Khao Yai National Park — Athena Rhodes

“Who here is a Harry Potter fan”?, asked our guide. My hand immediately shot upward, almost as if a knee jerk reaction. I was a true Potter-head, there was no denying that.

The guide’s face spilt into a grin. He asked me to come crouch down next to him on the cold cave floor. Like a snake he struck, quickly grabbing my hand and depositing a very large, very interesting looking creature. A tailless whip scorpion. For anyone who has watched the Goblet of Fire, this is the creature Mad Eye Moody performed the unforgivable curses on.

Perhaps a little bit of context is needed. Why exactly was I in a cave?

I was on a tour run by Greenleaf Guesthouse and Tours, based in Khao Yai Thailand. I was also in a cave. A cave hundreds of thousands of bats called home sweet cave.

The first thing you notice when you entered the cool air of the cave was the smell. It was an odd smell. Something you couldn’t quite place. It turned out, it was the smell of bat poop, or Guano. The next thing you noticed was the noise. Click click click, sounding from overhead. When you look up, aiming your flashlight, you come face to face with an upside down bat. This was the bat cave in Khao Yai.

I later learned that this wasn’t the cave with the most bats, it only had a few hundred thousand (I use the term only lightly in this context. Because of course, that is still a hella of bats). The cave with a lot more bats was a little way down the road. That cave had millions upon millions of bats, but we were not allowed in due to the locals collecting the guano and selling it for a neat profit. Having tourists stamping all over it wouldn’t really add to the selling value.

It is a strange sensation being in the dark with thousands of bats, breathing in the stale air and hearing them flap overhead. Especially when you turn off your torch. It is rather eerie.

There were a few different bats in the cave as well, horseshoe bats are apparently the loners of the bat world. Preferring to hang out in a separate cave away from the masses. So, basically myself in bat form. There were also tiny bats, known as mouse tailed bats.

The tour ended with us laying in a field, while the sun set munching on fruit and watching the bats stream out into the sky. It was like watching a river but in the sky. A sky river of bats.

After a much needed sleep at the Greenleaf Guesthouse, we were off to the Khao Yai National Park for a day of adventure. Our guide, was armed with a scope and a whole ton of enthusiasm for birds and wildlife.

The first stop of the day involved donning our leech socks. This was mostly to keep the ticks at bay.

As we winded our way up into the National Park, things got greener and more serene. A huge leap from the busy metropolis of Bangkok that I had left a few days prior.

With every stop of our car, Gun, our guide, would jump out excitedly, her scope in her arm exclaiming about a new animal to see. On our first stop, she had spotted Great Hornbills, a bird with a giant beak and a huge wingspan. Peering down the scope, Gun almost sounded like the soundtrack of a porn movie with many ohh babys being thrown towards those hornbills. Her enthusiasm was palpable.

And it did not dissipate during the day. As we tramped and trekked through the forest, she showed us Lar gibbons and pleated gibbons, lizards, pit nosed green vipers, and even more hornbills. The air was heavy, and the sweat dripped down my face; my vision blurred as we tramped on foot through the lush Thailand forest. The heat and the sweat were worth it. Just to be able to encounter such wildlife not behind bars or in books.

A brief forest picnic marked lunch complete with an unexpected nature encounter. Gun informed us she had something in her pocket. iI was not a fun surprise for most, as out she pulled a scorpion. A big one at that. He or she did not look too happy about his circumstances and those pinchers looked quite large, so I was happy to observe from afar. Though one brave man, put our his hand to hold said scorpion. For that photo op I presume.

In the afternoon of our tour, the car stopped and an excited whisper of elephant was exclaimed. And sure enough, an elephant there was partly hidden by the trees as he had a dust bath. A bull elephant. Later he slowly emerged from the green and meandered down the road, seemingly without a care in the world, while I was awe struck. I had only ever seen elephants behind concrete barricades in zoos, here he was truly wild. It was a life changing experience for me.

The day ended with a cold drink to chase away the sweat and a car alight with grinning faces.

Facts:

Who: Greenleaf Guesthouse and Tours

What: A company that runs tours into Khao Yai National Park as well as having a guesthouse. The rooms are clean and comfortable, and come with a fan. There is no hot water but you will not need a hot shower because it is hot and humid out there. The tours are either half day or full day, the half day tour involves bats and the full day tour involves going Khao Yai National Park.

Where: Khao Yai. Catch the train from Bangkok to Khao Yai, or a shuttle. The people at Greenleaf will pick you up from the train station if you inform them as well as drop you off when you want to go home.