The romance of air travel

A genuinely rubbish day.

My travelling companion and I both went to Yogyakarta Airport (which is apparently the only Indonesian airport with a train connection - is this relevant?) - I was off to Penang and TC was off to Bali and our flights were scheduled at similar times.

Mine was delayed by about 90mins so I got to Jakarta airport a little later. My next flight was from a different terminal (AirAsia seem to have their own budget terminal) so I made my way on the lovely shuttle bus. I checked in for my next flight and then came outside the airport buildings to find transport. It was not clear at all and there was no apparent method other than a cab. I'm not a fan of cabs but it is fine for Jakarta...
Except, when I explained that I had a flight in 5/6 hours and wanted to go into town and back out again, they just laughed at me. An actual laughter. The thought of getting into town and back out again would take 5 hours, apparently, even if I did not get out.
The day was wasted. I took the shuttle bus around the terminals to have a look and get some food. I took the shuttle bus around to fill some time. I got into the departures area early and then waited. And waited. The announcement system was not clear at all and people were getting up and getting around but there was no display to say which flights were leaving. I went and asked repeatedly, but asking does not make things quicker. The flight to Penang was also delayed, of course.

A bit of music (my addiction at the time was for "Entertainment" by SEKAI NO OWARI) and reading (recentish issues of PRIVATE EYE and New Statesman did at least pass the time).
I got to Penang a little late and without funds, I had to find a cash machine... And then a cab. To be fair, they had a centralised booking system for taxis so I was being officially ripped off rather than scammed and got to my hostel (or Guest Inn) at about 2345. Joy.
Getting there a bit later than expected, what did the receptionist say?
He said that I had not checked in by the 6pm cutoff and so my room had been taken.


Actually, not taken that night (fortunately) but the next night...
And with that news, I went to bed.

The next day was Penang...