Exploring the limestone cave

Limestone caves typically have magnificent formations of stalagmites and stalactites. If you are never sure whether it is stalagmites or stalactites which grow upwards, my geography teacher at school liked to joke that the way to remember which-is-which is to think of "Tights coming down". It was a pathetic joke but I have never forgotten it. To enjoy caving in Malaysia you need to be comfortable with the types of creepy-crawlies that you might find living in them. Plants cannot grow deep inside caves where it is pitch-black. Instead, it is the millions of bats inhabiting Malaysia's caves which support the cave eco-systems. Bats emerge from the caves every evening to feed and when they return they deposit their droppings (guano) - huge piles of it - on the cave floors. The guano mounds form the basis of the caves' food chain which includes worms, beetles, spiders, cockroaches, centipedes, scorpions and snakes. #MYCOUNTRY #mycountry