Flight from Doha to Penang

I finally managed to connect to the internet after many tries, though I figured out that around the weird bear it was a wifi dead zone. So, I wondered around while sending voice messages to my mum on Facebook Messenger. Much easier than writing.

I found plenty of designer stores, which I didn’t even approach. Unless someone is willing to sponsor me, I don’t have that kind of money. Or a rich guy marry me. Either will do. There were also some nice-looking restaurants. Found a couple of WH Smiths, but they didn’t have any Doctor Who mags, no surprise there, still looked though. Also a few Harrods stores with the bears. I hurried away less one looks at me right and I accidentally take him to the cashier. I also found an electronics store, with some very interesting items, and did consider getting the portable wifi booster. I may still get one during my trip. I was walked into again in that store, because I still forgot to take off my invisibility cloak apparently!

I wondered into the food court and saw some nice things. The longest row was for Burger King, which was a surprise considering the other, much better-looking places.

I also looked at some of the interesting artwork around the airport.

My mum said that she read online somewhere that I had to go to the counter of my flight. I was “very happy” about that, as it was on one end of a massive airport. I still went there and was informed that I could go to this canteen-like restaurant and get a meal there with my ticket. I also meet a Malaysian woman from London there, who got the info with me. So, we started talking and went to the restaurant. We got some food, but it wasn’t very nice, and the place was cold with uncomfortable seats. We talked for a while, when I got a shock through the wifi.

My apartment in Osaka had been cancelled! I thought it had all the paperwork necessary now for lending out apartments, but apparently it wasn’t so. I had been refunded the money, but now I had to find an apartment in the very limited Osaka market. I quickly opened the Airbnb app, and started to search. With the refund I also got a coupon for the same amount for my next rent as compensation, and 100 USD that I could put towards an experience in the next 6 months. That did soften the blow a bit, and as prices have gone up, I could have a bigger budget than I did before. After some searching around, I found one that was a lot more expensive, but with the coupon it came out for less than the previous one. I quickly booked it and heaved a sigh of relief. I was definitely planning on using the experience coupon, but that was for another day. Securing a roof over my head was much more important.

Crisis averted, we chatted some more with the woman, and then walked back to the boarding counter. She decided to rest, so I tried to find a place to charge my phone. Sadly, the British outlet was not in my carry-on, and that was what they used in Doha, so I couldn’t use them. However, I accidentally sat down next to my previous acquaintance! What are the odds! We discussed our situation and as it was soon time to go to the gate, we walked there. It was a massive plane, so after the boarding gate we still had to wait, but at least they had seats.

I saw lots of kids around. I already saw the next 8 hours of one child or another screaming. I was hoping that I was exhausted enough to at least get some rest. It was finally time to actually get on the plane, and I was just so glad, I wasn’t even scared of the long flight anymore. I got on it, and it was indeed bigger. However, the seat felt smaller, and people were sitting next to me. So, I put on the headphones, turned on Suits - touchscreen this time - and watched as the plane took off in the early morning. There were what appeared to be clouds, but were more like a sandstorm outside. That was weird and unusual for me. Ascend felt quite long, and my nerves got a bit weird, but I chalked it down to being tired. Once we were all the way up, I tried to get comfortable and dosed for a few hours.

Food came, and I had a special meal again. I did have a little problem with this one, as I can’t eat mushrooms, they give me a stomach ache. Luckily, I could get them to the side of my eggs. I ate everything, had a coffee, and tried to rest a bit more. No such luck, so I selected some Hallmark movies and watched those. Over the Indian ocean there was a lot of turbulence, so that didn’t help. I just watched my second movie when we landed, and I finally got off the plane knowing that I wasn’t getting on one for over a week.

We walked straight into the airport, and after some corridors to passport control, and bumped into my blue-haired acquaintance again. We chatted some more as we walked and waited. I noticed a sigh of a quarantine for people coming from places that had yellow fever, which didn’t look promising. At the passport control they took my fingerprints electronically, and I could go to get my bag. It arrived quite fast and intact. I was so relieved I hugged it. I got my bags through another baggage check, and was finally outside. My cousin was waiting for me, and he was surprised to see us both. I said my goodbyes and we went outside to his car.

The air was very humid and hot at the same time. I hoped I would get used to it fast. We got into the car to go to his place, and as we talked I took pictures and marvelled at the streets. In a way it was the chaos and the mixture of wealth and poverty that I expected from TV, but it was still different to actually be there. By the time we got to the apartment I was getting very exhausted, so I soon retired to the guestroom. It was very lucky that I arrived in the evening, as I could get up in the morning on time. I had been on the road for 25 hours, and awake for 30. I slept like the dead.