I took this photo after sunset on Mabul Island. I wish the lighting was a little better. I wonder where this child was going and why he was alone at night?

An hour later I felt much better, just in time to greet our friends who were joining us for the rest of the trip. Thank goodness I recovered quickly from the truck ride because I would have missed what we found on the afternoon walk. Our itinerary said we would be doing a canopy walk. However, I soon learned that our guide was somewhat distracted. In fact all of the guides were distracted. And all of them were talking to each other on radios, but I couldn’t understand what they were saying. It was odd, but hey, when in Danum Valley.

As it turned out, all of the guides had been up the night before because several Borneo Elephants, also called Pygmy Elephants, had made an appearance, and they had not been seen in many years. Many, many years. There was a buzz among the guides and guests. I soon learned that several guides who didn’t have any groups with them at the time were out tracking the elephants and right when we headed for our walk, the elephants turned towards the road leading to our lodge.

Recently I shared a photo of a group of people waiting to see the elephants. If you missed it, here it is again.

I get distracted easily and I started to take photos of nothing in particular.

The guides

Oh wait, I see something

Come on out

Uh, oh. At this point one of the guides is whispering authoritatively that all of us needed to skedaddle and fast

All clear

Wait, don’t leave yet

The group

Time for us to go

The guides didn’t want us to disrupt their movements so it was time for us to leave them alone and to have a celebratory drink.

Don’t try this at home. Photo taken in Chobe National Park, Botswana.

Haruki Murakami is the type of author that intimidates me. I have it in my head that I’m not smart enough to understand and to appreciate his craft entirely. However, I spoke to several book bloggers about this and they suggested I start with Kafka on the Shore as an introduction to his work. As I sat on the plane, I opened to the first page. And I was hooked. Usually on long flights I read some until my eyes get tired and then I watch some movies or take a nap. I did neither. By the time I landed in London, I was more than halfway through the novel. I was engrossed and good thing since on the second flight there were three screaming kids on the plane. I was able to block out the noise and concentrate on the book. And I do feel for the kids. It can’t be fun for them or for their parents.

The novel revolves around two characters. Kafka Tamura is a teenage boy who runs away from home. His father, as it turns out is not nice. Yet that isn’t the only reason Kafka flees. He’s running from an Oedipal curse and he’s desperate to find his mother and sister who left years ago.  The other character is the simpleton Nakata. During WWII he was struck by a mysterious illness and he never recovered fully. Before the incident he could read. When he woke up, he couldn’t. Nakata has different strengths and he learns he can talk to cats. Using this talent he becomes a finder of lost cats. One particular case sends him on a mission that he doesn’t understand but he knows he has to complete it. And it leads him to Kafka in a way.

This story may seem complicated. There are talking cats, fish that fall from the sky, and spirits that come and go. This was the stuff I was intimidated by. And I feel silly now, since his storytelling abilities are flawless. Even when he’s describing what I would normally say is impossible seemed possible while I was reading. I didn’t stop and say, “What the?” Instead I couldn’t wait to see what happened next. Each twist and turn propelled me to keep on reading. And it gets a little crazy especially near the end, but it’s a fun crazy. The type that makes you wonder how one person can come up with all of this on his own. I would love to have a few drinks with him and see where the conversation goes.

Now that I’ve quieted my fear some, what Murakami book should I tackle next? This novel is on my 1001 list and this is the 74th novel I’ve read from the list. I’m hoping to make it to 100 by the end of the year. I need to get cracking and to find some really thin novels. Good thing I’ve completed all of the novels by Dickens.

Did someone say it’s Friday? Photo taken in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia.

The Beehive on 60 Carter Street, London is a gem. My friend Isobel from Isobel and Cat’s blog introduced me to it last year, but for some odd reason I didn’t take any photos even though I’m positive I had my camera with me. Turned out to be a good thing since it gave me the perfect excuse to go back. This time I brought the Better Half. Before heading to the pub we met Isobel and two other friends for dinner and then all five of us wandered over to The Beehive. The plan was to have drinks and dessert, or as the English say, pudding.

We arrived and everyone took turns buying rounds. The conversation was lively and entertaining. It was my first time meeting one of the party members and I have to say the woman is a real hoot and I hope she’ll join us for another pub outing. And isn’t that what pub visits are all about: meeting friends, making new acquaintances, partaking in sparkling conversations, and laughing. There was much laughter. In fact, we had so much fun we forgot to order dessert. I’m slightly disappointed in myself for forgetting dessert. That is so unlike me. But it gives me another reason to go back to the pub.

I’m not sure how long we stayed at the pub, but at one point I saw some staff members placing chairs on top of tables. At first I was shocked. Why were they closing so early? I was going to knock a point off or two when I reviewed them. Then The Better Half said we should go or we would miss the last train home. What? How did the entire night fly by? I actually argued and said it wasn’t that late. I was wrong. In my mind, that makes for a memorable trip to a pub. Saying that, I give The Beehive five out of five stars. Also, I would like to thank my companions for such a wonderful time. Friends and pubs—you just can’t beat it. And for those who are curious, we did make the last train home. When they announced over the PA system that it was indeed the last train, The Better Half gave me the I told you so smile.

And I do like The Beehive’s sense of humor. I’ll let you decide if I found this card the morning after or not.

“If you find this card the morning after the night before,we have yours. It is in safe hands. Just call us or pop in.”

Sunset on Mount Kinabalu, Malaysia.

During our few days in KL we attended one political rally, which was fun considering the speaker spoke mainly in Malay. Our friends were kind enough to interpret for us. I have a degree in International Politics so you can probably imagine I was tickled pink witnessing a campaign and election in a foreign country. Wherever we went over the next week, the election was on everyone’s minds. We spoke to many people and the general consensus that we received was that the people were ready for a change. The ruling party had been in office for over fifty years and they wanted fresh voices in the government. In all the cities and even in remote villages along the roads, political flags were abundant. Seeing such enthusiasm for politics was wonderful.

On May 5 the citizens of Malaysia made their way to polling stations and during our drive that day we passed several of them. The traffic on many occasions came to a complete stop, fortunately for me so I could snap a few photos from the van.

We met up with our friends from KL at the next resort and they were anxious to hear the results of the election. It was quite humorous watching them walking around the lodge in a jungle trying to get cell phone reception. The ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) won the election once again. It may not have been the change many hoped for, but overall, one of the opposition parties picked up more seats and the BN lost some. Their constitution mandates that a general election must be held once every five years. The Prime Minister can request to dissolve the Parliament at any time before the five years are up. I wonder what the next election will bring.