On the road south

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Geo: 14.4749, 103.594

Wake up before 6:00 and have an early breakfast. Leave on the bike not much after 6:30 and head to Phon Thong. Drop Jai off at the bus station with our bags whilst I take the bike across town to the house where we always leave it. Unfortunately this morning I have to walk back to the bus station.
A local bus leaves for Roi Et at 7:30 and we are on our way. The bus takes its time stopping for passengers every few hundred yards, at least it feels like that. We arrive in Roi Et at 8:50 just in time to get tickets and board the 9:00 departure for Surin.
This is a really nice drive through well developed land where they luckily seem to have plenty of water. Pass through Tha Tum, Ba Ta Klang the elephant village, and arrive at Surin just before midday. Max had phoned us whilst we were travelling and told us to wait at the station and one of her friends would pick us up and drive us to their house. We sit waiting but nothing happens. I phone Dave but he is just as in the dark as me. Eventually I give up and tell Jai we are getting the bus. Jai phones Max again and it turns out that the friend who was supposed to be picking us up is busy and has not left to get us yet. Over an hour of sitting at the hot and smelly bus station and we are on our way again on a hot and smelly bus. The aircon in the bus is on the blink. It has 12 seats but at one time17 passengers !! The bus is heading to the Thai-Cambodia border crossing at Chong Chom but we leave it about 10km before then at Kap Cheong where Dave and Max have a coffee shop.
An Aussie is in the coffee shop with Dave and although I vaguely recognise him it takes a good hour before I place him in Chiangmai. He usually has an Engligh guy Graham in close proximity and seeing him on his own threw me.
We stay at the coffee shop the rest of the day chatting and Max does a BBQ in the evening.
Then I find out that we are staying at the shop and not going to their house a few miles down the road. They no longer bother going home each night but sleep in a room at the back of the coffee shop. They also have a shop that sells ceramics etc next door and we will be sleeping in the room at the back of that shop. Just some mats on the floor but it seems comfy enough.

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