On our way home now, left Mai Chau at 5pm yesterday and arrived back in Hanoi this morning at 4am!

Before leaving Mai Chau we had dinner on restaurant beside the train station, becky found a caterpillar in her cabbage!! Couple of us raided the shop next door and we got snickers and mars bars! Anyway the lady was trying to swindle me!! I got 2 snickers which was 50,000 dong, I only had large notes, so handed her a 500,000.....o waited and waited for change and nothing, when I confronted her she tried to shoo me out the job! I was having none of it!!! I argued with her for a bit and eventually she saw sense and gave me my change!!! Cheat a Scot out of money??!! I don't think so!!!!

The train journey was pretty good actually!! The plan was to have a celebratory party in one of he cabins, but everyone was too tired, ended up just chatting for couple of hours, then bed. The carriage we were in was really nice, we had a look through other carriages, and it was pretty scary, really horrible and dirty. We were told to keep our doors to our cabins shut during the night. I was in with Karen, Laura and becky, and I got the top bunk, what a nightmare getting up there, especially with sore legs after cycling!!!

Anyway, got up in the end and settled down for sleep, couple of hours later I needed the toilet, now that was a nightmare!!! Managed to clamber down but ended up stepping on lauras foot and wakening her, just as well really!! I left the cabin, shut the door and went to the toilet when I came back, I couldn't remember which cabin was in, eventually worked it out, but when I had shut the door, it had locked!!!! I was stuck in the dark outside the cabin in my pjs!!!!!

I totally panicked and didn't know what to do, especially with all the weirdos we had seen earlier! Ended up having to knock on the door and thankfully as I had jumped on Laura getting down from bunk, she heard me and I got back in!! Disaster averted!! I had visions of my sleeping in the toilet with he door locked for safety! Hahaha

Anyway that was he start of our long journey home!