WW—You're Driving Me Batty!
One of my favorite trips ever was to Thailand. T-Daddy and I went out on the China Sea about 3 hours from the shore of Phuket on a sea canoeing excursion. Two people and a guide went in each inflatable canoe. Timed just right for low tide, we left the boat, got into our canoes, and headed into a cave.
The entrance was barely visible the water was so near the cave's top. To make it through such a tight squeeze, the guide had to let some air out of the canoe and we had to lay flat to avoid scraping the skin off of our noses on the rocks. It was amazingly frightening. Once inside, the cave opened up into a great expanse, but we stayed flat on our backs so we could look up on the ceiling to see the cave's inhabitants—bats! We also had to keep our mouths shut in case they should poop and it should hit the... well, not the fan, if you know what I mean! And, the only way we could see the sleepy little guys was by shining a large flashlight in their direction.
While the Thailand's landscape, food, massages, sites, and elephant ride are all worth mentioning, nothing was more unique or unforgettable than this experience—seeing snoozing little bats.
Want to teach your kids about bats without the gory details. Visit Kids Off the Couch for a terrific idea that incorporates books, movies, and activities for hands-on and exciting learning.
Check out more travel-related posts at Mommy Gossip—GNO and picture posts at Wordful Wednesday.
Posts
October 22, 2008 at 12:52 AM
Wow! I spent 3/4 of the post trying to figure out what the picture was of. :) Very cool experience!
October 22, 2008 at 12:59 AM
Awesome! I'm so glad you shared the Thailand bat story (and picture). And I'm glad no bat guano landed in your mouth! Ewwwwww.
October 22, 2008 at 1:10 AM
Oh. My. Stars.
Did anyone run screaming? With their mouth closed? And their head down low?
Those have got to be some of the ugliest creatures ever!!
October 22, 2008 at 2:22 AM
It took me a while to figure out what the picture was of! haha! That's so cool! Creepy, but cool!
October 22, 2008 at 3:17 AM
Wow. Just plain wow. The photo is totally amazing.......your experience sounds surreal. I think I would have freaked out about going in the opening of the cave and about the thought of a million bats above me.....that they would probably poop on my face would have sent me over the edge. he he. I'm so glad you shared your experience!
October 22, 2008 at 5:45 AM
that is a very fitting picture for this time of year. love the bats. i am terrified of them though, i would not have made it through that tour... thanks for sharing your bat story. and that is too cool that you got to go to Thailand...
October 22, 2008 at 6:26 AM
ok...i am hyperventilating just reading about how close you were in the cave. yikes. def not my thing to do...glad it's urs. a little too creepy and ickyy and batty for me though. i'm a weiny.
October 22, 2008 at 6:43 AM
Wow! Truly amazing! A magical WW to you!
October 22, 2008 at 7:00 AM
ok, gross. i would have been terrified the entire dang time! especially the whole "out at sea" part. i would love more details about your whole trip.
reminds me of my little "out at sea" excursion in a kayak IN THE DARK off the coast of puerto rico. luckily i was too busy fighting with my kayak-mate (my wonderful son) to realize how insane the whole thing was. we did see some amazing and rare bioluminescent plankton that made the whole bay glow, so i suppose it was worth it.
sorry i missed GNO. exhausting day, so this east coast girl went to bed early.
October 22, 2008 at 7:21 AM
I would have seriously jumped so HIGH OUT of that canoe if poop landed on me. Mouth closed or not. Ew.
October 22, 2008 at 7:27 AM
WOW, what a great picture and vacation story!
When I was growing up we lived near a bat cave and would sit outside to watch them fly over at dusk.
October 22, 2008 at 8:06 AM
wow, I almost wasn't going to read this b/c I'm terrified of bats. I read through that part quite fast and was glad to see a massage at the end. Sounds like a great trip!
October 22, 2008 at 8:25 AM
Wow! No that is a unique trip. I would be terrified to get in those canoes and do that. But I am a chicken. Glad you did it and posted the picture so I could see it...from a distance!
October 22, 2008 at 8:39 AM
Wow. What a great experience. You are such the world traveler! What an appropriate post following the success of our travel GNO!
October 22, 2008 at 9:11 AM
Wow very cool picture!!
October 22, 2008 at 9:36 AM
The picture is disturbing, but VERY cool! Maybe one day I'll get to Thailand! I can always hope!
October 22, 2008 at 10:01 AM
Wow! Now that's a great pic. So unusual. Sounds like a great trip!
GNO was a hoot... lots of fun. Looking forward to seeing you there again soon.
:) Robin
October 22, 2008 at 11:14 AM
Wow, what an experience. I think I'll live vicariously through you!
October 22, 2008 at 3:22 PM
Okay I love to travel but have never been to Thailand!!! How great! Bats freak me out, but I would love to have seen that cave!
Okay let's be friends...I love your blog!!! :)
October 22, 2008 at 6:33 PM
Wow, that is so cool! I have a thing for bats. :-) I find them cute!
October 22, 2008 at 6:38 PM
Creeeeeeepy, but cool!
October 22, 2008 at 7:56 PM
Wow -- I'll have to let my husband know about this; he lived in Thailand for nearly a year before we met.
I'm sorry I missed GNO -- I popped in for a quick hello, but I had to leave thanks to an AWFUL headache!
October 22, 2008 at 10:15 PM
Hmmmm....the trip sounds great, the bats....not so much! I would've been the one paddling as fast as I could back OUT!
October 22, 2008 at 10:31 PM
I love that picture! It took me forever to figure out what it was.
We live near the Univ. of Florida and there's a huge bat house there. We sometimes go at sunset and watch them wake up and fly away. It's really cool but the smell is awful! We also have bats in our neighborhood, AND I once found a bat hanging on my window screen! Fortunately I like bats.
October 22, 2008 at 11:00 PM
I love the post and the picture! How fun to travel and see such cool things! Thanks for sharing the experience! And I love the Kids Off the Couch site!
October 22, 2008 at 11:12 PM
Jyl!
Thanks for visiting my site! I love your blog and I love this post! I am posting my travel post tomorrow.
Best!
October 23, 2008 at 8:39 AM
my family are HUGE cave fanatics-on vacations we will go out of our way to visit them...they are so amazing
October 26, 2008 at 6:25 PM
*shiver* I woke up with a bat under my blanket with me once...long long story short...I ended up having to get the rabies series of shots because the bat tested positive. EEK.