Yes, Megi petered out before reaching Andong. We did get about 4 inches of rain in 24 hours, more than usual, but not exceptional and not enough to wreak havoc. I didn’t notice much wind, either. Well, I suppose that’s all for the good, especially for those who were directly in Megi’s path. By the way, Megi is Korean for “fish.” But, lurking in the Pacific, are tropical storms Chaba and Aere, both predicted to hit Japan in the next week. Both will probably veer off to the northeast, as is common in this part of the world, but I’m keeping tabs on them anyway.
Day: August 20, 2004
Ok, so if you’ve read the previous journal entry and looked at the photos I posted there, you can see that the shots were not that great. With the low light levels in the stadium, the auto focus on the camera did not work well plus I was experiencing camera shake, unable to set aperature or shutter speed on this totally automatic digital cam. So, because it was still fairly early, about 8pm, I hailed a motorbike and made my way back to MBK. Despite the danger of riding these things, I rode them many times during the remainder of my stay in Bangkok. This particular ride, even though there wasn’t much traffic, was the most frightening. The driver was going very fast through the relatively empty streets, but there were many taxis along the side of the street loading and unloading passengers. I thought of Rick, the English teacher in Korea who died on his motorcycle, and wondered if this was how he left this world, broadsided by a taxi pulling out to the middle of the road without looking, the dark of night contributing to the tragedy. In hindsight, I suppose I was pretty safe–it was just the thought of what might happen that scared me more than what was actually going on. If you want to cut through the traffic jams and get somewhere fast in Bangkok, motorbikes are the best form of transportation, other than the sky train or the subway, but those don’t go everywhere that you might want to go. You do take your chances on the ‘bikes, but I love riding on them.
I reached MBK in one piece and I walked up to FotoFile. I bought the Canon Rebel, shelling out $1200, but I had my dream camera and I don’t regret the purchase one bit. It’s a beauty and I’m in love with this wonderful technology. The sales clerk I had talked to earlier was surprised (and delighted) to see me again so soon, and she was very helpful with my purchase. I went back to the hotel and stayed up late into the night, reading the manual and playing with my new toy.
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