Months after it appeared in the French newspaper, Ouest France, we were finally sent a copy of a short piece they did about our trip. A journalist from the newspaper happened to be loitering around the campsite we were staying in, perhaps looking into rumours of a local pied piper that Linda wrote about previously, and when he spotted us decamping with all of our gear (having stayed one night in the campsite, not a week as suggested by the article), he came over to ask us a few questions. The only reason we knew the article existed was that after it appeared we got a number of e-mails from Ouest France readers wishing us well and, in some cases, offering us a bed for a night. Offers we were never able to take up, but it was nice to receive such kindness from strangers we hadn't even met.

Preparations for leg 2 have begun and we're currently trying to plan our route through South East Asia in a bit more detail. The idea thus far is to set off in January, fly into Bangok, cycle north through Thailand, head east across Laos and then south through Vietnam along the famed Highway 1. That's the rough plan anyway, although we still need to get our hands on some decent maps.

As well as organising a new passport for Linda, visas and the various vaccinations, etc., we also need to do a bit of work on the bikes and pick up more supplies and spares, as bike shops won't be as common or as well equipped, we suspect, as they were in our last leg.

We've decided not to bring our camping equipment with us; it seems to be as cheap and handy to stay in guesthouses or hotels as it would be to camp. This also lightens our loads considerably - no need for a tent, camping mats, sleeping bags, pillows, chairs, stove, pots, pans, utensils.... the list goes on. It also means that we'll be able to ditch the Y-Frame trailer that Linda towed and pack everything in panniers alone, which will make her bike that bit less cumbersome. Also helping to lighten the load is the fact that we'll be in for some hot weather over there, so no need to bring the winter woolies. It'll be something of a change from the snow we're currently enjoying at home in Dublin!