fire and, while I’m sure they were being easy on us, managed to escape unsmooshed! Before we went to bed, one of the hotel staff approached Josie and asked if she, along with Emily and me, would join the hotel owner and staff as the Guests of Honor at the flag raising ceremony the next morning. The thought of having to wake up earlier than necessary cast a brief ‘No’ in our minds, but we decided that, not only would it be rude to decline, but how often do you get to be Guests of Honor at a hotel that you aren’t even supposed to be staying at? So, with the news of our celebrity spreading through the resort like wildfire we stealthily made our way back to our rooms to avoid the paparazzi. No, I’m kidding, we made our way back to bed, watched some tv and slept like 3 little jungle orphans who had just been adopted by Daddy Warbucks.
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