After a brief overnight stop in Kuala Lumpur, we’re in the air and on the last leg of our outbound journey to our first port of call in Hanoi. Jet-lag, a lack of sleep and an insanely early flight means we’re a little worse for wear, but looking forward to getting ourselves re-aquatinted with the place that left such a lasting impression on us on our last short visit to the region.

It was an uneventful 13-hour flight from Stanstead, flying on the relatively new AirAisa X budget airline. As a no-frills entity, practically everything after the cost of the flight is a paid for (though reasonably priced) option, and for us the concept is perfect; when you fly at night you definitely don’t need the usual extras, like postage-stamp sized TV in the back of someone’s seat, pointless novelties like DVT socks or the prospect of booze that I never drink. All I need is a safe, uneventful flight with plenty of legroom and that’s exactly what we got.

We were treated to some spectacular lightning displays over the airport in Kuala Lumpur, which translated to some pretty muggy (though thankfully dry) weather on the ground; with practically zero hassle from immigration through customs, we found ourselves outside and heading for the nearest McDonald’s in no time.

Our choices for overnight accommodation in the locale were pretty slim, consisting solely of the Tune airport hotel a few minutes walk from the LCCT. It was a utilitarian place that despite being fairly new, looked prematurely worn and run-down. Space in our room was limited to about a foot on three sides of the bed, and fitting ourselves and our luggage in the available space was a logistical challenge to say the least. None of that really mattered though, as the room was cool and the bed was comfortable, which in context was exactly what we needed.