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At first I thought I can try just something simple tonight. Like a single
video system on a tripod. But previous night 'dusk- to-dawn' observation
had sapped too much energy out of me. I was dead tired and I slept early
to recover. I dragged myself up to pack my single video system and gone
back to sleep. I woke up feeling refreshed and re-charged.
The loud snoring of our bus driver did not bother me. Breakfast on
bread and two cups of Nescafe black ( no sugar). Lunch
was simple also - cup instant noodle was fortified with sausage
and washed down with soft drinks. Many used the late morning and afternoon to transcribe their previous
nights Leonid 'takings' into standard IMO result sheets. Many recording
methods were used : voice recording with background time pips from talking
clock, pen recording of meteors ( count and magnitude) on rolls of paper
tape, Hartwig Luethen's handheld PDA pre-programmed with 'tic-tac-toe like'
quadrants . It is amazing people can do all these in the dark. The scribbling
of meteor data on a roll of paper is a feat I never ever will master.
While the stare-mode intensified systems will be analyzed automatically by
famous Sirko Molau's
MetRec. Post Peak night ( Nov 19/20) I was told the ZHR -was well below 15
- so I didn't missed
much then. I could have used this night to check out the Comet Linear
2000/WM1 but...We had a look in one of BOAO telescope dome. The entrance was so low
that everyone had to stoop low and crawled in. A 10"? in Meade stood
in the center. The set up was for the asteroids work I was told. Group
photos were taken and the scene repeated itself no matter where you go -
camera'person's mad run to set up timer and sprint back to the groups.
Heh - the timer is 10 se cond long - enough for the top speed runner
to finish the 100metre. We left with the hired bus to a town mid
way between here and Airport. Since most of us leave on the Nov 21 1
pm. We won't be able to make the journey in time for the flight if we
depart from here direct. The bus made a slow journey down the 1100 meter height through
several hair-pin bends. On the way to xx we passed fields of harvested
padi fields - with padi tied up like... beds of Korean cabbage ( where
kimchee came from), apple tress. At a pee stop we get down to stretch
our legs, some catch a few puff of nicotine. Convenience stalls lined the bus-stops catering
for passing passengers. There are noodle house with stretch of bench
w/o chairs where you tuck into hot noodles standing. a group of 'aunties'
attract my attention to a 'kaki' fruits. Another collection of strange
fruits photo for me. We arrived at the Royal Hotel and headed straight to a nearby Temple.
Dusk is fast approaching. We passed hawker with their dried products.
It was a quiet town with a few streets. Big plastic drums were filed
with Kq left to soaked in saline. Crowds thinned as we reached the temple
ground. The main 'star' of attraction - Buddha was under scaffoldings.
I look around for interesting pose to shot. I found the early moon and
get a few composed shots. Dinner - finally we had something much better than instant noodle
- Korean meals. Beefs and mushrooms on hot plates and a dozen dishes
of vegetable things washed down with 23 % clear alcohol. That night I have a good sleep - pillow under my
heads for the first
time! |