I am Batman

The terms "Flying Fox" and "Fruit Bat" (he's magically delicious!) have very different connotations in my mind, though in fact they are synonymous terms for what is in my mind the much cooler sounding "Megabat" (also, this). Despite the awe-inducing imagery evoked by the latter term, from their appearance I have to say the flying fox seems the most accurate term.

I've always felt that, Batman excluded, bats get an undeservedly bad rap; they are almost always portrayed as blood-sucking creatures of the night, or some other unpleasant and terrifying stereotype. Though certainly some species would fall into that category, and many bats do carry diseases that can be fatal to humans (or at the very least, ruin your day), flying foxes at least seem to me fairly endearing animals.

Evidence: Exhibit A, Exhibit B, Exhibit C; The defense rests.

However, when I step out on my balcony in the morning wearing nothing but pajamas and general sense of drowsiness for a cup of coffee*, and have a great hairy black creature seemingly from the Blackest Pits of the Abyss fly straight towards me, and out into the morning air, I begin to see where these stereotypes might have come from.

Of course, life in Sydney is not all fun and games and being surprised by giant winged foxes. There are some really great (and some really awful) places to dine in and around Sydney. The Japanese restaurant where I was taken last night by a good friend most definitely fell in the former category. After dinner we walked through Chinatown, and I was able to enjoy the textural paradox that is bubble tea. The night ended with drinks on the balcony, watching foxes fly over the Botanic Gardens.

They were much more pleasant to observe from this distance.

*Expect an entire post at some point soon on the idiosyncrasies of Australian coffee-naming conventions