I'm outside our 'guest house' at Bach Nam National Park, watching as the rain ends and the fog sets in. This morning we did the lovely Five Waterfalls hike with our guide, Nhan. The hike was absolutely stunning, full of ferns and scuttling little creatures. In the afternoon we climbed the summit... and that's where our story begins.
Nhan: Now we go summit.
Kelly & Julie: Sure!
Nhan: You want tunnel?
Kelly & Julie: Tunnel? What kind of tunnel?
Nhan: Viet Cong tunnel. Helicopter, American.
Nhan: Now we go summit.
Kelly & Julie: Sure!
Nhan: You want tunnel?
Kelly & Julie: Tunnel? What kind of tunnel?
Nhan: Viet Cong tunnel. Helicopter, American.
Tunnel, VC.
Julie & Kelly: Um... okay, sure...
When we finally got to there, Kelly & I were stoked for our tunnel adventure - see pics. We hunch over at the entrance and start the walk in. Nhan has a flashlight & I have my head lamp, with Kelly in between us. We hike in for about 5 minutes, past several old bunk areas where the VC slept. And
then something kind of flies in and lands on the ground in front of Kelly. I don't think she fully sees it at first, because she steps over it - and then, as it starts flapping its 
wings between her feet, she runs forward and says, 'Is that a bat???' I can see it, laying stunned on the ground in the chasm that now lies between me and Kelly & Nhan. There is no way I am stepping over it, so Nhan is proposing we turn around when it starts flapping its wings and flying towards me. The last thing I see before I close my eyes is this fury, winged creature flying directly towards my face. Somewhere, neurons should be firing telling me to keep my mouth closed, but instead I scream when I feel it hit my hands. I turn around to try to get away, but it's still with me as I hear Nhan yell, "Light! Off light!" I turn my head lamp off as I see it hit the ground again, and now we're in the pitch dark, and Kelly has to cross back over it so we can get out of the cave. Nhan now tells us there are many more bats in the cave and asks if we want to go on or turn around, but Kelly and I are hightailing it out of there before he can even finish his sentence. That's enough VC for one day for these two girls... so we head down the leech path instead.
Julie & Kelly: Um... okay, sure...
When we finally got to there, Kelly & I were stoked for our tunnel adventure - see pics. We hunch over at the entrance and start the walk in. Nhan has a flashlight & I have my head lamp, with Kelly in between us. We hike in for about 5 minutes, past several old bunk areas where the VC slept. And
then something kind of flies in and lands on the ground in front of Kelly. I don't think she fully sees it at first, because she steps over it - and then, as it starts flapping its 
wings between her feet, she runs forward and says, 'Is that a bat???' I can see it, laying stunned on the ground in the chasm that now lies between me and Kelly & Nhan. There is no way I am stepping over it, so Nhan is proposing we turn around when it starts flapping its wings and flying towards me. The last thing I see before I close my eyes is this fury, winged creature flying directly towards my face. Somewhere, neurons should be firing telling me to keep my mouth closed, but instead I scream when I feel it hit my hands. I turn around to try to get away, but it's still with me as I hear Nhan yell, "Light! Off light!" I turn my head lamp off as I see it hit the ground again, and now we're in the pitch dark, and Kelly has to cross back over it so we can get out of the cave. Nhan now tells us there are many more bats in the cave and asks if we want to go on or turn around, but Kelly and I are hightailing it out of there before he can even finish his sentence. That's enough VC for one day for these two girls... so we head down the leech path instead.
Ha ha! Oh no! I try not to be but I must admit I am fairly terrified of bats, and one flying directly at my face would not be well-received.
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