I had to pay for a cheap ticket early in the morning, so I stayed at a hotel close to Itami Airport, where I stayed in a three-person room with an interesting bed arrangement. It was fortuitous that I could wake up at 4 a.m. and watch the miraculous soccer game in real time.

JAL's food is delicious. Of course, I chose Ebisu beer. Next to me were two Western couple, both very friendly. The in-flight movie was "Top Gun Maverick," which I had wanted to see for a long time. The highlight was the final scene when they boarded the caught A14. Is Tom Cruise really piloting this thing?

Then, to transfer from the High Speed Rail (HSR) to the MRT (subway) from the airport, I walked around pushing my suitcase with all my heart. I was also taught by a kind station attendant. I always think that "Omotenashi" is not only a Japanese virtue. The airport expressway was not so crowded, but the MRT was very busy during the evening commuting time.

The overpass to transfer to the MRT was jam-packed with Bangkok's famous evening traffic. This made me feel as if I had returned Bangkok.

Since we stayed in a rather halfway house in BANGKOK, it was inconvenient for shopping, and we forgot many things that were designed for overseas. The driver who picked me up from the hotel took me to a 7-Eleven again, but all I bought was beer and sweet breads. I am still not used to. I gave him a tip as described in the text, because he took care of me twice. Beer is of course my favorite "Chang". I feel that the yen is now four times rather than three times it used be.

I got up in the morning so as not to be late. In the end, To avoid trouble, I asked the hotel to call me a cab. I think this is the first time to take a taxi in Bangkok.

I had a flight to catch this morning, so I unusually took a cab called at the hotel. It was probably the first time for me to take a cab in Bangkok. It took about 25 minutes to arrive at the airport. Lobby of Terminal 2 at Don Mueang Airport. AirAsia counter is at the back left. I'm glad I didn't have to carry any excess weight.

I had breakfast at a lounge using Priority Pass Card. The father and son next to me were having breakfast with sparkling champagne. So, me too, After that, I had a cappuccino and a dessert.

On the way to Loei, there were many fields covered with water over a fairly large area. I was told later that the flooding in September of this year still remains. This is the northern border of the flooded area. News of the flood is not widely reported in Japan, but it seems to be quite large there.

A beautiful mountain can be seen below. I heard later that it is also called Loei Fuji. It is indeed a very beautiful mountain. Later, I found a remarkable circular structure on the geological map.

Arrival at Looi Airport. Families were taking pictures with the plane in the background against the blue dry-season sky. Most of the tourists seemed to be Thai, except for a few Europeans and Americans. I did not see any Japanese during this trip.

I was moved by the unexpectedly large number of people who welcomed me at the airport. The teachers who greeted us were mainly from the science department. I really appreciate that they welcomed us on a Saturday.

We had lunch at a restaurant that is said to have the best reputation in Looi. This is a dessert of ice cream.

Limestone Cave Park, which I visited for an afternoon snack. I felt that the half-collapsed cave was left as a cliff. I did not see any fossils, and the marble seems to have been metamorphosed a little. I ended up climbing to the top of the stairs.

This is the interior of the house that was prepared for our stay. Everything you need is here. Impressive!

Even the tableware, microwave, and rice cooker were newly prepared. The original plan was to stay at a hotel, but the principal made it convenient for me and prepared a VIP house on campus.

There is a local market near the intersection of the school and the national highway that is open every evening. They sell a lot of fresh food and snacks at incredibly low prices.

I chose three of these 40 mangoes and was about to pay 120 THB for them, when I was told that there were 4 mangoes in the package and they were only 40 THB. I asked her if she wanted to pay 120 THB for three mangoes, but she said she had four mangoes in the package for 40 THB. Mangoes in Japan would cost about 700 yen each, but they were only 40 yen for four. But the taste was not so sweet because the dry season is not the season for fruits. (Postscript. (Note: After a few days of storage, the mangoes tasted even better!)

I bought these takoyaki (octopus balls) as snacks for beer. They were quite tasty. It comes with sauce and nori (seaweed) on top, and it costs just over 70 yen.

After dinner, I had some of the mangoes I mentioned earlier. It's still a little early. Maybe I should wait a few more days. I've been dreaming of eating fresh Thai mangoes here for 3 years.

Thanks to this, 10 polarization units were completed based on the materials sent from Japan. I also brought 10 LEDs for the bottom illumination, which I bought at an one-dollar shop in Japan. My luggage is getting lighter and lighter.

I was able to concentrate on answering questions and assembling the seismograph. Tools were bought by the school already.

This is an Olympus polarizing microscope that I sent from Japan in advance. Two of them were donated to two high schools this year. However, as you can see, the bottom of the wooden box we sent by airmail was broken. The microscopes inside are in perfect condition. We put the whole thing in a large cardboard box and packed it with a lot of packing materials, but as expected, it could be broken like this by handling during transportation.

At 3:00 p.m., after the work was finished, we headed north on a wide road to the town of Chiang Khan, which is called the "Little Kyoto" of North Isan. It is a town along the Mekong River on the border with Laos, 20 to 30 minutes by car. It is a town with beautiful old townscape, and recently, Japanese YouTubers living in Thailand have started to introduce the town and it seems to be getting popular. I thought I was just going to wander around the town, but after that, I was going to join a sunset cruise on the Mekong River.

We boarded the boat for the sunset cruise, but the boat did not depart at the scheduled time of 4:00 p.m. The boat was empty at first, but then it was full of people. The ship, which had been empty at first, became crowded with passengers, and finally the aisles were filled with chairs. We were on board early, and after a lot of food and beer, we were already ready to go (laughs).

But as luck would have it, the sunset was just around the corner. The boat was packed with passengers, all eager to take pictures. The boat first goes up the Mekong River, so the right side is Laos (called Lao by the locals) and the left side is Thailand. It is a wide river, but the speed and flow are quite high, and you can feel that it is indeed a great river on the continent. I explained to the Thai teachers how different Japanese rivers are from continental rivers, citing the longitudinal curves of the rivers. Click on the image to watch the video.

It was just time for sunset. The sunset on the Mekong River is also very special. It was a long three years, but I am glad I waited!

After 45 minutes upstream, the boat turns around and returns to the pier in the same amount of time. It is a graceful cruise downstream at dusk, with hardly any engine revving, at the same speed as the river. The lights of Chang Khan can be seen on the right, but the Laotian side on the left is very dark. But I was impressed by the loud music coming from a small Laotian town on the other side of the river, which sounded like a festival or something, all the way to and from the river.

After drinking a lot of beer, I walked around the town for a while to sober up. Food stalls and regular stores line both sides of the old streets, and almost all of them are occupied by Thai tourists. S sensei recommended me to eat insects, but I refused with a smile.