By Graham K. Rogers

Last weekend I was staying at the Sirikit Dam in the province of Uttaradit, with students some teachers. Access to online links was limited: even phones are not always connected. There was no wifi, no 3G, no EDGE at times. After two nights up at the dam, we headed back to Bangkok on Sunday, via a famous temple at Pitsanulok, with a number of delays.

With the arrival of the Energy Minister's entourage, as I feared, there were not enough tables and the students were stuck with rice in plastic boxes, while the teachers and staff still had a couple of tables. As we were eating, the officials arrived and took up all available space. Despite the size of the party, along with the EGAT officials and staff attending, our orders were filled in good time.

We returned to the accommodation area where it was already cold, so I found a t-shirt to wear as well. I later added another heavy shirt. I was still cold. The students were wrapped in several layers of clothes, but were suffering.

The point of the gathering is to clear the air after the 4 years they have been together: a sort of apology and confession if they think they need to. Their friends ask questions and there were some pointed comments in some cases. They also have the opportunity to criticise and comment on teachers. There were some apologies and thanks too. There was also plenty of refreshment.

Around midnight I decided it was bedtime. Like other teachers I spoke to the students, thanking them. This had been the best group I had taught in a number of years and I enjoyed the classes. They appreciated that. I added that I knew I had pushed them. I thanked them for that too, then related an anecdote.

I had recently taught some international students, who thought the standard I was asking them to reach was too difficult, so in my office I showed them a pile of reports from these students. I said, These are my EE students - a non-English program - you must reach their standard. The international students looked at the reports and never said another word.

During the night I could hear the party still ongoing, but slept fairly well until 06:30. My colleague came in at 05:00: after the get-together, he and some students had gone for a walk, chatting some more.

At the food court in the morning, a balcony overlooking the river, where we had eaten before was all set out for the Minister's party, with the finest napery and quality plates already set out. This overnight stay may explain in some part why we were not in the same accommodation as before. Halfway through breakfast, preceded by pathfinders, the Minister's entourage swept in. He had breakfast and they all swept out again while our students were surfacing, eating and sitting around waiting for the departure.

At breakfast one of the students told me he had been taking photographs with his iPad. It was an iPad mini, so I had a careful look. I saw that he did not have many apps. He told me that he usually downloads, has a look, then trashes them. He showed me an interesting app called HelloCamera (the full name is Camera360 Concept - HelloCamera - $0.99). He ran through it for me (nice when students teach the teachers) and I downloaded it right away.

The plan had been for an 08:00 start so that we were not back at Salaya too late. By 08:30, some students were still drifting in and those that arrived bought the standard boxes of rice for those who were not yet up. The bus left just after 09:00. Most students (and my colleague) were asleep before the driver moved of. I enjoyed the view.

Just outside Uttaradit, we turned left onto Highway 11 (AH13) heading for Pitsanulok. Traffic on this highway was immediately heavier, but nothing like Bangkok levels. While we were in the proximity of Uttaradit, the 3G icon appeared on the iPhone for the first time in a couple of days.

Progress on the main road was much better now, although as we were travelling East initially, the sun was bright at the front. By 10:15 I was beginning to feel hungry. I had eaten two bowls of rice soup on Saturday and had eaten well all day. My appetite increased significantly in the couple of days we were in the country.

Not long after, a fuel, bathroom and snack break, we came up to an intersection that I photographed last time I came this way on my BMW K100. This time I saw it was marked as "Indochina Intersection": Kuala Lumpur straight on, 1840 Kms; left for Vientiane (507 Kms) and Danang (1010); Yangon to the right, 607 Kms.

We turned right for Yangon, but more immediately, Pitsanulok and Wat Ratburatana. Traffic on the road was far busier and there were Bangkok-style tailbacks at traffic lights. In the centre of the city, as we crossed over the river, there was a market and like a lot of vehicles, the bus did a U-turn here.

Back over the river, we arrived at the temple, but the first gate was closed to the bus. Further on, we turned left into a fairly narrow section, but the bus driver had it all under control. Getting into the temple, however, seemed a different matter. Carefully, and with cooperation from some drivers aware of the size limits, we made it into the parking area.

We were supposed to leave at 13:00, giving an hour or so to wander around, for some to pay respects to the famous Buddha statue, and to have lunch. I was able to take some useful photographs here. Bit by bit, the groups split up and my roommate and I were left.

We walked to a lunch spot and ate rice. Several students also came in to eat. Some French tourists ambled in and wanted something the food spot did not have. One of them was smoking a cigarette, ignorant of the laws here and insensitive to those eating.

Back at the bus, we were the first aboard - on time. It took another 40 minutes before we left. By chance I saw there was a free wifi link (True) but while I checked that it worked, there was mot enough time to transfer the photographs from the camera, edit and upload. By the time I had exported the 19 that I wanted, the battery (which I had not charged overnight) was down to 25%.

As the driver negotiated the streets here, he had several near misses as cars and trucks changed lanes unexpectedly (bus, what bus?). Where we had made a U-turn earlier, a pickup had driven into the side of a bus: both had been making the turn. Not long after leaving, I dozed off (like most of the party) and awoke not far from Nakhon Sawan.

The journey back was uneventful, apart from a brief stop to shop: cookies and gifts for those we had left at home and our friends. As the sun went down, we were still a couple of hundred kilometres from Salaya. The end of the journey was in darkness and traffic that was a lot heavier.

I returned to my apartment by about 21:00 where there was wifi, 3G and all the technology I am used to.

And good coffee and proper tea. . . .

See also:

• A Tech-free Weekend (1): Bangkok to Uttaradit - in which we see a former political strongman riding his motorbike; and a colleague talks about the iPhone2 he still uses

• A Tech-free Weekend (2): Sirikit Dam, Uttaradit - in which we see inside the dam; have a walk on the dam crest; and see the largest teak tree in world

Graham K. Rogers teaches at the Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University in Thailand. He wrote in the Bangkok Post, Database supplement on IT subjects. For the last seven years of Database he wrote a column on Apple and Macs.