Khao Yai

Monday 26 March: Today's a half-day trip organised by the guesthouse. First our sharp-eyed guide spots a long red-snouted green Cicada in a tree then a long brown millipede and an Oriental Whip Snake by the roadside - this is great. We stop at a swimming hole to see Stick Insects hidden in the foliage then continue to a sacred bat cave alive with creatures of the night - woolly centipedes and hordes of Wrinkle-lipped Bats lurking in the depths. But the highlight of the day is out in the sunshine just before dusk when an estimated two-million bats swarm out of their mountain lair into the wind and towards the scent of insects. This truly astonishing phenomena lasts about an hour but we are not the only spectators - hungry raptors attack the swarm swooping in for an easy meal. What a spectacular day but it's not quite over - in the blackness of night the planets Venus and Jupiter line up with a crescent moon.
Tuesday 27: Today's a long day-trip into Khao Yai National Park - fuzzy Gibbons, Muntjack deer, elusive Great Hornbills and a glossy black Scorpion ready to strike.
Greenleaf Guesthouse (200Bt), Tanarat Road (7.5km marker), Pak Chong, basic but spacious good value en-suite.

Photos in and around Khao Yai National Park plus a 'Bats out of Hell' video.