Bat cave in Ratchaburi

For a change this time a site which was also among the official Unseen Thailand campaign - the bats in Ratchaburi. The most famous place to see them is the Tham Khang Khao (ถ้ำค้างคาว) simply meaning bat cave, located about 20 km north of the town Ratchaburi. Every evening at around sunset the bats stream out of the cave where they have spent the day, and fly to collect their food. And the impressive thing is that they fly in one stream which looks like a column of smoke emerging from the hill.

When we went there we arrived quite early, so had some time to kill before the spectacle started. Right at the parking lot was a market, but that only really started later on when more visitors arrived. At the base of the hill is a temple named Wat Khao Chong Phran (วัดเขาช่องพราน), though it is not really an impressive one. The only thing really special is a Buddha statue within the cave, not because of the statue but because of the bats flying around there. But even more impressive is the floor there - covered with the excrements of the bats and with millions of cockroaches running around. Walking inside is really nothing for people with a weak stomach or scared of these big critters, but actually I haven't stepped on any nor has any walked on my feet.

Much more enjoyable (but of course a bit tiring) is walking up on the hill, passing some monkeys much less naughty than those in Lopburi but still not really scared by humans. From the viewing platform on top one has a nice view over the scenery.