Day 38 - uncountable

07.06.2019

As mentioned, today we want to book a scooter. Our destination is a cave system where a monument for the dead during the time of the Khmer Rouge and a bat colony are located. Because the best time to observe the bats is in the evening, we decide to book the scooter at 4:00 p.m. and use it again tomorrow morning. We only wake up at 12:00 p.m., have breakfast in the room, and stock up on provisions for our trip in the afternoon.

We pick up our scooter and ride about 30 minutes south on the country road. Already on the bus ride to Cambodia, we noticed that we were extremely lucky with the roads in Thailand. Potholes of 30 cm depth are not uncommon, and we can feel that with the scooter as well. Maneuvering around the holes in a zigzag pattern while keeping an eye on the very erratic traffic is not as easy as it may sound. Nevertheless, we arrive at the huge limestone formation without incident. You can already see the first bats fluttering around the large fissure. They already seem like an incredible number to us (spoiler: if only we knew what happens in the evening). We park at a local family who runs a mini supermarket, so we buy a bottle of Coke as our "parking fee". We climb the mountain, on which there is also a temple/monastery, and arrive at an observation platform with a breathtaking view over the otherwise flat region.

In addition to the group of people causing noise, we hear a noise similar to a construction site - clattering, rattling, etc. After a few meters, we see the source(s) of the noise. A large horde (?) of monkeys is staging a literal monkey theater, jumping back and forth on the roofs and nets. We observe the spectacle for a while, but then we start to worry about our valuables and keep an eye on the time.

After leaving the plateau, we pass the official entrance area, which means we save $3 per person on admission by climbing the mountain. We march through the greenery, pass a 5-meter-high Buddha statue, and reach the entrance of the cave (Killing Cave).

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INFO:

The Killing Caves of Phnom Sampeau are an execution site of the Khmer Rouge. The members of the Khmer Rouge kill their victims at the top of the cave on the edge of a 'daylight hole' / 'ceiling hole' and then throw the dead bodies into the cave.

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Thick clouds of mist hit our faces, which have a peculiar smell. Seconds later, it turns out that it is not mist but smoke caused by hundreds of incense sticks inside the cave. It is humid, dark, and generally a oppressive but very impressive atmosphere. A little deeper in the cave, right behind a golden Buddha statue where the incense sticks are placed, there is an illuminated glass case containing the bones of dozens of people. It is, as one easily suspects, a gruesome sight.

A relatively large group of tourists enters the cave, and for a small donation for incense sticks, the guardian of the cave turns on the lights for another cave tour. This one is very short and relatively unspectacular, so we leave the cave afterwards and start the way down the mountain.

As soon as we reach the road that winds around the mountain, we see an never-ending black ribbon flowing out of the fissure from earlier and moving towards the Cambodian fields. We are absolutely speechless, we can't do anything but stand there and watch the spectacle for a few minutes. We had seen on the map before that there should be another fissure on the west side of the cave and that you can climb up the mountain a bit and then watch the sunset there. So we drive, with a little nervousness about leaving the main attraction behind, to the other side of the mountain. The moment we arrive, however, we know that we have made the absolutely right decision. Completely alone (hundreds of tourists were on the other side) we stand in front of an even larger swarm. The only words we say for minutes are "wow