Chiang Dao Cave and Temple

The temple was built right alongside the cave. This is the entrance to the cave. There are two men standing in front of the sign. But in Thai it said, "Entrance Fee 10 Baht." While the Thais often use Western numbers, they do have their own numbers, so ten looks like: ๑๐. Below that, in English, it says, "20 Baht Fee for Electric Bill." So the foreigners have no idea they are paying double what the Thais are paying. Basically, I have no problem with that. Most foreigners in Thailand have incomes considerably higher than Thais and they do need money for upkeep and Thais shouldn't be prevented from going to places like this because of the high entrance fee.

There's a small shrine just inside the cave. Then, if you want to go further, you have to hire a guide for 100 Baht (about $3). Our guide had a kerosene lantern and a delightful sense of humor.

The spots on the ceiling are bats. They were a lot easier to catch on camera than the ones outside our window. Later we saw what we decided was a bat flyway near where we were staying. We saw groups of bats fly by for the five minutes we watched there.

There came a point where the guide pointed to a small opening and asked if we thought we could go through. It was maybe two feet (2/3 meter) high. The other option was to return the way we came. She assured us it was only 1 meter long. The picture is after the hard part. No problem. But then a couple of rooms later, there was another tunnel that was five meters long, but by then there was no turning back.

Here's the fishpond in the temple grounds next to the entrance to the cave (in the background).