Pakchong and Nang Rung

After a long overnight journey, we arrived in Pakchong to visit Thailand's premier nature reserve, Khao Yai. Though in the cool season, we would avoid the blazing heat and the torrential rain, we would miss a lot of the lushness and wildlife that the rains bring. Oh well, it meant we avoided the mosquitos and leeches! We went to a Buddhist temple where there was a cave of bats and after we exited, we were fortunate enough to get to watch the entire caves population make their daily exit for food, quite a sight!

From here, we moved on to Nang Rung, farther east of both Bangkok and Pakchong, almost to the Cambodian border. Here we would find many old temples and wats, from a time when Hinduism was a major religion within Thailand. Oh and its 37 degrees here.... cool season??

                                               bathing in the spring

                                     spring meets the river from the mountain

                                     load of bats in the buddha cave

 Bats coming out of the bat cave, it takes about two hours for all the bats to come out

 the night market in pakchong, we failed to find anything nice to eat with no animals in it

                                         the view of the national park

                                                   taxidermy - fail

                                                         Gibbons

                                                     Jungle boobie

                                            Sunbear marking his territory

                                       Tommy, our guide and rambo of thailand

                             waterfall from the movie "The Beach" apparantly

 Thai people putting sticks to support the rocks- something about their future being supported

                                            Wild elephants of the park

                                      Phanom Rung Historical temple

                              Gnarly temple art- check out the eye snatching eagle

                                         Prasat Meuang Tam temple

                                       T-1000 from terminator 2 obviously

                       Don't know what that powder does,but it looks promising

                                   Soda the cool little  dog from Wildlife Safari

                                                ....what a wonderfull phrase

Videoes of elephants and bats will come another day its late here and the owners of the hotal want us to go to bed now ...