Mulu, Sarawak - Day 1 (Mulu)

We had always wanted to explore the caves in Mulu. So when my partner came across a special 3-day, 2-night package from Mulu Marriott Resort & Spa priced at RM1,999 nett per voucher, he decided that it was finally time for us to make the trip. Since we did not want to rush through the activities, we extended our stay by another night, making it a 4 days 3 nights trip. This gave us more time to explore Mulu at a more relaxed pace.

Our return flights between Kota Kinabalu and Mulu were booked with Air Borneo at RM 484 per person. On the morning of our trip, we woke up around 8am and took a Grab to Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) at 9am. Our home is quite close to the airport, so it was only a short ride. The fare was RM 10, but my partner had a RM 10 voucher, so we got the ride for free. We reached the airport at around 9.20am and headed inside to check in for our flight.

The check-in and immigration were quite smooth, and the whole process took about 15 minutes. We still had some time before boarding, so we walked over to McDonald's for a quick breakfast. I had the crispy chicken muffin, while my partner had the scrambled egg wrap with hash brown and sausages. We also shared a small iced Milo. It was a simple and convenient breakfast before our flight.

We then made our way to Gate A14, where boarding began at 10.30am. The plane was quite small, with two seats on each side. My seat was 15F, but when I got there, I found a Chinese uncle in his 60s or 70s already sitting in it, happily chatting away with a Western passenger behind him. His actual seat was 2C, but he seemed a little confused about the numbers. We pointed out his seat number, and he then moved to the correct seat. The flight departed at 10.45am and took about 50 minutes. We were given a bottle of Momma drinking water, a packet of chocolate chip and raisin cookies, a piece of bread, and a choice of orange or apple juice. It was nice to have some refreshments during the short flight.

We landed at Mulu Airport around 11.35am. The arrival hall was quite small, and immigration was a little slow as there was only one counter in operation. The ladies' toilet had just one cubicle, so a queue can form pretty quickly. The baggage claim area was not very big either, and it took some time for our luggage to arrive. You can either clear immigration first and then collect your luggage or collect your luggage first and queue for immigration afterwards.

Mulu Marriott Resort & Spa had arranged a pick-up for us, and the transfer was by a modified pickup truck. I waited for my partner to clear immigration as he had gone to the toilet earlier, and by around 12pm, we were ready to leave. However, we had to wait for the second trip to the resort as one of the resort’s pickup trucks had broken down. When the second pickup arrived, the staff helped us load our luggage underneath the seats. There was not much legroom, so the ride felt a little cramped. Luckily, the resort is only about a 5-minute drive from the airport.

Upon arrival, there was a table with cold towels and welcome drinks for guests to take. I tried the welcome drink, but it was not really to my taste as it had a strong lemongrass-like flavour. The resort lobby felt quite warm when we arrived, and there did not seem to be a proper queue or check-in system. A few staff members were attending to a group of guests, so we had to wait until they were done before it was our turn.

There was no lunch or dinner included on our first day. However, since we had booked through the Visit Malaysia promotion, we were entitled to a 25% discount on dine-in food at M Cafe. Our package included breakfast and dinner from the second day onwards, so we had the rest of the afternoon to settle in and explore the resort at our own pace.

During check-in, we were also upgraded to a suite, which was one of the benefits of my partner being a Marriott Bonvoy Platinum member. The staff showed us to our room, although we had to bring and drag our own luggage along the way. Fortunately, the room was quite close to the reception area, so it wasn’t a long walk. By this point, I was starting to feel a little tired and had a mild migraine.

Crispy chicken muffin - RM 9.10 and scrambled egg wrap with hash brown, sausages and iced milo (small) - RM 13.50

Crispy chicken muffin and scrambled egg wrap with hash brown and sausages

Departure gate to Mulu

Air Borneo 3252 ATR 72-500

Drinking water, chocolate chip & raisin cookies, bread and apple juice

Mulu Airport

Immigration check

Baggage claim area

Arrival hall

Mulu Airport arrival hall

Mulu Marriott Resort & Spa pick-up truck

My legroom inside the pick-up truck

Welcome drink and cold towel

Resort reception

After putting our luggage in the room, we walked over to M Cafe for lunch. The restaurant is open from 7am to 11pm, with breakfast served from 7am to 11am, lunch from 12pm to 2.30pm, and dinner from 6pm to 10pm. I ordered the spaghetti bolognese, while my partner had the Mulu nasi goreng, which came with fiery sambal, wild fern, prawns and a fried chicken wing. The food portions were quite small, but we were glad that they also served complimentary cold water and bread with butter. The bread was soft and fluffy, which we both enjoyed.

My partner’s nasi goreng was on the spicy side, but he still enjoyed it. As for me, I usually prefer carbonara, but there wasn’t any on the menu. The pasta choices were bolognese, aglio e olio, and tomato & basil, so I decided to go with the spaghetti bolognese. I requested for the spaghetti to be cooked a little longer as I prefer it that way, and thankfully, the texture turned out just right for me. The sauce was also quite flavourful, so I was happy with my choice.

While we were having our meal, we noticed a fly inside the restaurant, which was not very pleasant. Halfway through our lunch, my partner’s friend, Vincent, also came by with his friend, Brad. They had travelled from KL and arrived at around 1.40pm before coming over to meet us at M Cafe. Vincent is naturally very bubbly and talkative. Once he started talking, he just kept going and always seemed to have something else to share. Brad, on the other hand, is much quieter and more laid-back. He tends to listen more than he talks, so the two of them have very different personalities. It was quite funny seeing the contrast between them, with Vincent doing most of the talking while Brad mostly listened.

With the conversation going on and lunch coming to an end, I was also glad that my migraine had eased quite a bit. I was feeling much better and could finally relax and enjoy the rest of the afternoon.

M Cafe

Restaurant ambience

Complimentary bread and butter

Mulu nasi goreng comes with fiery sambal, wild fern, prawn and fried chicken wing - RM 54

Spaghetti bolognese - RM 60

After lunch, it started raining, so we decided to check out the gym and spa. My partner’s room card had some trouble accessing the gym, but mine worked fine. The gym was empty when we went in, but unfortunately, the air conditioning wasn’t working, so it felt quite warm inside. When we walked back to our room, we found that our room card wasn’t working either. My partner had to go back to reception to have the card reactivated. The staff told us that we shouldn’t keep the room card next to our phones as this could affect the card.

Mulu Marriott Resort & Spa

We took a rest before heading out for dinner later in the evening. There wasn't much choice when it came to food within walking distance of the resort, so we decided to have dinner at Stella Mulu Cafe, which was just across the wooden bridge from the resort. It was an easy walk, and we didn't have to travel far to get there. The road outside was also very quiet, with hardly any traffic or people around. There was a small minimart nearby as well, which was useful if we needed to pick up any drinks or snacks.

The small wooden cafe opened at 6pm, and there was only one lady running the place and doing all the cooking. Once the food was ready, we had to collect it ourselves. There were also quite a lot of insects flying around and gathering near the light bulbs, which was a little uncomfortable while we were having our meal. We ordered fried kueh teow dry, fried rice with egg, fried bee hoon, omelette, paku (wild fern), and daun ubi tutuk (pounded tapioca leaves), along with a bottle of drinking water, Coke and 100 Plus. The fried kueh teow had a thick and chewy texture, which we enjoyed. Overall, we found most of the dishes to be quite salty. After trying the first few dishes, Vincent asked the lady to reduce the salt in the vegetables, but the taste was still quite salty when served.

After our meal, while my partner was paying the bill, Vincent gave some feedback to the lady. He told her that the fried kueh teow and fried chicken wings were good, but the other dishes were too salty. She seemed quite defensive and didn’t look very happy with the feedback. She responded that customers sometimes even needed to add soy sauce and commented that Vincent was the only one who had said the food was salty. I guess everyone has different tastes, but the fried chicken wings were the only dish that wasn't too salty. They were crispy but lacked seasoning, while the other dishes were a little too salty for our liking.

(Total bill - RM 120)

We walked back to the resort after dinner and stopped by the souvenir shop to have a look around before heading back to our room. By then, it was already getting late, and we were ready to call it a day. When we got back to the room, we noticed that housekeeping had already come by and serviced the room. The rubbish had been cleared, the sofa was tidied and the bed was made. Four bottles of drinking water were also left on the table, which was a nice touch as we had already finished some of the water earlier in the day.

Then we realised that the fridge was not cold. Just as we were about to call reception, the resort called us to confirm our picnic lunch for the next day, as we would be heading out for the Wind Cave and Clearwater Cave exploration. We were given five options:

1. Fried rice - served with chicken wings, boiled egg, stir-fried local vegetables and sambal

2. Fried mee - served with chicken wings, boiled egg, stir-fried local vegetables and sambal

3. Classic tuna wrap - tuna filling wrapped in a tortilla, served with a mini salad

4. Vegetarian delight wrap - assorted vegetables wrapped in a tortilla, served with a mini salad

5. Pasta pomodoro - spaghetti with tomato and basil sauce, served with mixed salad

All the options came with fresh fruit and a slice of cake.

We decided to go with the wrap as it would be easier to eat while we were out exploring the caves. At the same time, we mentioned that the fridge in our room was not cold and asked if someone could come and check it. Initially, the staff asked if it would be okay to have it fixed the next day, but I asked whether there was someone from the maintenance team available that evening. She said there was, so we decided to have it checked straight away rather than wait until the next day.

Not long after that, a maintenance staff member came up to our room with a replacement fridge. He removed the faulty fridge and replaced it with the new one. We were glad that they were able to sort it out that evening, especially since we had already planned to keep some drinks and other items in the fridge.

We decided to call it an early night as we had to wake up early the next morning for our cave exploration, which was scheduled to start at 8.30am. The resort was very quiet at night, with hardly any noise around, so it was a nice and peaceful way to end our first day in Mulu.