In my past trips to Thai I would write down quotes and little diary notes. The idea was to make a record of what I was doing so that I could eventually use the information in some form of book. Today on Ebay I bought a portable DAT recorder, the hope is that I will be able to record conversations and and my personal thoughts in a more accurate way.
Last year when I sat with Long in her room and she told me about her life, I wished I had made a recording of it, now I can do that. I can make a audio (not video just yet) record of these important meetings. It will help me get accurate quotes for possible future books and I can also place some sound files online in this blog and my website.
It also just seems right to make a recording of what is said, what they say matters and should be remembered.