Living In A Longhouse

Those who know about Mulu knows there is a Royal Mulu Resort that people can stay in while exploring the area. However, I was not in favour of staying in the resort because it is expensive, and besides, during this time, it is undergoing renovation to be rebranded to Marriott (again!), so many of the facilities are not available.

Hence when I checked out that there is accommodation in the Mulu National Park itself, I booked it immediately. There is a variety of accommodation, from a hostel (shared dormitory-style rooms), to longhouse rooms to bungalows. When I checked out the prices, I thought of just getting a bed in the hostel, as that cost RM40.00 per night per person. However, that is a shared hostel, which means everything else is shared - locker, bathroom, with men and women sleeping in the same room (on different beds of course).

Being a solo female traveller, I am never comfortable with a mixed dorm. Maybe one can view me as spoilt, but I rather have a private room with attached bathroom instead of waiting my turn and squeezing with others. I do not need to live in a posh hotel, any guesthouse, bed and breakfast or hostels will do, but it would have to be an ensuite room.

So when I found out that the longhouse room cost RM170.00 per person per night, and that comes with attached shower, fan and air-conditioning, complete with breakfast every morning, and including all taxes and service charges, I decided to book that after considering that it is not so bad upon conversion.

And I was not disappointed! The room is one of four in a longhouse style chalet, with a common lounge area. The room has two beds that can sleep up to three people, coat rack with hangers, lights, fan, airconditioning, attached bathroom, towels, soap, dressing table with coffee, tea, glasses and a flask that can be used to boil water, and a little rack to put our luggage. Not to mention the daily housekeeping services. In fact, it is just like a hotel! So I feel RM170.00 per person per night is really worth it!

What I do not like though, is that at the entrance of the Mulu National Park, the platform is elevated, making it cumbersome for trolley bags to go through. Of course if you only have a backpack, it is much easier, but for someone with a trolley bag, it takes a long while and some effort to bring the whole luggage into the park.

Having said that, it is pretty cosy accommodation in the middle of a jungle, surrounded by nature and greenery. If I ever go back to Mulu, I will sure book the longhouse rooms again, or one of the bungalows if I am coming with a few other people!

 Entrance to the Longhouse (my room was the second one from the left)

 Close up of my room, with the windows on both sides

 Common corridor lounge

 Interior of the longhouse room, kind of reminds me of the room I was in in Bintan many years back

 The bathroom, consisting of two shower cubicles, one toilet cubicle and two sinks

 Window overlooking the outside

 Bedside reading lamp

Lamp at the dresser