Today we headed out of Bangkok for the first time. After a stop/start journey through the suburbs we got out into the countryside, and, well, WOW! This is the Thailand we'd really wanted to see! Rolling green fields, cloud topped mountains and small farms for miles and miles.
We got off at Pak Chong, and jumped into the back of an old pickup truck taking us out to our accommodation for the next couple of nights.
After a quick re-fuel it was back into the truck and out for the evening.
First stop off at a natural spring, made blue by the limestone waters. Here we held a millipede and saw a little snake.
Next off to a Buddhist temple which also has a cave full of bats. Our guide was brilliant, really informative and helped identify all the different species in the cave. Turning all the lights off and cupping our ears to hear the squeak of the bats was a surreal but magical experience.
Next onto our final destination, waiting under a much larger cave for 2 million bats to head out for the night. We stopped off a couple of times on route, the most interesting being a pineapple field (turns out they don't grow on trees).
When the sun set and the bats appeared, it was awe-inspiring. What got me most was the sound - the whoosh of the wings above us. It must have taken around 15 minutes for all of the bats to clear out, flying in massive groups like the murmurations of starlings we see in the UK.
A couple of treats on the way back, a full blood moon rising over the hills, and then a stop off to negotiate prices for mangoes to eat when we got home!
This country boy and girl feel like we've found a home-from-home!
Read more here: https://thesabbaticalguide.com/greenleaf-guesthouse-half-day-tour/
