Getting there requires a trip in a small propellor plane. It seemed very Indiana Jones landing on the small strip at the park headquarters. All we needed was Short-Stop to come up and drive a car with blocks on his feet.
We stayed at a family owned guest house. That evening they invited us to their local Christmas feast at the house. All of the locals came, the head man said a speech, and then we had to bow our heads while prayer was said. Bats would fly in through the open doors, circle to eat bugs, and then quickly fly out again. No one even blinked; a nightly occurance.
But the best was the food. A huge spread of chicken, fish, noodles, vegetables and cakes. We loved it. At the end of the feast we thanked the head man and his lovely wife and later gave them some small gifts to say thanks. They were so lovely.
The park is filled with huge butterflies of all colours. At night fireflies light up the surrounds like fairy lights while frogs call to each other with 'Wat' sounds.
We went with a guide to the caves in the park. The biggest cave chamber in the world apparently. They weren't joking. It was big. It looked like it could fit a twenty story building inside of it. It stank of guano and the droppings formed huge piles under the larger bat colonies on the ceilings. About three million bats lived in the one cave. Stalactites and 'mites hung and squatted everywhere.
Outside of the caves we waited for the sun to go down outside of the caves and then watched as millions of bats flew out to feed. They would form huge ribbons and circling doughnuts of bats in the sky. It was wonderful to be there to see it.
Our accommodation included a tap for a shower. At one point it rained so much the river burst its banks and the water got into our tanks meaning we had to wash in mud. Heh. We would crush the bugs and cockroaches each night before bed. This place was great!
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