The previous day in Melaka we'd asked a taxi driver how much it would be for the 2 hour drive to KL airport. Pleasantly pleased at 130 ringit (about £20) we instantly agreed as it was much cheaper than the hotel's courtesy coach (350 ringit) and more convenient than the complex and long route to central KL then on to the airport by taxi/bus/taxi/bus.Thank goodness the taxi was on time and we were off, arrived at the airport 2 hours later, and were checked in within a few minutes.

We've meant to say a bit aboutAirAsia, Malaysia's low cost airline that operates out of KL but serves many countries in SE Asia, China, India and even Australia and without whom we'd have a much more difficult series of journeys on this particular stage of our travels and this return to SE Asia.They are definitely low cost (certainly by Western standards), operate brand new aircraft and from website booking to departure and arrival are very efficient. As with all low cost airlines they will probably only operate while customers are turning up but all our flights have been fully booked or nearly full - so it augers well for travel in this part of the world.Anyone wishing to see SE Asia could do worse than a flight into KL and use AirAsia to see a whole host of wonderful countries.

We booked the Novotel in Medan because our flight into Medan arrived in the evening and more specifically because when we phoned from Malaysia we couldn't get through to any other hotel. We also wanted to 'acclimatise' to Indonesia, our 15th country since August 2006 - first impression is it is a lot like India - and needed a secure place to leave some of our baggage whilst travelling in Sumatra. Reasonable excuses eh??Saturday night in Medan is probably not the best time to go out to explore so we had beers and food in the hotel.A huge buffet awaited us all for 49,000 Rupiahs (sounds a lot but it's only about £3)!! Back in the room we did some planning, catching up with some work, and had a good night's rest in the king-size bed.

Good morning ....... we rose bright and ready for action. We've sorted out transport to Bukit Lawang but will have to wait until we get there tomorrow (Monday 7th) until we know where we'll be staying. Everyone raves about the Jungle Inn where rooms overlook the river and waterfall.But with no telephone at the Inn (we hope they have a room!) we can't phone ahead. The main purpose of going to Bukit Lawang is to see some orang utans in the wild.

E M xxx