Geek time: on our boat ride in Mandalay,  as I mentioned,  we stopped on a sandbar to watch sunset.  After the sun had set there was a very bright star overhead.  I surmised it must be Venus given the brightness and lack of apparent motion.  I wanted to confirm that using Google Sky map. Having no Internet access that seemed unlikely.  Kayw had his smart phone but did not have sky map loaded.  He fiddled for a minute and then said to turn on my wifi and look for “john”.  Sure enough there was  “john” with a strong signal and access through his phone to a data connection.  The bright star was indeed Venus. To my geeky friends and family I am sure this is not surprising.  Even to me,  once I realized what he was doing, this was not particularly surprising,  although given where we were I will admit I was impressed.

I failed to realize how much data I would need to handle with two cameras shooting every day. My tablet cannot handle the uploads and leave me any time to do anything else.  I wanted to at least back up the camera cards so I went to buy a hard disk with sd card input.  The dealers I saw in Hong Kong assured me they were obsolete,  I think that meant they didn’t have any.  They sold me a box that connects to the tablet via wifi and has an sd slot to handle the transfer.  The box connects but doesn’t see my sd card 🙁 It does have a network connection and I was able to plug in a network cable I found in one hotel room and make my own wifi. Hmm, was I pirating someone’s Internet? Nah I was in a hotel and the cable was there even if it was unmarked.

Siam Niramit dinner and show! In Bangkok.  Traffic getting there was so bad we were fearful we would not have time for dinner.  The show was wonderful.  They advertise the largest stage in the world,  there may be some hyperbole, but not much.  And they have performers and support staff over 300.  This does not include two elephants that are not only on stage,  but also on the main cross aisle in the audience!  At one point there are 12 actors flying above the stage and where did that river on the lip of the stage come from a third of the way into the show.  Absolutely worth going to at least once.  There is so much happening that going a second time would be worthwhile.

We left Bangkok by bus the next morning for a two night overnight in Hintok River Camp along the River Kwai. While there we walked across The Bridge and road a train over it as well.  Then we hiked through Hellfire Pass.  This is a 4 kilometer stretch of 400 kilometers of rail built by forced labor over 18 months.  The death rate was one life for every sleeper laid,  well over 200,000 Allied troops and Thai workers died. The famous book and movie embellished the importance of the act of sabotage at the bridge over the river Kwai for dramatic purposes.  The entire story of suffering and repeated sabotage would not make a suspenseful movie.  Hellfire pass was so named because of the torches lit along the cut so work could continue around the clock.  The workers worked as long as 18 hours and had an 8 to 9 kilometer hike through the jungle and over ridges to get to and from their camps. We also had a boat ride on the river Kwai.  We passed floating hotels,  many birds and even working elephants along the way.

The next day brought a long bus ride, 500 kilometers,  that was broken up with stops every couple of hours and another boat ride,  this time on a rice barge where lunch was served.  After a one night stop we were off again. We spent much of the morning in Sukhothai, the first capital of what was to become Thailand dating to the 1200s.  The temple complex is very elaborate and has hints of Angkor Wat and of Hindu places we have visited as well as signs of Portuguese presence in the area. After lunch we boarded the bus for a 180 kilometer run to the Chang Rai area. We stopped along the way to watch rice harvesters,  chopstick makers and finally Indigo dyers. Carol found a couple of lovely shirts to buy,  that fit!

That sort of catches me up.  I’ve ignored some fun in Bangkok, but we will be back there in 6 days which I am sure will pass in a flash. I ought to describe our bus,  especially for my RV it friends.  It is about 36 to 38 feet long and seems to be over 8 feet wide.  The height is all of 13’6″ and it has a great turning radius.  The sides are well battered from encounters with anything that comes near the roadway and the occasional taxi.  The top deck has seating for over 30 although we are 16 plus a guide and two staff,  plus driver and assistant.  The bottom deck, or basement,  houses luggage storage, a toilet and sleeping quarters for driver and assistant. We make u turns with abandon and it seems that red lights are considered a suggestion,  or at best a recommendation if convenient.

Another early wakeup tomorrow,  on the bus by 7:30 AM which means 5:45 wakeup assuming I shower in the next 15 minutes.   Good night.