Tak-Lampang

0930 At bus terminal. Told my bus will be at platform 8, even though it says 13/14/15 on ticket. Fuck knows. Most buses labelled only in Thai.

Went to bed about 0030, alarm at 8, no way getting up for breakfast, snoozed till 0905, the last ten minutes being a glitch with alarm (I wanted to snooze 5 mins but it snoozes 10, so I set it and somehow it decided that meant the following day, maybe I set it to a too-early time, no idea). Didn't feel sick - touch wood got away with pork - but tired.

Checked out, no tuktuks outside hotel, panic, managed to get one in street. Think guy did understand 'bus terminal' but I wasn't confident (hey, why include any useful phrases in the guide book?) so I dredged out my ticket and showed it to him. Bit nervous en route in case we hadn't communicated clearly but was OK. 50, didn't tip as had to get change for a 100 from him. Really worried was going to miss this and be stuck in Tak at expensive hotel another day. Still worried going to miss it but for different reasons.

I have no idea how official or trustworthy the people who keep telling me which platform things go from are.

Now am not there will say was at Viang Tak Riverside Hotel last night.

Exactly why there are two buses a day both early in the morning I don't know.

0938 Ticket has 945 written in marker by woman who sold it me and 1015 crossed out. It also says 1015 on the ticket window, I just went and checked. So I might hope that the bus is at 1015 and the 945 is just to make sure I get here early. Or it just might indicate that they've changed the time of the bus but for whatever reason can't update the time on the ticket printing system, though surely not.

Guts feel a little odd but apart from slightly inducing fears re that pork I think it's mainly a not-eaten-since-last-night-and-not-that-well-even-then feeling. I have peanuts but not eating them yet.

0947 OK, on bus. Bag minus daypack fits in overhead storage, which is nice. Just been given small bottle of water and small packet of biscuits, which not going to eat just yet. Left wrist hurts a bit but I guess that's hardly a food poisoning symptom.

I looked round and saw a coach (not at any of platforms I've mentioned, but they're all togethe) for Chiang Mai (IIRC) and it may have had Lampang written on it and I know Lampang is roughly en route to CM and also it was the only coach in the terminal so figured I'd give it a try, handed my ticket over and woman showed me to my seat, dunno if that's normal or because I'm a dumb foreigner. ;-)

I am in window seat with some oldish guy next to me. He seemed to want to sit in the window seat when he turned up while I was putting my bag up in the rack and quite frankly he'd have been welcome to it but he let me in in the end. He is talking a bit with a young woman opposite aisle so maybe they are together and he wouldn't have wanted the window. Dunno.

0957 We're off. Dunno if this is because everyone is on or if they'd have gone without me had I really not been here even though it's not 1015 yet.

1104 We've stopped somewhere, GPS shows about halfway to Lampang. Loads of people got off, I assume for bog/stretch legs - this bus could have come from Bangkok and is going to Chiang Mai. I'm sitting tight, I don't need to get off.

1234 Lampang bus terminal.

1247 Outside Riverside Guest House, got tuktuk. I am not staying here (I would have, it being sole member of intersection of sets 'in guide book' and 'on booking.com', but it was full), but this is nearby and I figured driver would know it. GPS is naturally playing silly buggers, but it's broad daylight and there is a map in guide book and GPS may come back.

Tuktuk was single passenger job, smallest yet. The driver wore a crash helmet, which somehow seemed a bit unsporting when I didn't get one.

1329 At hostel. Not happy. It DOESN'T HAVE ITS FUCKING NAME OUTSIDE IN ENGLISH, even though it says 'Cafe and hostel' outside in English. I walked up and down the road a bit, their map was completely misleading, would never have found it unless some woman asked me what I was looking for as I was stood outside. The bathroom is shared; I see now the confirmation e-mail said that, but I am damn sure booking.com didn't. However, I can't tell because the wifi doesn't work in my room, and I'm pretty damn sure it's supposed to according to the website. It's another one of these 'loads of bars and it connects but doesn't allow any data at all to pass' jobs. Since both my phone and laptop exhibit this behaviour I am disinclined to attribute it to problems with my equipment.

I can live with a shared bathroom but I damn well expect to know before I book. It's not particularly fucking cheap either. I think access is via the cafe so there may be an 11pm curfew as well. The website didn't say 24 hour reception, so this is strictly my fault if so, but it also didn't say 11pm curfew. What a fucking pile of shit. Feeling massively fucking played.

So I'm stuck in a room with an 11pm curfew and no fucking internet

1342 No, wifi doesn't work down in cafe either, woman came over and pointed password out to me as I was fiddling about with my phone, I said it wasn't working and asked if it was on/working and she said it was. Left, got paranoid had put laptop bag in my bag on suspend so came back to check it. (I hadn't, but I was sufficiently hacked off and wanted to get down to try wifi downstairs and pay the rest of what I owed that it wasn't totally implausible I'd have fucked up.) So fucking not happy right now.

I incidentally note this place is *not* on tripadvisor, only the associated coffee shop seems to show up, so I won't even get the satisfaction of leaving a less-than-glowing review.

Oh, woman asked me if I wanted to hire a bike while I was down in cafe. I said not now. Frankly I hope I don't want to hire a bike, or I can get one somewhere else, because the last thing I want to do is put any more money in their pockets.