I have too many cameras. This is especially true when it comes to film cameras. My excuse, should I need to give one, is that they are cheap and generally a joy to hold and behold. Indeed, my little cameral museum features technical loveliness dating back to 1896 and would no doubt delight my friends if I had any.

I do try to use them as well, the Yashica being my weapon of choice until it did something inside which means I only get seven shots out of a roll of film that is meant to produce twelve. I am hoping there is a man in Bangkok that can fix that for me, meantime it sits on the shelf looking gorgeous.

For 35mm film I have a selection of Russian cameras, none of which really satisfy in terms of handling. They probably take adequate photos, but without the required pleasure in the process. Then I was loaned a Leica.

I must admit I have always fancied a Leica. There is a precision, a sense of craftsmanship and engineering, that is very seductive. Indeed, when I sold my condo I announced to she who must be obeyed that I was going to buy a Leica and an accompanying lens for the price of a new car. Instead, I bought a new car, but the yearning for a Leica remained.

The arrival of the ex-German airforce Leica IIIC into my life, albeit on a temporary basis, resurrected the urge. Inevitably, I headed for eBay.

A wartime Leica was not an option. There are many more German military Leica’s for sale than were ever made; it’s too easy for a skilled engraver to add some extras to a Leica body. So, unless you are sure of provenance, and that is no easy thing on eBay, and you are prepared to pay a very high price for the history; don’t go there.

But the Leica III continued to be made after the war into the 1950s, and there are plenty on offer on-line. Price expectations seem to vary widely, as does condition, and I couldn’t find one that was in good condition at a reasonable price. I was about to give up and go to bed when I spotted a IIIC in exceptional condition at a bid starting price under $400, which was less than most of them go for. There were no bids as yet, and bids closed four hours later; so I stuck in a minimum bid and went to bed, sure that I would be outbid before closing.

But I wasn’t, and here it is:

An obligatory cat shot is a sure sign that some new gear is involved.

Just over a year ago, the rear dial on my E-M1 died and my local camera shop, Big Camera, went beyond the call of duty by hand carrying the camera to Bangkok, had it fixed within a day and returned it to me the same evening. Amazing service.

I was slightly concerned that whatever fault was built into the original dial would be built into the replacement, but the E-M1 has worked perfectly since; until last week when it realised that the warranty had expired and it was time for the dial to fail again. Bugger.

It was unreasonable to expect Big Camera to send a member of staff to Bangkok for me again, but I am a good customer so I went and asked nicely if they could speak to Olympus and persuade them to fix my camera in less than the usual five days. A phone call was made and I was promised a quick turn-around.

So it was into the bus yesterday morning (Olympus is five minutes walk from the bus station, seemed pointless to drive) and I handed in my camera at 1030. By 1330 it was done and I was back home before dark. More superb service from Olympus.

The downside was that the fix cost me 3,000 baht, and you could argue that it is design flaw that should be fixed for free. The service centre confirmed that they have now changed the design, which does indicate that something was wrong; but at least this new dial should not fail. They gave me the part they replaced which turned out to be the complete top cover.

Or if you want the English translation: “Red lotus sea”; which is bollocks because it is not a sea and the flowers are more purple than red; but that’s the name so live with it.

Talay bua daeng is about forty kilometres south of Udon Thani, which means it is a sod of a long way from Pattaya; which is why we took two days to get there, stopping at a sunflower field and Prasat Hin Phimai along the way. We arrived just before sunset and the lake was immediately something of a disappointment, not a sign of lilies. Still, we jumped into a boat and set off for a little tour and indeed lilies were to be found once you went deeper into the lake. Being almost sunset, the flowers had packed up being pretty for the day, so I took just one sunset shot before we headed back for some food.

Close to Nakhon Ratchasima is the small town of Phimai. A bit of driving around will bring you to the Phimai Historical Park, in which you can find Prasat Hin Phimai.

Proudly proclaimed as the largest ancient structure in Thailand, the temple is a smaller sibling to Angkor Wat. It was built about nine hundred years ago and was once connected to Angkor Wat by a highway, and the structure points towards Angkor. Although the Khmer kingdom was Hindu at the time, the temple was build in the Buddhist style. And that is my attempt at providing some history; if you want any more, look it up.

My perception of the place is probably coloured by the fact that we visited at 0830 on a cool morning with bright blue skies; but I found it to be very charming. No gaudy signs, well maintained grounds, and an entrance fee of 100 baht for foreigners (free for Thais) which I thought entirely reasonable. Some photos:

Our route north takes us through Saraburi, so it is inevitable that we will pass one of the more popular seasonal attractions, a sunflower field.

Sunflowers are indeed beautiful…..

More than twenty two hours behind the wheel over three days. 1594 Kilometres covered. The first road trip to test out our new transport and it was a great experience; such an effortless tourer.

Long-time readers of this blog (Hi Mum!), will recall I waged an extended war with my thyroid having contracted Grave’s disease. I won the final battle with the over-excited little bugger more than two years ago, by swallowing a radioactive iodine pill which killed off a substantial portion of the gland; but of course there were repercussions.

At first, output from the thyroid became even more violent as the dying parts vomited out into my bloodstream. Then the activity died down and we waited to see what would happen. Would what was left of my thyroid operate sufficiently, would it stagger along weakly, or would it die off completely? For more than a year I went to see my doctor in Bangkok and we monitored activity in search of an answer to these questions. There were fluctuations; but the overall message was that the thyroid was almost coping but not quite. In the end, I decided to put myself on a small daily dose of thyroid hormone to help things along. I then forgot about my thyroid for a year or more.