Fustrating Day so far

Sawadee Khrap       

Now is when I feel homesick – or at least homesick for the advantages offered in the States.  I just spent 3 hr driving all over Chiang Mai trying to find a machine shop or someone who could fabricate a mono-pod mounting bracket for my camera.  NO SUCCESS   I just bought a new mono-pod and it requires that the camera be connected and used in th landscape mode – I prefer to also be able to shoot in portrait mode.  I bought a swivel head for the mono-pod but that swivels to the right to allow portrait and is really off balance.  I’m having the same problem trying to get a strap grip for my camera – all that is available is the standard Canon one and what a piece of crap – 1400 Baht or $40 —–  the simpleset things I always could get in the States are real problems here.

Chiang Mai really doesn’t have a directory of businesses available – one yellow-page book is out there but only in Thai – so no help.  You just can’t find anything unless you know where it is located – almost everything is mouth to mouth — they don’t even like to advertise.  You can spend all day f@!5*ing around trying to find anything.  And every job is broken down individually– for the car for example: fixing the electrical, fixing the body, exhaust, locks,  I take it to the best mechanic I have found and he sends it out for any of the above.  And their scattered all over town– AND NO DIRECTORY or YELLOW-PAGES..

I’m just letting off steam – I’ll post after the monk pictures.

Ciao