Monsoon

It's morning here and I should be out and about, but it's pouring. Although "pouring" doesn't really do this rain justice. Maybe pummeling is the word I want.

Anyway, it's a good excuse to post of couple of miscellaneous things here. Thank you for your comments on the blog, everyone! It's great to know that someone is reading it.

Caroline, you wanted a shot of the sarong. Here it is, taken in the kitchen of this hostel by an adorable, barely clothed young man with long blond hair. (Oh, to be 22 again!)

And for you bird fanciers, here is a hornbill that had apparently escaped its enclosure in the Kuala Lumpur bird park. I learned yesterday at the local ethnographical museum that the hornbill is sacred to the local tribes and it features in a lot of their art and beliefs.

 Early tomorrow morning I'm heading to Bako National Park, a tropical forest preserve that has a lot of interesting flora and fauna. By all accounts, it will be smotheringly hot and I'll be sleeping in a dormitory bed in a building that is rustic, at best. I can finally get good use out of my bug spray. And it will be a miracle if there's anything I can eat. But it will be great!