{"id":96,"date":"2023-05-23T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-05-23T02:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mysabah.com\/wordpress\/?p=96"},"modified":"2024-03-19T21:28:42","modified_gmt":"2024-03-19T13:28:42","slug":"pungiton-cave","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mysabah.com\/wordpress\/pungiton-cave\/","title":{"rendered":"Pungiton Cave, a gift from fairy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Why I have poop on my bed if I’m in a dream of taking a dump, but wake up empty-handed when I dream about treasure? I’m so envy of Aki Korom, who was really getting something priceless, as promised in his dream. This is a true story happened in Sapulut, a district in the interior of Sabah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Discovery of Pungiton Cave<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

More than 50 years ago, the young Aki Korom was sleeping near the river with a few friends. In his dream, a tall man approached him and said, “come, let me show you something interesting.” Aki Korom followed him and they reached a large cave. The fairy said, “if you can find this cave, it’s yours to own.” He added, “however, there is a dragon guardian looks after this cave. You must not cause a ripple in the river when you go to the cave, or you will awaken the lurking dragon.” Aki Korom waked up and felt the dream was so real. His friends didn’t have the same dream though.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Boat<\/a>
Boat transfer to Pungiton Camp from Labang Village in Sapulut<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Aki Korom believed in what he dreamed and decided to locate the hidden cave. He went with a boat. A big log in the river was blocking his way. He remembered what the tall man taught, so he dragged the boat to move pass it quietly, without disturbing the dragon in the water. After some search in the forest, he found the limestone cave, which is the Pungiton Cave today. The cave was abundant with edible bird nests and big mushroom!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Pungiton<\/a>
Pungiton Cave is named after bats, which are abundant inside the cave. But no Batman in this batcave.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Pungiton means bat in Murut language<\/strong> because this cave has a lot of bats. Pungiton Cave is still a secretive cave even after half a century of its discovery. Though its location is no longer a secret, nobody is able to reach the end of this cave, according to some villagers who have spent two or three days exploring deep in the cave before. Some say Pungiton Cave may link to another cave system on the opposite side of the hill. Instead of two days, I spent only 2 hours to explore Pungiton Cave but already impressed by its rich variety of cave features.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Caves<\/a>
Pungiton Cave is like an isolated temple frozen in time. Cave always appears in adventure and horror stories. More than half of the windfall treasures in movies are found in a cave.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Aki Korom had a big heart. He was willing to share the cave with other villagers. He also turned down an offer by a mining company that wanted to quarry the limestone. I guess that’s why the fairy chose him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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