This One is For Mom

Sorry Mom I was very photographically, dentally, and blogily uninspired yesterday. Mom and Emily were both disappointed with lack of Thai post yesterday.

We went to our first site in the Ratchaburi Province yesterday and it wasn't very busy for dental, while for the optometry clinic they had over 450 patients! We did get a visit from a 2 star US Army General and a handfull of Colonels. They flew into the site on a Blackhawk and landed/took off from a cattle field next to our school. It whipped up a bunch of cow smell and debris!
Today was a bit better at the second site (4th total). Still, a few too few patients for my taste, but I got to teach a few of the Army how to pull some teeth: one medic and a Singaporean Doc. They thought it was awesome and I agree.

I may also have picked up head lice from some of the kids today! There were a lot of patients with it today. But there were some really cute kids too! I got to hold a very beautiful 10 month old Thai princess baby today! She was so cute!!!!

After work today we went and visited the Bat Cave! Why do they call it that? No, it's not because Bruce Wayne lives there, rather... Well just look at the pictures!
(Justin is in the blue shirt, he's the medic)
Every night around 1800 (6pm) millions of these cuddle birds take flight to gather food! They pour out of their cave for over an hour!! It is quite the sight to behold.

Notice the black "line" of bats between the temple buildings:
That's not smoke!The rock below is not usually black!!
We then went to eat at the great floating restaurant from two days ago and then visited a night Flee Market which was pretty cool! (Note to self, you cannot appease two vans full of people!!! Too many people came on this outing and we had a bit of drama. But fun nonetheless.)

Now for the horror of the evening: To get up to the bat cave you had to climb up a hill of stairs and then walk down a path. We should have believed our noses and stopped at the overwhelming smell of ammonia/bat guano. Justin and I continued down not having seen the cave and saw some monkeys. I immediately switched lenses and got some cool shots of a mama and her baby. Then saw some more as we continued on. Then we came upon some males that we scooted past a bit wary. (this is where past where we should have turned back.) As we got past them, I saw the male monkey bare his teeth at Justin's back. We soon discovered we had come to the end and had to face the monkeys again.

They however bared more teeth at us and appeared threatening-- so we retreated back to pagoda up on the mountain where Justin found us some sticks and I found an old 2X4 that was wield-able. Notice the mean one in the middle!
Newly armed we approached these primates who by now seemed a bit more cooled off. We slowly approached them, scooted down the path, and then ran!!! I could hardly take pictures of the flocks of bats as my body was shacking from the adrenaline! Justin was back down the mountain in no time. I left the path to approach the cave of bats--to my interpreters chagrin.

She got me back on the path by telling me the monkeys were coming again. WoW, was that a stupid experience!!!! Yes, Em I said it for you. Later I said to Justin, "Who is stupid enough to get that close to wild monkeys?" REALLY?

So mom, your fear of bats is nonsense, you should be deathly afraid of Thai Monkeys, like I am now!