18/02/2019. Drying out some equipment - a short interlude.

The problem with the MacBook had returned again. Occasionally intermittent "Z"'s permeating through my string of misspelt words, occasionally a string of "Z"'s instead of any words at all. This was something I knew I had to try and sort properly. If it was moisture that was causing it either through the humidity in the natural environment or condensation through air-conditioning, it was kind of urgent to get on top of it. With personal experience I can testify that some electronic devices don't tend to cope well with the wet. Whether I was imagining it or not I'm not sure, but many of my things from the camera to my bag everything was in had that feeling of being a little bit damp.

I started a little research into where I could get a suitable silica gel packets in Bangkok without having to eat my way through several tonnes of baked snacks. There were several places on line and private adverts on local listing sites, but as I considered time to be of the essence I wanted to try and find a place where I could buy them in store. I googled "Silica Gel camera shop Bangkok" and found a link to World Camera, a chain of stores that can be found in some of the malls in Bangkok, but knowing that this was something that camera shops here might stock I wandered into a branch of "Big Camera" at the MBK, near where I was located.

Using a picture of some Silica Gel packets as a visual aid complete with thai text next to it, I asked the shop assistant whether i was something that they might have available and she took me and showed me a selection of packets locked inside a glass cabinet. With the options available all written in Thai I asked her what the difference was between the items and it came down to whether I wanted single or multiple packets of the gel. With camera, lenses, the mac and other electrical items that I had travelled with potentially in need of respite, I opted for a multipack at 369 baht. Now I know where to get them if I find that I need to get more then this isn't going to be a problem, unless there is such a thing as a "Silica Gel Junkie".

As soon as I got outside the store I ripped open the package and put one of the 3 sheets that had been inside in along with my Mac that I had in my backpack. When I returned to the hotel some hours later I places the other 2 sheets inside a airtight, waterproof bag that I had also brought with me to Asia. In here I also put my 2 camera bodies and 3 lenses and later my computer also, leaving everything sealed for the evening.

In the morning and up until now (13:40), the MacBook has been working perfectly. There has been no false keystrokes in between my letters being pressed or any moment where strings of "Z"'s fight against what my fingers are typing. Any mistakes are now of my own making and that itself I can work with. It's too early to say for definite whether the problem has actually been completely resolved, or whether as last time this is a moment of only temporary reprieve, but this time I feel a little bit more positive than the last. The damp feeling that has been perceivable is no longer so, so fingers crossed, we're home and dry.

Well, dry at the very least.