Deer Cave, Gunung Mulu National Park

Next is the Deer Cave after my exploration in the Lang Cave which is sitting just next to this cave. Even there are side by side but their cave structure is totally different.
The entrance of the Deer Cave is wider, bigger and taller than Lang Cave
It is called Deer Cave is obviously because there were a lot of deer coming in and out this cave. After men exploration into this cave, the deer has switch their habitat to another place.
The ceiling is really high and there are lack of artificial light in this cave. Everything is fully depending on the sunlight. 
It is another feeling to have bright sunlight shining through the entrance of the cave. By the way, as you can see on the right side of the pillar, they said you can see the side face of the 16th president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. The angle must be really right and you got to have the imagination for it to see it clearly.
This cave is bigger and will takes you about 15 minutes walk around the cave excluding photo shooting time.
Apart of the structure, this cave smells really bad because of the guano, bats' faeces. There are millions of bats living in this cave. If you are "lucky" enough, you might get bats dropping from above. Not just smell but you can hear the bats' sound as well in this cave.
If you cannot stand with the smell, do bring your mask before entering this cave. 
The lights are insufficient and flashlight is almost useless because unable to shine this big cave. So if you would like to take photos in this cave, you have to set your aperture the highest the lens can. For example, F1.8 for my lens. ISO will be set to really high but be prepared for the grainy effect which also known as noise. ISO 6400 is my maximum grainy effect that I can accept for my photo. Next, is to reduce the speed as slow as possible so that more light will absorb into your lens. Usually I use between 1/5 - 1/10. Lastly, you need a good pair of hands and legs to avoid shaking the camera. 
With the above, you almost ready to get a good picture like this. If you notice well, this picture is shaky. I do admit I am not good at keeping myself steady.
You might need a high speed continuous shot so that you able to get at least one picture that is less shaky.
There are insects everywhere in this cave. So please do not jump when you see crocroaches running around the walkway.   
A type of catfish is found in the stream inside the cave.
Sorry because not many good picture that I able to capture in this cave because of the limited source of light. 
Ok, as I have mentioned in my previous post before, that you will be seeing bats flying out from the cave at 5.45pm - 6.00pm for the food. Here is their assembly area. Once every bats has reported in, they will fly out in a line. If you are lucky enough again, you will see the bats will assembling around in a love shape.
Here they are coming out from the caves. Their timing is really sharp.
They are flying out in a group so you wont see a continuous line like this for the whole session. They fly out as if they are all belong to the same family and another family will fly out after the previous one has finished.
It is amazing to see the bats flying out like a shape of a dragon.
This session will continue more than an hour. Imagine millions of adult bats grouping at the entrance before flying out from the cave. This process just take a lot of time. Well, it is pleasuring for us to watch it. Below is the video for this but please pardon me because that day I did not bring any telephoto lens so no close up on the bats.



Overall, Deer Cave got nothing much excitement compare to Lang Cave but the only spectacular thing is watching millions of bats flying out from this cave. Truly amazing!
Things to bring:
1) A non-slip pair of shoes or a strap sandal
2) A bright torchlight with extra batteries just in case you running out of battery in the cave.
3) Wear shorts so that you can walk comfortably.

Total Damage: RM25/pax for 2 caves trip.
Ambiance: 1/5
Freakout Level: 2/5
Recommended?: Yes

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