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Irkutsk to Moscow was to be the longest leg of our train journey (and strictly speaking the only section which was actually along the trans-Siberian line). The 5185km to Moscow was to take 4 days and 3 nights, by far the longest time either of us have ever spent on a train.

We had a fairly hurried dinner before getting on the train again in UB. As this was our last meal in Mongolia we went to a local restaurant that had been recommended to us. Although there was an English menu, the description of the dishes still left us a little uncertain of what we were ordering; we went for 'main meal with potatoes' which turned out to be a shepherd's pie made with mutton and was pretty good.

We were picked up from UlaanBaatar train station by one of the popular guesthouses and were taken back for a very welcome shower (there are no showers on the train!). Clean and refreshed we reorganised our bags for our trip to the nearby Terelj national park.

We were planning on getting a taxi to the train station but ended up in Beijing's answer to a tuk-tuk; a fully enclosed metal box about the size of a chest of drawers, seemingly built around a motorbike. Drew had remarked on the way to the taxi rank that it would be quite impressive to get both of us and all out luggage into the back of one of these, but when no normal taxis were available, we somehow managed to squeeze in.

With only two days in Beijing we knew that there was a lot to pack in. We were staying in a guest house with an amazing inner courtyard that could have been the set of a kung fu film. The staff were very enthusiastic and helpful, and we signed ourselves up for a trip the Great Wall which was to leave very early the next morning.

Our visits to many countries seem to have corresponded with major public holidays and national celebrations. In general, this has been a happy coincidence as we have been able to join in the festivities; however, for organising travel and visas, the country-wide shut down can be a problem. The day that Steve arrived was the start of a long holiday weekend marking 35 years since 'liberation' or 'reunification' - the end of the American war. Unfortunately, we couldn't make it to the airport to meet Steve as we wanted to get our Russian visa application in before the holidays began.

As we had expected there was a dramatic change in pace as we arrived in Hanoi. The city is renowned for many tourist scams especially to catch those unaware fresh off the planes, with overcharging taxis taking you to the wrong hotels, lots of copycat hotels set up with the same name as reputable establishments and general skulduggery. We were quite happy to have arranged a hotel with an airport pick-up so we were greeted at the arrival gate and quickly whisked to a very nice hotel down a quiet alleyway in the old town.

On the third and last day of the Pimai water celebrations, the weather decided to join in the fun with huge forks of lightening, deafening thunder and torrential rain. Although it seemed a little redundant some people carried on the water fights, but generally festivities tailed off and once the storms passed over the streets became eerily quiet. We found ourselves walking a fair distance through the town with Drew carrying a large super-soaker, and the looks on most people's faces as we approached certainly suggested they wouldn't be too amused if he opened fire.

Vietnam is very narrow around Hue, so it was only a 4 hour bus ride west into the hills to reach the Laos border. We had set off early in the morning, so reached the border around the midday sun (when we often seem to find ourselves outside!) Despite reading several horror stories of tourists being left stranded in the middle of nowhere on these border crossings by bus, we had a very hassle-free experience and soon found ourselves back on our bus in Laos admiring more stickers and stamps in our passports.

We spent a very pleasant few days in Saigon, enjoying our relatively expensive hotel room and cheap beer! Getting around the city took a bit of getting used to - in contrast to the cool, efficient public transport systems in places like KL and Singapore, Vietnamese cities seem to be totally ruled by the motorbike.