The only way out of Belaga (to Miri) is via 4x4 in a shared car. Another early start and another rough journey, but we reached the junction with buses to Miri in good time.
 
After half an hour of waiting for a bus in the blazing sun ... nothing appeared. We must have looked rather sorry for ourselves as a passing car pulled over and offered us a lift. Of course for a fee, which we bargained down to less than the cost of the bus ticket plus a taxi from the bus station; and we arrived more than an hour earlier than expected.
 
The road to Miri is scattered with palm oil fruit which has fallen off trucks that frequent the highway.
 
Traffic hurtles down here, overtaking at every opportunity and sadly there seems to be a lot of dead animals, namely dogs, along the side of the road as a result.
 
Both sides of the main road are compacted with large palm oil plantations, which is a very different story compared to the Belaga area, from where we have come.
 
***
 
Miri

Miri is a complete change of pace and scenery. A modern city, by Malaysian standards and, offering numerous places to eat. Arriving on the weekend we were lucky, the weekend night market just out of town, provided all our favourites for dinner. With plastic bags and polystyrene containers stacked with a feast, we negotiated a table in the restaurant opposite the market, in return for a plate of satay and some drinks . They didn't seem to mind us bringing in our own food.
 
There's little to see in Miri in terms of sights, but it's a good place to base yourself for a trip to Niah national park and Mulu national park. There is a petroleum museum on the hill, but it's been closed for sometime and there is no scheduled reopening date yet.
 
Niah national park
 
Niah is one of Sarawak’s smaller national parks, but is one of the most important and much easier to reach than Mulu national park. The park has the record for the oldest human remains discovered in Southeast Asia and is popular with birds nest and guano collectors.
 
This park can be done on a day trip from Miri, although it's worth staying overnight if you want to visit more than the two main caves.
 
No guides are required at this park, and little information is provided other than a photocopy of a very poor map. However, the man-made boardwalk is easy to follow through the jungle and each cave is free to wander at your leisure.
 
The two main caves are the Great Cave of Niah and the Painted Cave, both with interesting rock formations and magnificent views.  
 
As well as the archaeology, the Great Cave is swarming with bats and swiftlets. Apparently the cave floor has been excavated to a depth of 33m finding thousands of years old guano.
 
The park has two well-marked walking trails, Bukit Kasut trail and Madu trail, although we didn't have time for these as well.
 
We did trek to the Iban village close to the Great Cave on our return to park HQ. The longhouse there seems to be home to a tribe who enjoy the more modern lifestyle. They all have cars, in fact they all have a Toyota Hilux's and mostly in white, perhaps they bought a job lot?