Bat Out of Hell

Within the Subic Bay Free Port area there is a colony of fruit bats that roost in the trees near to the (now defunct) airport.  They're probably there because within the Free Port they are protected.  Outside of it I would imagine they would be hunted to near extinction.

Here's a few photos of evening time when they are getting ready for the night's excursion.

Size Is No Measure of Potency #2

Whilst I was away recently, I came back to the house and an infestation of bees.  They had decided to take up residence in the wall cavity, gaining access through the void around the aircon drain pipe.

If they had decided to remain in the wall cavity then not so much of a problem but they decided to also take up residence in my office/study where the drain pipe passed though the wall.  Unfortunately this meant a chemical attack as I didn't fancy sitting and sharing with a load of stinging critters at my computer.

When I first encountered the bees I went outside to take a look at where they were gaining access.  I was only stood there watching them swarm around the pipe high above my head when one of the buggers flew inside my shirt and stung me on the right side of my chest.   Now, I've been stung by bees several times in the UK and whilst they hurt, this was in a different league altogether.  Despite them only being small, it hurt like hell.  Not only that but the pain lasted several days instead of just fading away in a few hours.

I called for the pest squad, the one that usually deals with my termite problems, but the day before they arrived there was a huge swarm of bees outside the house, thousands of them flying around angrily (they looked angry to me but I wasn't going to go outside to find out for myself) and then a few hours later they were all gone.  Even from the house they were gone and had decamped and gone to set up home elsewhere. Thankfully.

Keep It Regimental

This caught my eye - a house in Kaohsiung has had the front of it demolished (for whatever reason) but despite the wreckage there's still clothes hanging in the wardrobe in the upstairs room.

Or maybe it's just too dangerous to go and retrieve them?

Size Is No Measure of Potency

On a recent flight from Taiwan to Manila we passed by Mt. Pinatubo.  What immediately strikes you about this volcano that was responsible for the largest recorded eruption of the 20th century is how small it is. You'd expect it to be some towering monster but no, it's difficult to spot amongst its neighbouring peaks.

Here's the first image cropped and zoomed in