I can hardly believe I have been in South East Asia for almost twelve months. I have had a great time riding through Thailand. The roads are good, the scenery magnificent, the topography also magnificent, the food is great and SE Asian drivers are, I am sure, the worst in the world.

All this has come at a bargain price. An expensive meal accompanied by a beer or three is about $6, a cheap meal of masuman or green curry is about 50 cents. I have never caught any stomach bugs, although some who are not so discriminating when assessing the hygiene in roadside food stalls have not been so lucky.

I have suffered though. I am currently recovering from dengue fever. It is not fun! Dengue is a risk in most tropical areas of the world; it is transmitted by mosquitos and it makes you very, very ill.

I am now counting down the days to when I fly across to Mexico to relaunch the boat before heading back across the Pacific. Interestingly it just occurred to me that the reason why I have chosen to resume the life of a sea gypsy is as the result of reading books buy one Fatty Goodlander. I sent him a letter of thanks for reigniting my cruising desires and, it must be said, he responded kindly and asked if, in the future, he could publish my letter.

Now I am going through chandlery catalogues looking for the bits and pieces I will need, including a dinghy and outboard. And I am becoming more and more excited about my coming intercontinental shift and the transmogrification from mountain dwelling biker, to ocean going yottie.

I can't wait. By the way, the photo is of my old boat. I miss it, but I am sure the new one will be a better than average replacement.