Our friend Louis’ voice whispered a new lesser heard location in our head. Kampung Meritam’s Mud volcanoes was what he said and even though it was our last weekend with barely enough time (and energy!) the idea stuck! We found ourselves heading across the Malaysian border again.
In retrospect, I wish I had known about this place sooner because it was so much fun! I would have done it again and again and again! This realization however came after the initial inertia to drive over 130 kilometers just to reach the site.
Getting To Kampung Meritam’s Mud Volcanoes
Kampung Meritam’s mud volcanoes are located in Sarawak Malaysia and if you live in Brunei like we did, it means that you need to cross the border. Now this does not mean the same border between Brunei and Malaysia that you cross on the way to Miri. This is the border which is closer to Bandar.
In fact, the mud volcanoes are around 37 kilometres away from the Malaysian city called Limbang which lies closer to the Temburong district of Brunei. Luckily the mud volcanoes themselves are closer the border so you don’t have to go that far.
Driving from Kuala Belait and Seria takes you around 2 hours to reach there. Crossing the border here is very similar to the Miri border except that there is far less traffic or at least there was less traffic when we crossed.
Best Time To Visit Kampung Meritam’s Mud Volcanoes
We reached Kampung Meritam’s Mud Volcanoes at noon which was super hot. I would advice trying to reach either earlier or later because the ground heats up and there isn’t much shade if you want to have fun. It didn’t stop us but still.
What To Do If The Gate Is Locked
The phone number at Kampung Meritam´s Mud Volcanoes.
When we reached Kampung Meritam’s Mud Volcanoes we were faced with a dilemma. The gate was locked and we thought that we had reached the wrong destination. We walked a bit on a nearby lane in the heat before turning back when one of the locals helped us call the number that was listed on the gate.
A lady came and opened the gate five minutes later. For almost an hour we were the only two people in the area. The only other people who came was a family and they wandered around and left rather quickly.
What Are Mud Volcanoes?
While we had seen a mud volcano in the Adaman islands of India, it was nothing compared to Kampung Meritam’s mud volcanoes. It made me curious. What are mud volcanoes? Why are they caused? Turns out there are two ways in which mud volcanoes can come into being.
They can either be man made (no kidding!) or they can be naturally occurring. All of them however because of increased pressure in the earth’s crust which results in mud, gases and water spewing out at the surface.
Naturally occurring mud volcanoes occur because of subduction zones. This is when the tectonic plates overlap and one plate slips beneath the other. Man made ones on the other hand are caused because of mining or drilling for gas which results in underground fault lines.
Mud volcanoes look like little hillocks and can be really small or really large. The top of the mud mound spews liquid mud out and you can actually catch a glimpse of the bubbles as they break the surface. The clay like mud dries quickly in the heat and gives it the classic conical shape.
Kampung Meritam’s Mud Volcanoes
One of the mud volcanoes at Kampung Meritam.
Kampung Meritam’s mud volcanoes is one of the few spots in Asia where you catch a view of this geological formation. If you ask me whether it is man made or it is a natural occurring, I would have to say I don’t know as there is no information available in the park.
When we reached, we parked outside the closed gate and there were two small volcanoes that caught our eye. These were outside the park and made a rather curious gurgling or bubbling sound. It was almost as if they were saying welcome.
From the outside we could see a couple of other spots where the volcanoes were spewing mud but to see the actual full complex, one needs to get inside. After checking to see if there was water to rinse off, we headed down a shaded wooden platform from where we could see mud volcanoes of different sizes. There are a few in which you can immerse yourself fully and that’s exactly what Shawn did.
The clay like mud however made him feel as if there was no bottom to the volcanic pit which was unnerving at first. After a few minutes he realized that he started floating. So be careful when you enter. Another noteworthy fact is that the mud is very slippery so watch where you thread once you get out.
Since we arrived at Kampung Meritam’s mud volcanoes in the afternoon, the ground was blistering hot. Our skin felt as if it was on fire but the moment we put a layer of the mud on us, our body cooled down. It was heavenly!
After an hour of frolicking in the mud like buffaloes (Shawn’s description was rather apt!) and our stomachs growled so we headed out for a wash. The mud rinsed off remarkably easily and our skin felt so soft after the mud therapy. I’m not kidding! In fact, the mud even helped all the aches that pregnancy had brought to my calf muscles.
Things To Carry And Note When Visiting
While Kampung Meritam’s Mud Volcanoes is listed as a tourist attraction and there is a complex that is established just for it, I would highly recommend that you don’t expect much. The complex is barely functional in the fact that it doesn’t seem completed. It does have a showers and toilets which makes it great.
One thing that you really should note before heading into the mud volcanoes is to check and see if there is running water in the taps because you really want to have that when you are done. Due to the lack of facilities, there are a couple of things that I highly recommend carrying.
Drinking water and food: We noticed a window which had a sign saying that drinks were sold but the whole place was unmanned so there was nothing. Carry drinking water at the very least because if you spend long in the area, you are bound to get thirsty because of the heat.
A change of clothes: Not everyone gets into the mud in Kampung Meritam’s Mud Volcanoes but if you plan on trying out the experience, make sure that you that you carry a change of clothes. We chose to use our swimwear as it was the easiest to rinse off.
A towel: Carry a towel with you to dry off. We were glad that we had packed one and gone. It came in really handy.
Remove your jewellery! Jewellery like rings can just slip off in the mud volcanoes and be lost forever so make sure you remove them before you get in. Shawn almost lost his wedding ring that way but realized just in time!
At the end, I was glad that we headed out to Kampung Meritam’s mud volcanoes on our last weekend. It turned out to be a gorgeous outing with a lot of silliness and a chance to act like children again. An added bonus was the fact that we had the place all to ourselves!
Have you seen a mud volcano? Tell us about where you did in the comments below.
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