Two million bats at sunset

Thailand: Khao Yai. We did an overnight trip to Khao Yai national forest park, taking a surprisingly comfortable, air-conditioned train to Pak Chong. Our package tour included a cave visit, wildlife-spotting drive and half-day hike through the jungle, which was like nirvana for me.

An unforgettable highlight of the Khao Yai tour was a chance to witness one of nature’s great wonders: at sunset, around 2 million bats leave their cave to feed for the night. The stream of exiting bats is visible and audible for about an hour, while a dozen or so raptors hunt the bats, circling, diving and weaving.