They should perhaps be called Gomapong caves instead of Gomatong. Disgusting and awesome at the same time, the Gomatong caves in Borneo are home to tens of thousands of swiflets and bats. They're beautiful limestone structures without doubt, and awesome to see the flocks of bats coming out at dusk through the holes in the caves and the roof vents, but being inside was stomach-turning stuff. The floors are thick with s-h-i-t-e and cockroaches, and the stench is awful. It wasn't harvest time when we were there, but they do harvest bird nests for bird nest soup for the Chinese market which the swiftlets make with their saliva — um, yummy (urrrgh!!!). Spotted a pair of red langurs while we were waiting for the bats which were much more appealing!
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| Best hold your nose — they didn't imagine it could be this disgusting. |
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| Tonnes of bat s-h-i-t-e at the back of the caves. |
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| Awaiting the bats (Wrinkled-mouth bats), which are picked off by raptors as they exit the caves in vast numbers. |
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| Ropes for harvesting the birds' nests. |
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