Date: 4th July 2011

Place: Hanoi

Weather: Not sure actually because I was in an airport all day

The train stopped at 4am and we then had to barter for a taxi to the airport. We decided to go then because Sam was getting a flight too so it would save money for all of us to go together. We managed to get one at the price we wanted in the end but we got swapped from one taxi to another just down the road for some reason.

When we were stopping a Scottish guy asked Carm if she had seen a Vietnamese girl on a bike because he had just robbed him. He was in such a state because she had taken his camera which had 6 weeks worth of pictures on it. I felt so bad but the Vietnamese laughed at him. I hated that and it made me feel really nervous and vulnerable because it was so early in the morning.

On the way to the airport we also nearly got T-boned badly at a junction because they just don't take any notice of traffic lights over here. We were literally inches away and Sam shouted at the driver saying to slow down. When we got to the airport I finally felt safe and was a bit disappointed that Vietnam had ended on a downer since I had loved the country so much.

Since washing my clothes in Sapa they hadn't dried so were all in my bag soaking wet. I didn't want them to stink anymore so decided to hang them up in the airport whilst it was quiet. When the coffee shops opened Carm and I left our clothes hanging on the seats because Sam was staying there sleeping. When we got back though there were loads of people and they had sat on the chairs with our clothes on "/. We had to try to apologise and smile whilst collecting them all up.

We decided to head upstairs where they had internet whilst we waited to check in. I hung my clothes along a rail this time but then got told to take them down "/. My clothes were never going to dry!! We sat there for a few hours organising Mount Kinabalu which were supposed to have done about 6 months in advance. Thankfully we managed to get the last 2 beds which I guess must have been a cancellation.

We were both so excited to be getting on a plane and not a bus! After checking in online we went down to the desks to give in our bags and then went through security and had a look around duty free. I had fun wearing perfume again because I haven't had any in months! In the end we wished we had spent longer on the other side of security because food was so expensive on this side.

There also wasn't any internet unless you bought food from the one café. I decided to get some scrambled egg from there and we sat and had a go on the internet until a woman came up to us and said are we on the flight to Kuala Lumpur. I don't know how she knew we were but it turned out everyone else was on the plane even though the gate had just opened. I gave the rest of my dong to a woman at a shop after buying 2 cans of diet coke and we got on the plane.

It was so nice!! It was only a three hour flight but we still had a personal TV, meals and unlimited drinks! I watched Unknown which I had wanted to see in ages and by the end of three hours of free wine it was safe to say we were slightly tipsy when we arrived in Kuala Lumpur. I would recommend Malaysia Airlines to everyone! They cant do enough for you they even come round with wine to make sure you still have a full glass. Even when they had run out of white they offered us red instead.

Before leaving duty free we bought a bottle of rum between us because it cost like £8. We got a bus from the airport to the city centre. It was amazing, I was expecting it to be another Asian city but it was so western!! I was thinking as we drove through that I could be in England again. When we got off the bus a man asked us if we wanted to stay at Oasis Backpackers and told us the way to get there.

When we got there we went straight to 7 Eleven!! It wasn't like the ones we were used to, it was no where near as good but we bought a bottle of coke and some curry pastry things. We then went to the roof top of the hostel and had a couple of drinks with some lads up there. The view was awesome. We could see the Patronas Towers and Kuala Lumpur tower which were all lit up at night.