Bat Cave Trek Day 2

Before I went to sleep last night, Lucky asked me to set my alarm. When I asked him what time he said '4:99'. I said ' I don't know what time that is?!. He said '4:99' again but then he finally said '5'. The next morning I woke up at 5am and woke the guys up. We had some coffee and sweet bread and then started hiking. We hiked an easy trail for a short distance and then began to climb up the karst. We climbed up the karst until we reached the gigantic opening of the bat cave. It was after 6 at this point. We were suppose to see the bats coming back into the cave but I think they were already in. We didn't see them come in. We hiked right through the massive cave and up the other side. It was a like a huge hole in the mountain. As we hiked back to the entrance the suns rays were shining in and made some great photos. We stood on a high rocky hill at the entrance to the caves. There were thousands of swiftlets flying around our heads. The sound of their wings cutting the air was loud as they flew by my head.
We walked back to the camp and had breakfast. After that we went on a mostly trailless walk to look for animals but saw nothing. I only saw signs of deer or wild pig in the cave to drink from water coming out of the cave ceiling. We rested till 3 and then went to swim. At the base of the mountain is where the river disappears into a cave. The water wasn't flowing but it was deeper and better for swimming. Again at dusk, I didn't see the bats come out of the cave. The swiftlets flying around the mouth of the cave though. The birds were more impressive than the bats!
The next morning the guys let me sleep in, though I couldn't sleep through their talking and singing and was up at 7am. We had a leisurely morning. I packed up my tent and we started the long walk out at 9. It was really hot and sunny. We reached the huge hill at 12. We climbed that and we back at the blue lagoon. My clothes were already soaked and I didn't feel like swimming. I ate a decent, well, different meal in the village before we left. Most of the food on the trek was sticky rice, spicy sauce, instant noodles, salty grilled fish, sardines, sweet bread and a bit of pork on the first day. The omelette for lunch with veggies was a much welcome change.
The scary bits of road on the way back didn't seem as scary the second time around. Lucky did a good job of driving and I felt more confidence in him. Before I knew it I was back in my room at Mouthang guesthouse. I liked the trek but was a little disappointed in the food and the fact that I hardly saw any bats on the 'bat cave' trek.


The next day I took a bus south for 350km to Pakse. I am here now and will be doing a 2 day trek to Xe Pian NPA tomorrow.