Bangkok Nights
The cache
is not at the posted coordinates.
Please solve the puzzle below to find
the actual cache location.
One night in Bangkok makes a hard man humble
One night in Bangkok and the tough guys tumble
Can't be too careful with your company
I can feel the devil walking next to me
Murray Head
Bangkok! In my mind, about
the most exotic and dangerous place you could visit. If the song is any
indication, I'm happy to keep that visit virtual with the biggest threat being
stiff fingers from operating a mouse.
This puzzle will expose you to a
tiny virtual slice of Bangkok's streets, with visits to Venice and the English
countryside thrown in. Successfully solving will get you to the
beautiful northwest corner of Oregon where if the tough guys tumble, it will
have been over an exposed root in the trail.
Reviewing the Google Earth tips
at the end of this listing might be helpful.
Off to Venice first! Just
collect some numbers along the way and provide them to the Checker at the end of
the puzzle. If Homer is in a good mood, you're off in your mud boots and
raingear!
Venetian Repletion
Start at this (very wet!)
intersection:
N 45 26.338 E 012 19.650
Pick a direction and swim or
float a bit in Street View, watching for:
Across the "street", spot two
gold-colored signs, each featuring an arrow. How many total letters do the
two signs contain?
A = ____
Continue in the same direction,
watching for:
After floating under the bridge (you'll pass under other bridges on the way),
look back and spot the year displayed at the top of the arch. The year
is...
B = ____
Keep going in the original
direction until you arrive at:
Directly across the canal is a
museum designed with many arches. How many arched windows are on the
second level (the middle of the three levels)?
C = ____
Look both ways along the waterway
and spot the dome against the skyline. Head over there:
Turn north here and proceed along
the canal on the right side of the image above until you see:
How many total blue and white
striped posts do you count?
D = ____
Hillier than Thou
Here are links to two beautiful songs that
reference legendary hills in the English countryside. One is natural and
the other manmade.
(Hint: Right-click and
"Open link in new tab")
Solsbury Hill (Peter Gabriel)
1000 Oceans (Tori Amos)
A line, such as via Google
Earth's Ruler Tool, drawn between the centers of the two hills reveals they are
20.6 miles apart. Following that line in satellite view from west to east
reveals a large solar farm just below the line.
The installation consists of
strips of solar panels. Strips can be separated by clear gaps, but not by
small cracks. In the image below there are nine strips.
A fence divides the panels into
west and east groups. How many total panels are in the west group?
The original plan was to count them all in both groups. You can thank me
now for showing some mercy.
E = ____
Home
Identify these Oregon cities.
Convert the first letter of each city's name to its alphabetical position number
(if two words, use just the first word). Multiply the four numbers
together.
F = ____
Bangkok Nights
A virtual "Little Pictures"
puzzle. Start at:
N 13 45.812 E 100 30.015
Pick a direction and see if you
get lucky. Watch for the first image, then follow the trail of pictures to
the final site and answer the question. Unless noted otherwise, "Change
direction" means to continue on the current heading but watch for the next
intersection further on.
(Change direction)
(Look 90 degrees left for the next site)
(Change direction)
(Change direction)
(Change direction)
(Pity the utility worker assigned to the mess in the next photo!)
(Immediate change of direction and you may not see the white arrows that
indicate a turn is available - click forward to advance)
(Follow the no-choice turns)
Continue two more clicks.
This is your final destination. Look 90 degrees left and spot two silver
three-digit numbers on the wall.
What is the sum of those two numbers?
G = ____
Pack your bags and catch the next BKK-to-PDX flight home.
Add your answers for A through G and enter the total (without commas)
in this Checker.
See you on the trail!
Google Earth Tips
Google Earth is both wonderful
and occasionally frustrating. Here are a few tips I noted when working on
the puzzle:
Satellite view now shows where
both Google Earth trails (drag the pegman out a ways and watch for blue lines)
and user-supplied images are available. The puzzle relies on the former,
so you'll want to avoid the user-supplied photos (those show as blue dots in
satellite view). A good habit is to always check the lower left corner of
the photo when you first drop to Street View. If you see an image credit
displayed there, you've hit a user image. Return to satellite view and try
a few feet away. I have not found any way to turn off the user stuff.
If anyone knows of a method, please let me know.
In Street View, white arrows
usually indicate the direction(s) you can move. For example, they may
indicate when you can go forward or to the left or right. But, sometimes
the arrows don't display. You may come to an intersection with only a
forward arrow, yet you can still turn.
Use your mouse scroll wheel to
travel forward and backward. Each click of the scroll wheel should advance
one image. If you want to make a longer jump, double-click up ahead in the
image (but it doesn't always work). At times the mouse wheel stops
moving, in which case, try the double-click method. Also, if
mouse-clicking fails to move, try clicking directly on the white arrow for the
chosen direction.