OMG!!!!!!!!!!! have just seen my first elephant.

 I was returning from supper, in the dark and the rain, I didn't have a torch as I now know my way quite well. I am staying in the rest house about 100m from Mr Chee's house where we eat, Mr Chee is away at the moment for CNY so I was returnng quite early, to do some more lesson planning. There was a lot of noise from the rain on my brolley and I was also amazed by the volume of the toad and frogs singin in the rain. I then realised I could hear something very large moving through the garden, Which is where I normally walk through to my room but had decided to go by the road as there was so much water and mud. I stopped to listen and look although it was very dark and considered if it would be the elephants and if it was, which way I should go, then I looked down the road again and just saw one standing there, not 10m away, I quickly decided to make a run for it back to the house not sure if there were any more around. I made it and managed to explain to a couple of men nearby. Linda, the housekeeper, speaks pretty good english and so we spent the next half an hour trying to find out if they had gone, we heard a trumpet from a little up the hill, but as it was difficult to know how many there were we didn't know if there were any still around. We could see the destruction of the papaya trees and coconut palms in the garden so there must have been more than one. Interestingly the men use the shout 'Nellie' to shoo them away, is this where the song arises from? Eventually they decided that they had probably gone so we made a run for it to the rest house, then the men ran back, they wern't too pleased to be in the open. They didn't have very powerful torches and with the noise of the rain, it makes you feel very vulnerable without good sight or hearing. Oh well I have just about stopped shaking and will treat my self to a cherry liqueur chocolate to calm my nerves. I had asked Mr Chee if we could go on an elephant hunt, if he heard where they might be,

 lesson for today – be very careful what you wish for, they may be called the Borneo Pygmy Elephant, but small they ain't!!!!!!!!!!