We’ve met a British couple, Haydn and Sian, (and 5 year old daughter Hanna) who’ve come to Trang from China where they worked 8 years.  They settled in Trang about 8 months ago and Hadyn is planning to promote day cycling trips here thru all the internet avenues – social media and a web site.  He’s savvy on all the promotion and web based set-up, but lacking in suitable routes since all the Tourist info features direct routes on major highways.

Haydn would like to route his tours exclusively on backroads, which are virtually empty in southern Thailand. My maps of cycling routes around Trang (available beneath this site’s Header banner) use only major highways, so I’m helping him find and record backroad access to Trang’s favorite sites.  The added advantage of backroads travel, besides being slower and allowing cycling two abreast (not to mention safer), is that you can see how the people live, work and play.

Next project is to learn how to place those gpx files on the blog so that they can be downloadable. I’m using the GAIA GPS app on my iPhone to collect the tracks.  We’ve been using GAIA GPS for several years to track almost all of our hikes because the free, easily downloadable, topo maps give use USGS quality contours.  Open Hiking Maps, a subgroup of Open Source Maps (OSM), has world wide too maps for free download.  We used this source on our Switzerland hikes, downloading the gpx tracks before we left home.

While endeavoring to insure my iPhone didn’t get wet when wading in the waterfall cascades this weekend, I dropped the phone into an 18″ pool of clear fresh water. I could still see the home screen lit up underwater.  It took about 10-12 seconds to rescue the phone, but about 45 seconds to get it turned off.  (My Gaia GPS was still tracking and I didn’t want it operating when it was wet.)

I vigorously shook the iPhone trying to sling out any water from the bottom phone orifices and inadvertantely turned it on again. Since I was an hour away from any rice options, I let it sit in the direct sun for an hour, and then once I managed to buy raw rice from a restaurant I packaged it up in a spare ziplock bag.

There won’t be any photos from this weekend’s ride at this point. It was a leisurely 85-km ride checking out the backroad routes to Trang’s favorite sights. I’ll be happy to use it again as a camera if the intensive-care bag trick works. It’s been 24 hours at this point and I’m patiently waiting another 24 with the bag in the sun.

Update: iPhone is working just fine after 48 hours in the rice bag and cooking in the direct sunlight.

Real happy to say the least.  Read that I should have taken the SIM card out as well but I’d be worried that rice would have gotten inside that slot.

All’s well again.