05.04.24
We left Malaysia on a good note, departing from the town of Penang, but our flight out was one of the most surreal experiences ever! Our plane was due to leave at 06:50, so we get to the airport, look at the flight board, and there is no mention of our flight at all! Totally missing. We checked out the rest of the boards; same thing. I found someone there who pointed me to the direction of the desk for Batik airline, and there was not a soul over there in line, but thankfully there were two gate agents. I told them that nowhere in the airport did it say anything about that flight we were due to take in an hour, and she nonchalantly said, “Oh, I guess they didn’t update the board!”We went to the gate they assigned us to, and still no indication of our flight there either! It was as though no one knew about this mystery plane that was leaving in less than 60 minutes. They finally got their act together, but for someone like me who likes to be in control of information like this, it was pretty unsettling.
Meanwhile, we enjoyed the city of Penang, although we really didn’t explore very much at all. Everyone raved about street food and the restaurants there, and we do agree, we found lots of selection, all good. Would we return to Penang? Probably, but not for a long term stay, since there are other places we like better, and not when it is so blistering hot. We had plans to rent a bike there, but the temps were just too outrageous.Now we are back in Vietnam for the second time in about 2 months. Our room in Da Nang had a terrific location, just two blocks from the beach, which is BTW, quite gorgeous! We were there for only 2 days, but liked it enough to decide we wanted to return for a month, which we will do June 1. If you are curious about our outrageous rent, send me a note…
So now we are in Hoi An for the month, about 30 minutes south, and we have a really different homestay. We’re about 15 minutes outside town (boo), but it’s quiet, peaceful, and we are right on the river with nature just steps away. It will be a good place to catch our breath and chill
