Nov.3 – The flight was fine. We have four new members joining our group. Two other original members are leaving today and two tomorrow. The number remains at fourteen. The four new victims are a Canadian couple and two more women. They are all friends and have traveled together before. We had a hard rain today, but only while we were eating. We find Canadians to be charming travelers and great fun. We have traveled with many over the years.

We walked through the village as we left to board our bus. We went to a coconut and rice candy manufacturing company to watch the process. It is a small family affair in a building about the size of six two car garages.

Our drive south was a long one and it was filled with close calls and near misses. We were in the front seat today and it isn’t for the faint hearted. It was very exciting, to say the least. The roads are okay, but the abundance of motorcycles cause many near misses.

This area is full of rivers and bridges. For some reason the bridges are perfect but the road approaching them is always too low and there is a steep grade and a huge bump to get onto the bridge. We must slow down considerably so as not to get tossed into the air.

There are cafes along the roads that offer hammocks with your coffee or tea so that you might rest. There is no charge for the hammocks. Safety first, I always say. We are at a beautiful resort hotel on the river. It looks like a French Colonial plantation I think.The winding stairways and the miles of wood and brass are astounding.

We have been fighting slight colds and coughs since leaving the dust of Laos. We inhaled pounds of Lao dust, but wouldn’t trade the experience for anything. There is a little less dust here, but it is still with us.

Tomorrow we walk the city. It is the largest and only real city in this vast area. It contains 1.5 million people. We are off to Cambodia in a few days and will soon see what these Canadians are made of. I hope you are all well. So far, so good.