Dec 22 A Grand Change of Plans!

 Wow!  Today has been quite the day.

I have not talked about all the problems we have been having with our Peranakan type semi wooden villa.  Robert, the manager, has been very accommodating, but the problems have not or cannot be resolved.  

This was supposed to be a quiet neighborhood.  But the house is located between two major highways.  The traffic noise is constant, and when motorcycles rev their motors and during rush hours, it is extremely noisy.  There are many dogs barking all the time.  The worst is the local mosque.  We expected the call to prayer five times a day.  But this mosque blasts out its broadcast of its evening service for over two hours every night!  It is impossible to think when that is going on.  I have taken to putting on headphones every evening.  But that doesn't work when you are taking a shower - which leads to:

Water or the lack there of.  The water pressure is very inconsistent or non-existent.  Michael has to walk out of the house, make his way under the house and around to the side to push a reset button.  It happens every morning, most evenings after dark, and a couple of times in-between.  The manager and all of the plumbers and helpers he has sent over here to fix the problem cannot figure out what the problem is.  This is so disruptive - and to add to the problem one day a plumber came over, we thought he was here to fix the pump and the pressure problem so we let him in.  He proceeded to take apart the kitchen faucet, leave parts spread all over when he had to go out and get another part - and then come back and put it all together.  Apparently an entirely different problem!  All of these interruptions caused us to have to wait around the house and not go out to explore.  Which was bad enough but:

The whole thing was complicated by the fact that the pool is unusable for us.  The pool was one of the main reasons we chose this house.  If we had to stay here at the house, at least we thought we could spend it in the pool.  But the pool is 4.5' deep all over instead of the 4' listed on Airbnb.  There is no shallow end with steps.  The two ladders into the pool are broken and rickety.  Each have lost the bottom rung.  Even with the last step present it is a long ways to the bottom.  And we old folk have a problem getting in and out of the pool without that help.  As a short person just a little over 5', means (most of) my head is the only part that would be above water.

So this morning we checked the Airbnb policy on how to resolve problems like this.  You have 72 hours after you have identified a problem to put in a complaint with Airbnb.  We were just within the time limit so we composed and sent an email to Robert.  Then sent in the complaint into Airbnb.  Robert called a short time later.  Michael did a great job of talking to him and he agreed to let us out of the contract and return the remaining money.  I am not sure how that is done, but Robert has been so helpful so far, I am pretty confident it will happen.

That was all resolved just before lunch time.  Michael and I went into hyper mode trying to figure out what to do next.  We realized we did not have to stay in Melaka.  What about Penang?  We have been there before.  While there, I took one side trip into Georgetown where there is a ton of stuff to do and see.  Mike did not go then and now really wanted to.  We checked the prices for Airbnb in Georgetown for the coming week, which includes Christmas.  Prices were way too high.  Oh well.   But wait, what if we spend the next week in Melaka at lower prices and actually see stuff that we have not been able to see as we have been too busy babysitting plumbers - and then go to Penang.  And surprise - the prices in Georgetown plummet after Christmas.  Wow - we get to do it all!  

But first - we have to get to Penang.  With a car and driver it costs around $300.  What if we fly?  We will have to take a prop plane - it will cost $113.12 for the two of us to get from Melaka to Penang.  It will cost $67.13 for the two of us to get from Penang to Kuala Lumpur in order to make our flight home in January, and that includes extra luggage weight.  Now I am wondering if we will be hanging onto the wings at those prices - but at least our luggage will get there.

So, our Airbnb for tomorrow through the 30th is booked in Melaka, all flights are booked, and our Airbnb in Georgetown for the last two weeks is booked.  The cost is only a little more than our original reservation and we will get see so much more.  I feel such a since of relief - I didn't realize how much stress this place was causing us both until after the decision was made.

Now I am excited about our next three weeks in Malaysia!