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.

Flight from Hungary to Doha

I woke today because of the heat. It has been quite hot in Szeged lately. However, I was also anxious. I've never been on a flight as long as I was going to take today. At least, not consciously. I know, however, that if I'm anxious beforehand, I will be all right during the event. It has happened to me several times. 

My mum did say that I'm the one who decided to do the trip. I explained that it was like having two people inside me. One is screaming at me what I'm doing and I must be crazy. The other half wants the adventure. I let the adventure part win unless it's something unnecessarily dangerous. Therefore, off I was. Not that I didn't have three freak-outs while buying the tickets. However, the key is to let yourself be scared and do it anyway. 

I booked my flight with Qatar. It was either that, or Emirates. I wasn't going to go with anything cheaper than that, as I knew I needed a level of comfort to reassure myself. However, with Emirates I would have had to change planes in Kuala Lumpur again, and I didn't want the extra hassle. Qatar had direct Penang flights from Doha. My cousin, whom I'm visiting, warned me when he spotted a sale on tickets in January, so I got them then.

Reaching the airport today was no easy task. As I live in the South of Hungary, I always have to travel a lot to get to the airport. I could have tried the train, but they're repairing the tracks, so that would have meant a bus and a train. Instead, my lovely boss offered to drive me. 

It would have been easy, but suddenly the cars slowed and then stopped in front of us. They barely moved for a while. We called my mum as she has access to the Internet. She notified us that there had been an accident and they were detouring traffic from the M5. Slowly, with some driving skills we managed to get to a sideroad in an hour. It was scary, but I got to the airport an hour and a half before takeoff. 

I went through check-in and security, but they held up my bags. The hand-massager again. I got a bottle of overpriced water and chatted with mum about how I got in on time. I took an aspirin for my circulation and waited for boarding. 

Surprise, I meet a colleague of my cousin, whom I visiting! She's going to Penang too. We chatted a bit, she was very interested in my travel plans to Japan. She said she thought of going there herself, and I told her I would upload to my blog my detailed travel plans once I did them. That way they would be based on reality. Of course, with all travel plans, you always include some guesswork as to how long things are going to be.

Boarding finally came and I took my very comfy window seat. Luckily, no one sat next to me. It was probably the biggest plane I've ever been on, and according to my flight info the next plane was going to be even bigger. Sadly, I was over the wing, but while we were turning, I managed to get a few good shots.

Interestingly enough, the screen didn't seem to be touch screen. However, I really loved the headset they gave. I can't push the earbuds into my ears properly, or if I do, it becomes painful after a time. So I browsed through the movies and found that most I've seen. However, I have wanted to see “The Grand Budapest Hotel”, and they had it, so that's what I saw. It was an interesting movie with a unique style that I think appeals more to Eastern Europeans. 

Meanwhile, they brought dinner. They gave a menu beforehand, but I have picked a non-lactose meal with my ticket. They had my special meal put aside with my name and seat. So nice! The steward who served it was pretty good-looking too. He said my name and called me "mam". I almost told him to stop that, because I've been single so long, I feel a blush coming on every time he smiles at me.

The meal turned out to be chicken with vegetables and rice, a small salad, fruits and crackers with spread. They had alcohol, so I had a nice glass of chardonnay. I ate it all as I skipped lunch. Then they took away the trays and served tea and coffee. I had some nice tea with a slice of lemon. 

Afterwards, I visited the ladies’. Why I'm mentioning this is they actually had some kind of scent bottles in there. Didn't try them though, because I have very sensitive skin.

I returned to my seat, but it back, and decided to close my eyes for a bit. On the entertainment system I put on Suits and that was a great background to rest. If course, it wasn't very comfortable any way, but I managed to gather some energy. Then landing came. I was surprised as to how well I've taken flying so long, and that gave me confidence for the next, longer leg of my trip.

As I exited the plane, I was hit by the warm air of Doha. It was very hot, even though it was night. They took us to the airport by bus. I got on and put my heavy backpack between my legs. A family got on as well, and the guy with his own backpack stood so close, I had to back up a bit. Through the long ride he kept bumping his pack against my stomach. I had nowhere to go. After one stronger hit I knocked on his back and told him to be more careful as I'm there. That was when he noticed me and stood a bit differently. Now I'm not small by any stretch of the imagination, so I must have had my invisibility cloak on. 

When we exited the bus, I was hit by the hot air once again and hurried into the cooled airport. I had to go through security again, and they made me throw out my water bottle! WHY??? It made no sense, and I told them how stupid it was. Probably just a ploy to sell overpriced water again.

After security I checked the flight information. That's when I felt hopeless anger. My flight had been delayed by 3 hours! 3! Why? WHY? Only one other flight on the whole board had been delayed. I was already pretty tired, there were still 2 hours normally until my flight, so that meant 5 hours at the airport. On top of that my phone had a hard time connecting to the internet so that I could unload my troubles on my mum, and I tried to look for my newfound acquaintance, but she wasn't around. She had blue hair, so I have no idea how I didn't spot her. Shouldn't have been that hard to find. So slowly, I resolved to wait out the many hours and explore the airport a bit. It was good for my circulation to walk around.

Turkey - From Konya back to Istanbul

This was my last morning in Konya. I was a bit sad that I didn’t go walking the night before, but I was too exhausted. I started packing, and got down to breakfast a bit late. I didn’t really feel like eating soup, which I had chosen the morning before. Very nice, but I just wanted some pancakes, which I got. I again took my coffee up to my room, to drink once it cooled. I packed, but was still a bit tired. Frankly, I never slept well. I kept waking up, tossing and turning. Couldn’t decide why, but something kept me uncomfortable. I hoped for a nice sleep in the new hotel that night.

We returned to the airport. It was hard to find the place to enter from the rented cars park. None of the doors opened from the ground floor. Then we discovered we had to take the outside elevator upstairs. It smelled strongly of cigarettes. Upstairs, we could enter, and had to go through the first line of checks. This made me a bit worried, as my boss had a toolbox that he put into my bag, because he was afraid of being over the weight limit. We brought it as a sample. So when they put our luggages through the X-ray, of course they made us open my suitcase. I had my boss take care of that, as at the time they were making me start my laptop. It’s a new thing they do. You have to unpack the major electronic devices and start them. After me there was a woman, who had a big photography case. She had to open that too. When she opened it up, it was full of equipment. I was a bit envious of her. I told her she had quite the set-up. She replied that photography is a serious hobby for her. I told her I loved it too, but I didn’t have the strength to carry such things around. That’s actually because I have a waist problem and sometimes it gets painful even with my tiny camera. So she motioned towards my boss and asked why I didn’t have him carry it. I had to inform her that that’s my boss, and I’m more likely to carry his stuff. I do sometimes, actually.

Meanwhile, he was having his own little adventure with the officer who was checking my suitcase. He examined the toolbox, but kept rummaging around. Then the officer asked if it was my boss’ luggage. He replied that no, and gestured towards me that it was mine. The officer quickly abandoned his search. I guess it’s a good thing I always pack my underwear in a separate bag.

We had to wait a bit to check in. There weren’t a lot of people around. An interesting couple of people were dressed like they were from Nepal. They even had warm hats on. It was quite warm, so I didn’t get why.

We checked in, and passed through security. There was no line, as there was barely anyone around. So I put my backpack through, took out my laptop, but not the other stuff. Seriously, if I took out all my electronics, it would take a year. When my bag went through, the officer stopped me. He started talking about something metal being in my bag. I had lots of metal in my bag, so I wasn’t sure what he was talking about. A female officer joined us. So the guy kept pointing to a part of my bag. I pulled out my massage gloves. They are plastic, with metal balls to use for a stronger massage. He stared at it, and asked what it was. The woman knew it right away. He said something about not keeping it in my carry-on. Actually, I’ve been travelling with it there since I got it in Aveiro the year before. I keep it there in case I need my circulation helped along on the plane.

So we sat down, then got some food at the only little bufe in the domestic departures. I also used the cleanest toilet I have ever seen in an airport. As I was eating, I could hear fighter jets. Then they appeared in front of the tall windows that overlooked the runway. It was the Turkish air force practicing. Konya has a massive airbase. It was the coolest thing ever! There was an airshow right in front of me. They did loops and turns, formations and solos. They were still doing it as we went outside to board the plane. When some would pass overhead, everyone stopped and just watched them.

The plane set off towards the take-off part of the runway. And kept going. And going. It was taxiing so much, I wondered if we were going to go to Istanbul on the ground. When it reached the furthest strip from the airport, it finally took off. It felt like forever. The flight itself was fine, quite uneventful. Got the usual sandwich. We arrived to Istanbul, and flew right passed it. Then I understood that we were going to take the landing passage that came from the sea. The year before we stayed at a hotel right under that landing passage. Wonderful hotel, unbelievably noisy. At night you could see a daisy-chain of plane lights that were in line to land on Atatürk Airport. When we finally landed, there was a lot of taxiing again to finally park. I swear I spent more time on the ground in that plane, than in the air.

It was quite strange to land in Istanbul and not have to go through all the security checks. As we were waiting for the luggages, many women came in full niqab, only their eyes visible. Their men were dressed like any other guy, jeans, red trainers. It looked like such a contrast. I felt a bit weird standing next to them in Western clothing. Frankly, I also felt a bit sorry for them that they felt that’s what they had to do in their lives, and all the limitations they had. But it’s not my place to judge, only to observe.

After we picked up our bags, we searched for the Miles & Smiles stand which is the Turkish Airlines benefit program. We’ve been having a problem with signing up, but it turned out that we both had functioning accounts. He didn’t know about it, I couldn’t sign into mine. Somehow getting a card printed fixed both which I found out once I got to the internet.

We picked up our car and headed to the hotel. We stayed at the Hampton by Hilton Zeytinburnu. When we got to the hotel and told them about the requests we wrote down in advance, they seemed a bit frazzled. Obviously, they don’t do room allocations in advance. So I ended up with a room on the ground floor, furthest from reception. At least I got a workout every time.

I really liked the room. It had a lot of green, which is my favourite colour. It was also very clean and modern, which is just my taste. The previous room was bigger, but for some reason I liked this room better. I guess it just felt more like something that I would do.

Review:

Comfortable atmosphere

This hotel is very well situated. It’s relatively close to the historical centre, and also on the outskirts of the Zeytinburnu district with all the shops. There is also a train going behind it to the centre and also to the ferry port. However, the train can get loud in the room towards the end of the hotel.
The staff is very nice and friendly. There is a pantry by the reception and quite a large bar area. In case you need conference rooms, they have those as well. There is also a small gym in the basement and that’s where you can go to the underground garage.
The room is nice, though a bit smaller. However, I really liked the atmosphere of the room, it felt comfortable and relaxing. The TV mainly has Turkish channels. There are a good amount of plugs, but no wired internet. Wifi works well though. The bathroom has a large shower and a good amount of counter space. Do check out my video on my YouTube channel, Izzy’s Travel Diaries for more details.
Breakfast is nice, though relatively smaller than what I’m used to in Turkey. They had a large amount of people, and quickly ran out of everything. I often used cereal bowls for soup.
Overall, nice, comfortable hotel. I had very good sleeps on the bed, maybe a bit too good as it was hard to drag myself down to breakfast. Especially, because it was often so crowded. I wish I could have packed up my breakfast and taken it on a tray to my room. I did take my coffee.

After a bit of rest we headed to the Olivium for dinner, and then a bit of shopping. 

I was very happy to fall into my bed, and had the best sleep since I got to Turkey. Very comfortable bed.

Italy - Arriving and from Pisa to Hotel Monteconero

I had a terribly early flight to Pisa. I’m not a fan of flying at dawn, because I’m not a morning person. If I get up before 6am, I always feel strange all day. An interesting fact, my cousin has a chemical imbalance. She can’t wake up very early, because she can have seizure like symptoms due to a chemical imbalance in her brain while sleeping. I just feel like I’m half sleeping. I also wasn’t happy about the early flight because I had a little cold. For some reason, I keep getting sick just before I go to Italy. I’ve been ill the previous two times as well, but the minute my feet hit Italian soil, I’m cured. Hoped for that this time around as well.

So, I got my customary Costa coffee after checking in. During the security check, they did some chemical swipe on and in my bag. They’ve never done that before, but it all cleared.

To get onto the plane, we had to go outside to this container thing. It’s a real drag with budget flights, because they make you go there for boarding, and then you may have to wait for up to an hour in a container that has no toilets, not enough seating, no heating, no cooling. Then you have to walk to the plane. Then there are also those people who don’t pay attention to the directions as to which door they need to take. They get on at the front, and then push their way through all the way to the back. Got a window seat at least. Can’t stand sitting in the middle. Believe me, after all that, even a Ryanair seat feels like heaven, when actually, it’s the lowest end of budget flying.

The flight was uneventful. The weather was quite clear, and I enjoyed taking lots of pictures and videos. However, at one point there was an interesting reflection on the clouds. I think it came from the plane. It was as if the reflection of the plane was surrounded by a rainbow. I tried to capture it, and I hope I succeeded. 

After landing we got the car. We had to take a small bus to the pick-up site, but luckily it arrived quickly. The sun was shining quite warmly, and I took the opportunity to catch some sun.

Once we had the little Fiat, we were on our way. We had to cross through the whole peninsula, so even though we had an early flight, it was quite late by the time we got to the hotel. The journey there was fun though. It’s been a while since I’ve actually used one of those car maps to navigate,

but if I managed to do it at 8, I can sure do it at 35. We stopped a few times on the way. Once for coffee, and also picked up a few food items. Food is so much more expensive here! We also stopped at a small supermarket, and they had the loveliest grapes.

The hotel check-in went uneventful. I made a video of the hotel. I quite liked the room. It had a fridge, which is not as widespread as you’d hope. However, the real bonus feature of the room was the view. The hotel itself is on top of a hill. Pretty much middle of nowhere. However, when you step out to the balcony, Italian countryside at your feet.

As the sun was setting, it was getting colder in the room. There was some extra blanket, but I was still getting cold, which really didn’t do much for me already having a cold. So I decided to be the troublesome guest, and go down to ask for a heater. There was a radiator in the room, but of course at the end of September they didn’t switch it on centrally. Sadly, they said that they didn’t have one. I asked them politely, that it would be so nice if they could get me one, because I was afraid that my cold would get worse. Since there was no electric kettle in the room, I couldn’t even make myself a hot tea. In the end, they did get a small heater from somewhere, and I was ever so grateful. I made good use of it right away.

Review:

Lovely hotel, though some things could be sorted

This is a lovely hotel high up on a hill. The views are incredible of the sea and the valley below. However, because of this, in bad weather it can be hard to get to.

The rooms are a bit Spartan. The TV is pretty small, and the channels are in Italian. It's a common problem in Italy. The bed is comfortable. The double bed was two singles pushed together and not locked. I know this can bother some people. There is no tea service, and this is also common in Italy. The bathroom had a shower, and also a bidet. However, airing it out was solved by the window not closing properly, which in the cold could be a problem. Toiletries were bars of soap, shampoo and a cap.

Breakfast wasn't very big, and they weren't always on top of refill. The view from the breakfast room is beautiful though.

The receptionists were very helpful, though their English a bit spotty. I had a problem with the temperature being unusually low for September, and also suffering from a cold. They got me a space heater, which helped a lot. I also kept the bathroom door closed. Housekeeping was good, the only thing I would say to the hotel is to do what most hotels do, and only change the towels if they are left on the floor. More economic that way. Also, I kept hanging my towel next to the shower, and they kept putting them back under the sink. I so knew I would forget to hang it before I got in the shower.

The surrounding area is great for small hikes, but the terrain can be difficult, so best bring proper footwear. Getting a parking spot late in the evening can be difficult, and best done with a smaller car. Not to far by car there is an are with shops for food and the like.

Overall, nice hotel if you like to be in the middle of nowhere. I don’t know if they close for winter, but possible, since the steep hill must be hard for a lot of cars in the snow. I did enjoy my stay, and would return. Must be great for weddings as well.