So here I am sitting on Marc in my favourite place in Chbar Morn. It is the lake south of the town and is as beautiful as ever.

This weekend could well be the last I spend in Chbar Morn so this morning I decided to come back to the lake and to find out where the road went. Usually I stop at the ford and just walk along the road but today I bravely went down the very steep dangerous concrete slope, over the ford and up the other side and just carried on along by the river. At one place it was well below me with cliffs on both sides. I came to a bridge, crossed over and went through 3 villages, past a lovely local pagoda, saw a mud track to my right, went down it and was back at the lake.

I am now sitting listening to a wedding that is taking place in the village I have just driven through. I love the music here if I am outside. It is like bagpipes - best in the open air and at a distance!!

As I said in my last blog life here happens mostly outside on the street or on/in the water. The wedding that is blaring out the music, has just about blocked off the whole village - mind you everyone in the village has to go (it seems to be a three line whip here). The cows are obviously all well fed here as they were blocking the road, about 50yards after I had weaved my way through the wedding, just by lying anywhere on the road that was in the shade.

In the second village, it was obviously cleaning time, oneself and anything else that needed it, women and men have different parts of the river to bathe in. With the men/boys were the Motos- with the women the clothes. I also saw fishing going on, with nets and lines.

The rice was being planted the last time I was here, today I saw it being harvested - by hand. The fields here are too small for the rice harvester - or they cannot afford the contractor. The rice is much taller than I thought it would be - for some reason I thought about 1 foot when ripe!! Nearer 4 possibly even taller.

I don’t think I will ever forget the feeling of peace that I have found here.