What do they do?

Helen is a teacher at an international school in Bangkok while Alex works in Australia within the Prison Service. They are also both avid cyclists.

Where did we meet them?

We were riding around Vientiane for the day when we saw two cyclists turn a corner. As usual we stopped and had a chat. They had just cycled in from Thailand over the Friendship Bridge and were looking for a place to stay. We showed them the way to the place we were staying. We ended up chatting later that afternoon and spent the next 2 days together.

Their story....

Helen has lived in Thailand for the last 8 years or so, teaching English at a private international school. We had lots to talk about as we finally met someone who has cycled in Myanmar !!! So she told us about her experience of getting her bike and herself thrown on a military truck and taken back to the town she came from. She also does lots of mountain biking with a local cycling club.

Alex on the other hand has the very interesting job of transferring prisoners from one location to another. He moved to Australia in the 80s and has stayed there ever since taking care of the bad guys. He had heaps of stories for us about his job and the inmates he's had to deal with. They both met about a year ago on the web and are still doing the long distance routine and racking up the air miles. Helen is thinking about finishing her next contract and moving to Australia to live with Alex. We hope it all goes well for them. Once again we met an amazing couple on the road and hopefully we will see them next year at our wedding!