Helen Bonnel and Tom Edwards will next month start the long ride from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi to raise money for Cambodian orphans to whom they gave English lessons. 0968251

TWO travellers with a local connection plan to raise money for Cambodian orphans by cycling the length of Vietnam in their pyjamas.

Former Guernsey Press reporter Tom Edwards and Helen Bonnel from the Vale devised the plan after teaching English for two weeks at an orphanage near Siem Reap, Cambodia.

The couple are riding 1,700km in heavy traffic, torrential wet season rains and sweltering heat through the unfamiliar country and do not speak the language.

‘We were inspired by the orphans, who are so full of life despite the immense suffering they’ve endured in their few short years,’ said Miss Bonnel, 27.

‘However, the orphanage is so poor some of the children don’t even have shoes. We decided we had to help and the bike ride seemed fun and original.’

• Visit www.justgiving.com/crazycyclists to donate

• Read the full story in the Guernsey Press. See below for subscription details.