A smelly start to the day as we visited Gomantong Cave - located in the heart of the Gomantong Rainforest Reserve. Going into Gomantong Cave is not for the faint-hearted- the caves are full of bats, swiflets (that form the nests), cockroaches and all manner of creepy crawlies. You are advised not to touch any of the walkway banisters as they are literally crawling with cockroaches!! In addition to this the cave reeks of a strong 'ammonia like' smell due to the loads of guano (which is collected for fertiliser). Needless to say I am grateful to have been an RN for 40+ years so my sense of smell is non-existent. My fellow travellers were not so fortunate

The caves have been claimed by the World Wildlife Foundation to be the best managed edible birds' nest cave in the world. The collection of birds' nests and the value of the produce have been recognized since the 13th century. Before the licensing system was practiced, the harvesting of birds' nests in the caves was managed by families on a rotational basis and the rights to harvest the nests were inherited and passed down to the next generation and so on. Harvesting the nests is dangerous work as the harvesters have to climb about 90 metres on this long narrow contraption - no OHS here!! The white nests are worth about 8000 - 10000 ringgit/kg and the black nests are worth about 3000 - 5000 ringgit/kg. The birds' nests are so valuable and precious that even during the non-harvesting seasons; guards are posted at the caves to prevent any poaching from taking place. Most are exported to China......who knew this is where 'bird nest soup' started?!?!? According to traditional Chinese beliefs, the bird's nests have many health benefits, such as speeding up recovery, and also beauty benefits like keeping people looking youthful. Not sure I will ever be eating this again.....