Check in at Heathrow was good and bad. The airline check-in was very quick - we queued for less than 10 minutes. That was the easy bit. There was a very long queue for security but even before that the approach was full of people having to repack their hand luggage to meet the security requirements. Fortunately, Anne had read up on the rules beforehand and we were okay. Having got through the x-ray, etc we thought we were clear to the departure lounge. But then found we had to put our shoes through a further x-ray machine. Fortunately (or well planned) we were both wearing slip-ons so it didn't take too long. After all this we had a nice leisurely meal at Chez Gerrard.

We boarded and took off on time. The plane was only half full at most with many people in the window rows having three seats to themselves. The flight was 11 hours 40 mins. After the first (very nice) meal they put the lights out and we both managed to doze on and off until being woken for a second meal two hours before landing. All very uneventful.

This was the first time we had flown with Malaysia Airlines and we'd recommend them to anybody. They have a 34" seat pitch and the food and service were excellent. Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) was on a par with Singapore's Changi Airport for smartness, cleanliness, efficiency, shopping, etc. However it lacked character and didn't have the nice things that Changi has, ie the orchid garden, the carp pools and the extensive rest areas and restaurants. We had a beer and didn't have long to wait until boarding. Unfortunately, once we got to the gate they announced a 45-minute delay. They were spot on with this so it wasn't too bad. The onward flight was absolutely full. It was the first time we'd flown in a plane of the 2-5-2 seating arrangement. If we'd known we'd have asked for window seats. The flight was fairly uneventful and took 6 hours 40 mins. We didn't get too much time to doze after they'd fed us as they woke us up again for a breakfast snack about two hours before landing. Quite a lot of turbulence with the seat belt signs on for much of the flight, but nothing drastic.

We got straight through passport control but had quite a long wait for baggage. For some reason we were waved past the customs/quarantine control where everybody else seemed to be having their baggage checked. We had a coffee and snack before collecting the hire car. This is a Ford Territory - not a model you've seen in the UK - a big 4-wheel drive, a bit different from the 'estate car' ('utility' for our Aussie readers) we'd envisaged .  We were so busy chatting as we drove that we missed a turn but didn't realise for some time. The upshot of this was that we were a bit later getting to Kerine's than we'd intended.

After hellos and a coffee with Kerine and Karen we came over to the Jackson. Unfortunately, our room wasn't ready. We'd been hoping for a quick shower and an hour or two's sleep. Instead we drove down to Burnside Village (our favourite shopping centre) and did some shopping. Les had his first bowl of Greek yoghurt with mango and Anne had her first sorbet - the luscious green apple. We picked up a sim card to use in Anne's mobile and then returned to Kerine's for lunch. We came back to the Jackson about 2pm and our room was ready. We couldn't resist the inviting and empty swimming pool so we had a quick swim before showering. We set our portable alarm for 4.30 (giving us an hour and a half's sleep). Disaster - the battery was dead on the clock. Les had kept waking up and thinking he wasn't sleeping as it was still 3pm. Anne suddenly woke to find it was 6pm!! We were due at Kerine's at 6.30. We managed to get there and the four of us went down to the Fisherman's Basket - our favourite chippie. Excellent meal as ever. Anne had garfish and calamari. Les had his usual 'fisherman's basket' - butterfish, garfish, calamari and prawns.

Back to the motel by 9.30 and straight to bed.

This is a trial - click  here to see a video