Bangkok, Friday

1358 Up mega late, didn't feel like doing anything. As I feared the hotel in Lop Buri has completely failed to reply positively or negatively. Phone number seems dead. Online can only find ultra-expensive places in Lop Buri. Think am going to have to go buy train ticket and wing it on the accommodation, unless something turns up on e-mail by this evening. Far from ideal but I guess I can get an overnight train or something to go on if I am really struggling for accommodation.

Anyway, let's trek over to the train station and see what happens about buying a ticket.

1451 At station. Got metro here though such a long sweaty walk along Silom Rd to Si Lom metro station debatable if worth it. Woman at ticket counter said I didn't need to buy a ticket in advance as it was only a short way. I have to take her on trust I guess. The one consolation is that this leaves my options a little more open in terms of deciding to go somewhere else if I get a negative response from that hotel (unlikely, I feel, more likely I will never hear from them). Not really sure what to do now. The uncertainty is gnawing at me a little, given this is peak season and I am not too sanguine about room availability at short notice, but there is not a lot I can do.

(Booking.com has two or three super expensive places with availability in Lop Buri, hostelworld doesn't acknowledge place exists, expedia has two hotels both of which claim to have no availability.)

Had a nasty turn on arriving at station when I thought my phone had been nicked, but it hadn't. No big plans for today, I think I might just wander and see what happens.

1456 Just happening to wander past information window, there may be no trains as far as Chiang Mai during November due to engineering works. It isn't totally clear if only some trains are affected. I guess I can always do the last stretch by bus.

1640 At cafe on Khao San, having walked over here via Chinatown and Yarowat (sp) Road. This is the super backpackery place according to guide book, and I can believe it. My guts are churning slightly, even though I haven't eaten anything yet. Put it down to nerves.

One bar advertises on its sign "we do not check ID cards". ;-)

Having pad thai vegetable, was going to have the beef pad thai but on a bit of a whim I switched. It is fractionally cheaper but not enough to be remotely a factor.

I might stay near this area when I come back to Bangkok prior to leaving, though at least for the last night I want something clean and isolated for packing etc. I don't want to be round Silom Rd, since I've kind of done the stuff it's super convenient for, and it's not as if I've been enamoured of the bars round there.

I think the gut churning feeling is largely nerves. The uncertainty of tomorrow makes me paranoid about access to toilet facilities.

1654 Food not bad. Still bit worried about guts but what can you do? This place is Chart Guesthouse & Restaurant.

It is slightly tempting to get a beer and watch the world go by, but I am aware it's a considerable journey back to the hotel (I intend to walk over to the tourist boat terminal, then get that back and walk from there, which is a moderate trek after I get off the boat. I am half planning to make this an alcohol free day, and I maybe want to be up earlier than otherwise intended tomorrow (I was going to get 12:45 train, checkout being at 11) so as to allow more room for manoeuvre if problems getting a room in Lop Buri. If I do want to have a beer here I can do it much more comfortably and easily when I am here in a few weeks. Also slightly tempted to go to Flann O'Brien's to see the different live band tonight, though may resist on alcohol and early start grounds, since it is not a huge draw.

1705 GPS has started to play up, yay!

1825 At Deen Restaurant for Thai sour-hot soup and deep fried squid with rice. After this will go buy lashings of water (for tonight and to take with me tomorrow) and some peanuts or something for the train and if possible (though I doubt it) some fruit or something to wash and eat at the hotel. Not planning to go out again once I get back to hotel, for various reasons elucidated earlier. Bit lardy having this food on top of what I had in Banghlampu earlier, but not too much and I may not get the chance to eat well tomorrow. Arguably having the squid is taking a chance but I did eat (non-seafood) here the other day and it was fine, and I might naively hope deep-frying kills everything. :-) Coke zero has come with a glass with ice but I shall just drink it out of the can and hope it doesn't cause offence.

Got boat back OK, was a bit worried I wasn't on the tourist boat as it wasn't obviously marked as such and seemed way too many Thais on there, including a big group of army/navy cadets, but it stopped at the right pier and no one checked my ticket so all good.

If I'm really lucky the hotel will have replied to my e-mail when I get back to hotel. If not I might try to call them again, or maybe hunt around on web for contact details or cheap alternatives.

1858 Got bill. 235, made it 260. Pretty good value and food pretty good. Off.

1916 Back at hotel.

2029 Definitely feeling a pull to go out. I don't intend to yield to it. I need to pace myself yada yada, it's not as if anything massively attractive is going on that I'm missing out on, and I really can't be out every single night for five or six months. I think I would also like to escape the uncertainty around tomorrow, but I am sure it will be fine.

2121 This does feel very loserish. Meh. Have poked around on web and failed to find anything mega obvious about Lop Buri accomodation. There is a train at 1050 which gets in 1258 (the online timetable makes no attempt to distinguish weekends from regular days of the week, fingers crossed), I might aim to get that. FFS, getting up at 9 is hardly insane. That way I have more time to run round Lop Buri like a blue-arsed fly if I can't get a room in the first place I try.

I am wondering if I should stop there for three nights. In some ways it's probably too long, but if I only do two nights am I ever really going to get to relax? The first night I will have travelled in that day and probably not had much time to see anything, then the second day I will be trying to see stuff and making arrangements to travel on the following day, or some variation on that theme (I could make the onward travel plans the first night). I don't want to waste time but at the same time being preoccupied with wasting time is also not a good idea. Also, if spending an extra night there helps me to achieve some of my goals like spending the odd quiet night studying or something (I could be doing that tonight, but I'm not, I don't feel relaxed enough - excuses, excuses) and maybe helps with getting to meet people and just generally stops me feeling stressed, maybe it isn't really a waste anyway.

2208 Having a look at guide book, possible stop after Lop Buri and most importantly a possible 'escape hatch' if I can't get a bed in Lop Buri tomorrow is Phitsanulok. Hostelworld has no knowledge of the whole town, but booking.com has a number of places at the THB 5-600/night level with rooms left for three nights checking in tomorrow. So if I can get on from Lop Buri to Phitsanulok that is probably an option if necessary. Yes, assuming the no-difference-between-weekday-and-weekend-timetables thing is correct, there is eg a train at 1519 arriving 1919, or (worse) a 2041 train arriving 0008, and several trains after that arriving 2am-3am ish. This is another reason to try for that 1050 train tomorrow, it gives me a couple of hours (which should be ample in such a small place) to try to find accommodation before trying to get on the 1519.

2344 Not really packed but because I did some laundry tonight need to leave some clothes out to dry, so have to pack in morning. Should be fine.

One or two online reviews of my intended hotel mention bed  bugs (most don't). I looked them up online and obviously the medical websites are full of little adverts about the symptoms of type 2 diabetes and fuck knows what else. My mood, already not exactly in the stratosphere, plunges a little further.

0123 Can't sleep, naturally.