Bornean caves

Although the Wind Cave would later buck the trend, the fairy cave continued on from Baku's lead by positioning itself high up and thus many stairs up. Since the years of Chinese gold mining a new staircase has been built but some of the old one remains. This looked slightly magical as it was not connected to the rock-face at any point other than the base and the summit. The stairs were constructed by laying a long piece of wood against the wall and building steps with concrete on that before stripping away the wood once the cement had set. Having no railings - health and safet...what? - and seemingly supported by faith alone the stairs really did have an air of magic about them.
Once in the cave the climbing continued, much to the despair of my sweat-sodden shirt; although in my defense the term 'Borneo's sweaty interior' seems not only to refer to those who travel it but the rainforest itself which seems to perspire the mist that undulatingly rolls through it. Sweating up the elvish tracks which would around boulders and sparse vegetation it felt like you might encounter Tolkien's Moria. It would not shock me to learn that Tolkien journeyed here and drew inspiration from the place.
Only once you had climbed towards the stalactites, picking your way through the stalagmites could you admire the true beauty of the cave chamber. The meandering stairs you had just climbed seemed to disappear into an abyss and there was a huge opening allowing the Bornean sun to stream in, almost blinding you but for the dense greenery that framed the opening.
Lord of the Rings must have been on my mind or maybe the place just provoked thoughts of it but i would have believed that elves had made this place long ago and since abandoned it to nature, leaving only their paths and a few platforms - one of which, in particular, would have made an excellent station for a throne. However, shocked as i'm sure you'll be, it turned out that it was not elves but the Chinese gold miners who had made and abandoned the site in the 1970's though there is also evidence to suggest that a long time ago people did live here too.
A few kilometres further North is the Wind Cave. This offers the tunnel network ying to the Fairy Cave's grand chamber's yang. There was very little natural light so we rented a torch for our boardwalked stroll along the mercifully flat tunnels. The darkness was far more conducive to bats than in the Fairy Cave so we could hear the chitter chatter of these little echolocators but, unfortunately, not the billowing wind that the cave was named after - though a pleasant breeze remains - as changes in pressure levels mean you can no longer hear the formerly deafening wind.

If you fancy reading non-travel stuff i have a selection of poetry and discussions on gender, identity and eco-graffiti amongst other topics at alexleclez.blogspot.com