The next part of the Long Trek Home involved getting from Penang to Bangkok. I had thought of taking the early ferry today rather than the later one yesterday then rushing to the airport to catch the last flight of the day to Bangkok which would have given me another day on Langkawi, but the timings were very tight and I would have needed to drag my case round with me. Being sensible, for a change, I thought that allowing a day for each part would allow for anything unexpected to happen.
I went out for a stroll from the hotel to take advantage of the few hours I had left in Penang, and chanced upon a place for breakfast that was so packed it must have been good. It was a really complicated system (well I thought it was, no one else was having a problem sorting out how to order) so I ended up with 2 spring rolls, 2 doughnuts, and a large pot of hot water, not quite what I'd had in mind. One of the staff took pity on this confused English tourist and swopped my pot of hot water for a pot of tea, wonderful, but the combination of spring rolls and doughnuts was a first for me, and not one I will necessarily choose in the future!
Back to the hotel, picked up my case and made my way to the bus terminus. Having done my research I knew that the 102, the bus to the airport, had a stop almost opposite the hotel, but since there was no board there I had no idea when it would arrive so I felt safer walking to the terminus. Needless to say the 102 passed me about 5 minutes later! At the terminus I discovered I had a choice between the 102, due in 39 minutes, the 401, due in 32 minutes, or the 401E due in 29 minutes. That's the one I took, especially as consulting my map I saw that it took the scenic route. Of course I hadn't allowed for the scenic route taking well over an hour, to the point where I kept thinking I might have missed the airport stop (OK, I admit it's pretty difficult to miss an airport but .......)
The departures board at Penang airport showed that the flights to and from Langkawi were cancelled so thank goodness I had given myself that 1 day cushion in Penang, I would have had no way of getting to Bangkok in the time available therefore would have missed my flight home, couldn't believe my luck that I'd made the right call, phew!
The flight landed half an hour late, the train into central Bangkok was 45 minutes late into Hua Lampong (on a one hour journey that's quite some overrun!) and the left luggage at the station was closing at 23:00 so all my plans of a final trip up the canal followed by a bowl of Tom Yum at Nalin Kitchen had to be abandoned. Never mind, next time ........ (what next time??)
Bangkok Airport is HUGE. And flights take off and land throughout the night so presumably the anit-noise brigade were ignored. And there is a bewildering array of 9 lounges to choose from. I took the easy option and chose the lounge nearest to me departure gate, simples.
13 hours non stop on a plane is too much for me now. Next time (what next time??) I'll choose one of the flights with a break of a few hours somewhere in the ME. And one with a better selection of films. And one that doesn't allow brats on.
But I'm home, safely and in one piece. I've been so fortunate in that my flight out was one of the last ones to escape before The Big Storm really hit, and my flight home wasn't cancelled or disrupted in any way. In the photos below you will see the departure boards at Bangkok on the day I flew home, in all my years of travelling I have never seen anything like it, incredible.
Thank you for joining me on my flashpacking jaunt. I've enjoyed your company and I hope you've found my blogs interesting. I'll see you all next time (what next time??)
I went out for a stroll from the hotel to take advantage of the few hours I had left in Penang, and chanced upon a place for breakfast that was so packed it must have been good. It was a really complicated system (well I thought it was, no one else was having a problem sorting out how to order) so I ended up with 2 spring rolls, 2 doughnuts, and a large pot of hot water, not quite what I'd had in mind. One of the staff took pity on this confused English tourist and swopped my pot of hot water for a pot of tea, wonderful, but the combination of spring rolls and doughnuts was a first for me, and not one I will necessarily choose in the future!
Back to the hotel, picked up my case and made my way to the bus terminus. Having done my research I knew that the 102, the bus to the airport, had a stop almost opposite the hotel, but since there was no board there I had no idea when it would arrive so I felt safer walking to the terminus. Needless to say the 102 passed me about 5 minutes later! At the terminus I discovered I had a choice between the 102, due in 39 minutes, the 401, due in 32 minutes, or the 401E due in 29 minutes. That's the one I took, especially as consulting my map I saw that it took the scenic route. Of course I hadn't allowed for the scenic route taking well over an hour, to the point where I kept thinking I might have missed the airport stop (OK, I admit it's pretty difficult to miss an airport but .......)
The departures board at Penang airport showed that the flights to and from Langkawi were cancelled so thank goodness I had given myself that 1 day cushion in Penang, I would have had no way of getting to Bangkok in the time available therefore would have missed my flight home, couldn't believe my luck that I'd made the right call, phew!
The flight landed half an hour late, the train into central Bangkok was 45 minutes late into Hua Lampong (on a one hour journey that's quite some overrun!) and the left luggage at the station was closing at 23:00 so all my plans of a final trip up the canal followed by a bowl of Tom Yum at Nalin Kitchen had to be abandoned. Never mind, next time ........ (what next time??)
Bangkok Airport is HUGE. And flights take off and land throughout the night so presumably the anit-noise brigade were ignored. And there is a bewildering array of 9 lounges to choose from. I took the easy option and chose the lounge nearest to me departure gate, simples.
13 hours non stop on a plane is too much for me now. Next time (what next time??) I'll choose one of the flights with a break of a few hours somewhere in the ME. And one with a better selection of films. And one that doesn't allow brats on.
But I'm home, safely and in one piece. I've been so fortunate in that my flight out was one of the last ones to escape before The Big Storm really hit, and my flight home wasn't cancelled or disrupted in any way. In the photos below you will see the departure boards at Bangkok on the day I flew home, in all my years of travelling I have never seen anything like it, incredible.
Thank you for joining me on my flashpacking jaunt. I've enjoyed your company and I hope you've found my blogs interesting. I'll see you all next time (what next time??)
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